Why you Should Raise and Butcher Quail

Raising quail for meat is a great way for you to have fresh meat on hand whenever you need it. Quail are pretty quiet birds, and with their small size they are very easy to handle. This makes it possible for almost anyone to raise them when backyard chickens are not an option due to the amount of noise they make and the amount of space they need. One of the main reasons people raise their own quail is because these birds are easy to raise for meat when your community has rules about having farm animals. They are also great for egg production. Quail eggs are quite small, so I use about 3 quail eggs to equal one chicken egg.

Where to Keep Your Quail

As opposed to raising meat chickens, raising quail for meat has multiple pros. One of these reasons is they can be raised almost anywhere on your property. Many people keep them in a quail hutch in barns, garage or even a porch. 

Currently, we have ours in our unfinished basement in a repurposed hutch until the spring weather warms up enough that we can move them outside for fresh air and sunshine. 

What age do you Butcher Quail?

For Coturnix Quail, anytime after 7 weeks you can harvest them for meat. For Bobwhite Quail, between 15 – 20 weeks depending on their size. 

What is the Best Quail for Butchering?

Coturnix Quail is the best breed to raise for meat. They are also good for eggs. Coturnix Quail mature quickly and don’t require a lot of space and are great for beginners. By 7 weeks of age they can start laying eggs, mature females can lay up to 300 eggs a year. They can be processed anytime after 7 weeks of age when they have reached their full size.

The common breeds of quail to raise are the Coturnix Quail and the Bobwhite Quail. The Coturnix Quail tends to be the most popular breed because of how fast they mature. It is also much easier to sex them going by the colors of their feathers. The Bobwhite Quail is much harder to sex, because, as the name suggests, they are mostly white so there isn’t much to go off of. 

How to Butcher Quail

Prior to processing your quail, if you can plan it far enough ahead of time, it would be best to remove their food 12 – 24 hours prior to processing them. This helps clean out their body and also makes for cleaner processing. Then you won’t have to deal with feces getting on your meat or work surface. 

First step, you will want to gather your tools to butcher quail 

You will need some heavy duty processing shears and a sharp knife. We find the best tool to use are these processing shears. We find it easiest using our kitchen sink to process them in. We clean it out of any dishes and wash the sink clean. You may also want a cutting board if you plan to part the bird for cooking right away. If you are butchering quail for the first time, processing quail can be a daunting task. Just take your time to get things ready but with some patience, you can do this. The more you practice, it will get easier and eventually only take a couple of minutes to process.

Second step, kill and remove the head. 

Hold the bird with one hand by putting the palm of your hand over the back so your thumb goes down one side over a wing and your other fingers go over the other side of the bird holding that wing down. If your unable to get a good hold of the bird with one hand, you can hold the bird down against the side or bottom of the sink while still holding down the wings. 

Get your shears in your other hand and place the opening around the neck near the base of the head. With these shears, they have a oval cutout that makes for a good spot to place the neck in. Apply pressure to cut the neck to sever the spine. You may need to cut once or twice to cut through the feathers and skin. At this point the head should fall off, if not give a pull away from the body with the shears to remove it from any ligaments. Be sure to continue to hold the wings against it’s body, a nerve reaction may happen and it may start flapping their wings as they bleed out.

Third step, remove the wings and feet. 

Once the wings have ceased flapping, you can cut the wings off. Spread the wing out and feel for where the elbow is. Cut at the joint. This way you get the most feathers off and can try to cut between bones and not dull the shears too much.

Now find the knee joint and cut right at the joint just like you did for the wings.

Fourth step, remove the skin/feathers from the body.

Now feel for the chest of the bird and make a hole in the skin to expose the meat. You can either use the shears or a sharp knife to cut into the skin. In this photo he used his hands to tear a hole through the skin.

Once your hole has been made, peel back the skin and start to pull it off the body. It may be easier to put your fingers between the meat and the skin to help pull the tissue and membranes away from the meat. Expose the chest and abdomen then start to pull away from the legs. You will want to get under the skin around the wings and knees since it’s a little harder to pull the tissue away from the bones there. Keeping your fingers under the skin also helps to keep the meat clean and free of feathers.

Finish pulling the skin away from the back and then the neck.

Fifth step, eviscerating, removing the organs.

Find the loose muscle on the abdomen below the breast bone and with a sharp knife (don’t cut too deep, you don’t want to pierce the intestines), make a slit and then with two hands pull the cavity open. This may be easiest by pulling the breast bone and the tail area of the spine away from each other.

Now with one finger, reach in and hook your finger around the organs and gently pull out what you can. At this point you will probably get the intestines and the gizzard out. You will have to reach further in for the heart and lungs. The lungs can be a bit harder to get out because they rest flat up against the top part of the ribcage. At this point you can save any organs you want to keep, like the heart, liver and even the gizzard.

Once you have everything out the last step here is to remove the last bit of the intestines from the rectum. You can cut along the bone and cut the last bit of intestines out. Here, we just used the shears to cut the tail end of the spine and pelvis out. This gets the oil sack that is at the base of the spine and the intestines, since there isn’t much for meat there anyhow.

Rinse off the bird then use as desired, you can freeze or cook right away. 

Brining Quail for Cooking

Quail meat can be a bit tough so you may want to brine your quail first to make the meat more tender. You will want to use a ratio of 1 tablespoon of salt per one cup of water. You may want to turn the bird occasionally to make sure the meat is covered in the brine.

You can brine your freshly processed quail or one that was thawed in the fridge in a salt water brine for as little as 30 minutes or up to 6 hours. Since the birds are so small they don’t need much time and may become too salty if left in the brine for too long. 

How to store processed Quail 

Store uncooked quail in fridge for 1-2 days. Keep in an airtight container. 

You can wrap the birds in waxy butcher paper tightly or freezer-weight polyethylene bags. Store in the freezer and use within 6 months for the best quality.

Products mentioned to Butcher Quail

• Heavy Duty Poultry Shears

Printable DIY Card

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How to Butcher Quail - Step-by Step Process for Beginners

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Active Time: 5 minutes

Additional Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 8 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Learn how to butcher quail with this step by step process for beginners. This is an easy and quick way to get some meat in your fridge or freezer for your next meal.

Print

Materials

• Cutting Board if breaking down bird for cooking afterward.

Tools

• Heavy Duty Poultry Shears
• Sharp Knife

Instructions

How to Butcher Quail

Prior to processing your quail, if you can plan it far enough ahead of time, it would be best to remove their food 12 - 24 hours prior to processing them. This helps clean out their body and also makes for cleaner processing. Then you won't have to deal with feces getting on your meat or work surface. 

1. First step, you will want to gather your tools.  You will need some heavy duty processing shears and a sharp knife. We find the best tool to use are these processing shears. We find it easiest using our kitchen sink to process them in. We clean it out of any dishes and wash the sink clean. You may also want a cutting board if you plan to part the bird for cooking right away. If you are butchering quail for the first time, processing quail can be a daunting task. Just take your time to get things ready but with some patience, you can do this. The more you practice, it will get easier and eventually only take a couple of minutes to process.
2. Second step, kill and remove the head.  Hold the bird with one hand by putting the palm of your hand over the back so your thumb goes down one side over a wing and your other fingers go over the other side of the bird holding that wing down. If your unable to get a good hold of the bird with one hand, you can hold the bird down against the side or bottom of the sink while still holding down the wings.  Get your shears in your other hand and place the opening around the neck near the base of the head. With these shears, they have a oval cutout that makes for a good spot to place the neck in. Apply pressure to cut the neck to sever the spine. You may need to cut once or twice to cut through the feathers and skin. At this point the head should fall off, if not give a pull away from the body with the shears to remove it from any ligaments. Be sure to continue to hold the wings against it's body, a nerve reaction may happen and it may start flapping their wings as they bleed out.
3. Third step, remove the wings and feet.  Once the wings have ceased flapping, you can cut the wings off. Spread the wing out and feel for where the elbow is. Cut at the joint. This way you get the most feathers off and can try to cut between bones and not dull the shears too much. Now find the knee joint and cut right at the joint just like you did for the wings.
4. Fourth step, remove the skin/feathers from the body. Now feel for the chest of the bird and make a hole in the skin to expose the meat. You can either use the shears or a sharp knife to cut into the skin. In this photo he used his hands to tear a hole through the skin. Once your hole has been made, peel back the skin and start to pull it off the body. It may be easier to put your fingers between the meat and the skin to help pull the tissue and membranes away from the meat. Expose the chest and abdomen then start to pull away from the legs. You will want to get under the skin around the wings and knees since it's a little harder to pull the tissue away from the bones there. Keeping your fingers under the skin also helps to keep the meat clean and free of feathers. Finish pulling the skin away from the back and then the neck.
5. Fifth step, eviscerating, removing the organs. Find the loose muscle on the abdomen below the breast bone and with a sharp knife (don't cut too deep, you don't want to pierce the intestines), make a slit and then with two hands pull the cavity open. This may be easiest by pulling the breast bone and tail end of the spine away from each other. Now with one finger, reach in and hook your finger around the organs and gently pull out what you can. At this point you will probably get the intestines and the gizzard out. You will have to reach further in for the heart and lungs. The lungs can be a bit harder to get out because they rest flat up against the top part of the ribcage. At this point you can save any organs you want to keep, like the heart, liver and even the gizzard. Once you have everything out, the last step here is to remove the last bit of the intestines from the rectum. You can cut along the bone and cut the last bit of intestines out. Here, we just used the shears to cut the tail end of the spine and pelvis out. This gets the oil sack that is at the base of the spine and the intestines, since there isn't much for meat there anyhow. Rinse off the bird then use as desired, you can freeze or cook right away. 

Notes

How to Store Quail

Store uncooked quail in fridge for 1-2 days. Keep in an airtight container. 

You can wrap the birds in waxy butcher paper tightly or freezer-weight polyethylene bags. Store in the freezer and use within 6 months for the best quality.

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The post How to Butcher Quail – Step-by-Step Process for Beginners appeared first on Natural Living Homestead.

What is a Road kill Call List?

In Maine the road kill list is a list of names you put your name on. You then may receive a phone call. This animal will be in your area that has recently been hit by a vehicle.

The police department was notified of an animal that has been hit and been given it’s location. It’s usually a deer but other animals like moose and bear may be a possibility. It won’t be for things like possums or porcupines. Then, they go through a list of people to see who wants to pick up the animal. If you are unable to go or pass, you get moved to the bottom of the list. Then the next person in line gets called.

Where can I legally collect road kill?

You can find articles online that tell you what states allow people to legally collect road kill. Some of these are only a couple years old. Laws can change so the lists can be different any given year.

Your best bet is to call your local police department. Ask them if there is a “Road Kill List” that you can put your name on.

Currently, I know Maine and Alaska are allowed to do this. If you want more information about what states are legally allowed. HERE is an article that’s a couple years old.

Why would you want to get road kill

A big one is, it’s free meat. You don’t have to go out and spend money and time looking for a deer in the woods. If you want to challenge yourself, you can butcher the deer yourself. Even if you pay someone to do that part, you still save money with that being the only expense.

I know the thought of an animal hit by a car on the side of the road, doesn’t sound completely appealing. Though, if retrieved in a timely manner. Then, taking note of the condition of the deer, the meat can be perfectly good to save for food.

A lot of the times when you collect the animal it may still be warm. Typically it is only hours old from the time it was hit. If it was during the winter the meat will be better to save then during the summer.

Now if you find that the intestines have burst, you will want cut out the contaminated parts. The same is usually said for any parts where the bone has shattered. You wouldn’t want to get bone fragments in your meat or bruised meat.

What are the requirements of the Road Kill Call List?

Once you are called, you are required to head out as soon as possible and retrieve it. Otherwise, you give up the opportunity. There is no waiting a few hours before you head out. If you fail to show up, the next person in line gets the opportunity for it.

I have even heard of people being on a list with friends of theirs. So, if either group of people get called, they then split the animal with each other. I believe this is to have a higher chance of being able to get some meat for the freezer.

What types of animals do you get on a Road Kill Call List?

The type of animal that you’ll be notified about is usually what is most common in your area, typically deer. If it’s a moose, it’s a possibility the people notified before you passed because of the size of the animal. They are hard to retrieve and load, let alone processing. Moose would be a higher possibility if you live in the northern most parts of the United States or Canada. Elk or Caribou would be in the Northwestern states and Canada.

Preparing to Retrieve the Animal

Most likely, you will be told what type of animal it is, deer, moose, etc. You then need to bring what you need to load the animal. You may need a truck and trailer, friends/family to help you load it. Probably rope or ratchet straps. Whatever it is you may need in order to bring it home, bring it.

I have heard of a couple going in the middle of winter with a trailer. They brought a snowmobile and a sled to help load a moose onto their trailer. They also needed a come-along to pull it the rest of the way onto the trailer. The reason they needed the snowmobile was because the moose had been hit and was thrown far off the road. I can imagine a big 18-wheeler moving fast down a road and the force behind that. Especially since an 18-wheeler is not able to stop abruptly because of the heavy trailer they are hauling.

Our First time Getting Road Kill

Last winter my husband and I were fortunate to get 2 deer that were road kill. The first one happened in the middle of the night right in front of our house along the road. Now, at this point we were not on the Road Kill List. It wasn’t something that we had thought of yet. It was about 5 in the morning and I heard a vehicle having some issues on the road in front of our house. After the vehicle left, I saw that they had hit a deer and moved it to the side of the road. Thankfully it was a weekend and my husband was home. I woke up my husband to tell him and we both went out to verify. My husband then comes up the yard pulling the dead deer up with him.

Next we called the local police department and notified them of a road kill and what had happened. Shortly after, an officer showed up and gave us a tag for the deer and the okay to do as we please.

We then hung the deer and then started to pull out the innards. Then later that day we started skinning and parting out the deer. The intestines had opened and got on some meat. So after removing the contaminated parts of the meat, we put it in our spare fridge for about a week. We then proceeded to cut up the deer as best as we could being first time deer butcherers. It wasn’t award worthy by any means but we got the job done and put into the freezer.

This is when I looked into calling a local police officer to ask about a Road Kill List.

The First time We got a call from the Road Kill List

The same winter that we got the last deer we received a phone call from the police department. It was about 10 pm, and there was a deer about 15 minutes from us. My husband went with my father and the trailer. They did have to wait a little bit for the officer to show up to give them the tag. When they got back they hung it up on a tree and removed the guts. The following morning we finished skinning and parting the rest of it.

Note to self: skin the deer right away. It is very difficult to do this when its had a chance to freeze overnight.

Other Posts You May Like

How to Butcher a Chicken

Raising Meat Chickens

Recipes With Venison

If your interested in some recipes that use venison as the main meat source there are tons of recipes online. I recommend checking out Kates website, she has so many great recipes and helpful tips, check out Venisonfordinner.com. She even has recipes with Moose meat.

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The post Road Kill Call List – Free Deer/Moose for Your Freezer appeared first on Natural Living Homestead.

Originally posted 4/2/23. Post updated 4/20/24

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Learning how to butcher a chicken is a skill that you should have if you want to be self-sustainable if you plan to eat chicken. I will show you the entire process of how we processed our meat chickens our first year ever raising them for meat. Processing chickens is not for the faint of heart. We do not look forward to the day that we process our chickens because we are taking an animals life. Instead we look at it as they are providing us with food that God intended for us and we are so ever grateful for them.

WARNING: PHOTOS OF HOW TO BUTCHER A CHICKEN FOLLOW. THERE ARE GRAPHIC PHOTOS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Our family has chosen to eat meat for many reasons. So if we are going to eat meat we should be willing to take part in the process of acquiring our food. If you do not eat meat, we respect that and won’t be hurt if you don’t want to know about this topic. If you would prefer, here is a delicious recipe on how to make Sourdough Banana Bread.

I’M A SEASONED CRAZY CHICKEN LADY AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I’VE BUTCHERED A CHICKEN…

I have raised chickens for most of my life. Albeit they were for eggs only, I had never needed to process them myself. If we had an over abundance of roosters we took them to a meat processor locally and they would be stew birds for the freezer.

This time around, my husband and I decided we wanted to raise chickens that were for meat and we wanted to process them ourselves. We’ll save some money and we can be more self reliant when it came to storing our own food. We’d know they were raised right in a clean and healthy environment. Then by processing them on site there was no stress of loading them in the vehicle and moving them to a meat processor. Less stress = better tasting meat, or so I’ve heard.

After many YouTube videos to learn how to process a chicken, the time came to do the deed.

HOW TO BUTCHER A CHICKEN – THINGS DON’T ALWAYS GO AS PLANNED

I had set everything up the day before and we were good to go. We ended up having some hiccups along the way as the day came around.

It was raining off and on, heavy downpours, so an awning was required. We then didn’t get to start until 12 pm, which is too late since we hadn’t done this before. Also, the kill cones we had didn’t work out, one was too big and the other was too small. The first chicken that we processed took us a while. We had to hang the chicken by the feet upside down. The scalding water got too hot and started to cook the chicken.

The plucker worked reasonably well but really isn’t meant for processing more then a few birds. Then learning how to actually clean and gut the chicken takes a little bit to figure out.

We eventually got it all done around 8 o’clock in the evening and cleaned up. It was an extremely long day. Thankfully with the help from family and friends we were able to get it all done that day.

IS IT EASY KILLING SOMETHING YOU’VE RAISED?

No, it is not easy to kill something that you have raised. We do not look forward to the day that they need to be put into the freezer. Being a meat eater, something has to die in order for me and my family to live. This is why we choose to raise them ourselves. To make sure they have a good life. They can be put to rest as peacefully and with the least amount of stress as possible. If you’ve seen the movie Food Inc., it may make you want to avoid factory farmed meat from the store.

My animals are in the sun or shade as they please, breathing fresh air on lush green grass. Then moved daily to a nice new patch of grass for them to eat. Sounds like a happy chicken to me.

When it comes to kids on the homestead, we don’t hide this from them. My kids know where their food comes from. In order for them to eat those yummy chicken wings, this chicken dies so they can have food for dinner.

They know the chicken on their plate didn’t come from a package that was on the grocery store shelf, never knowing anything that happened before that. There is no disconnection from their food and how it got there and what happened to it over the course of it’s life. They help scoop the food every day for them to eat or collect worms for them to eat.

Also, it’s a great way for them to learn the anatomy of a chicken. They may see the immature egg yolks if it was an egg layer chicken.

HOW TO BUTCHER A CHICKEN – EQUIPMENT NEEDED

There are a couple different ways you can go about equipment for chicken processing. We kept it minimal with only simple and inexpensive items. If your only doing a small batch of about 10 chickens or less this list would work great. If your planning on processing more then that, you may want to upgrade to more powerful expensive equipment.

Equipment

• A killing cone – Weigh your chickens before hand and look into the suggested weight for the cone size.
• A set of sharp knives. Use what you have in the kitchen or purchase knew. Either way, make sure they are very sharp. I’ve heard the phrase a few times, “A sharp knife is a humane knife”. If you have a dull knife you can’t properly dispatch your chicken, they suffer because it takes longer.
• Poultry Scalder – you can use a large 30 quart stock pot (turkey fryer) or a larger 14 – 30 gallon scalding tank. We used a turkey fryer to scald our 25 meat birds.
• Plucker – if you have about 10 birds or less you could can pluck by hand or use a plucker attachment for a electric screw gun (photo a few pictures below of the one we used). If you have more than 10 you may want a large industrial style automatic plucker.
• Poultry Shears – These are for cutting off the neck. Link at the end of this post for the ones we now use. 
• Waterproof aprons
• Heatproof Gloves – very helpful when scalding, especially if your wanting to save the feet/legs.
• Work surface – you can use stainless steel tables or even a plastic folding table.
• Ice Chest or Coolers filled with ice – or any food grade container that can hold them until your ready to bag them.
• Poultry shrink bags – these help to prevent freezer burn and it gives it a more professional and neat look.

HOW TO BUTCHER A CHICKEN

This is a big scale backyard chicken automatic plucker that you can use for processing larger quantities of chickens. Can easily fit a couple chickens at once or a small turkey.

1. SET UP YOUR PROCESSING AREA TO BUTCHER A CHICKEN

The day before you plan to process your chickens you will want to leave their water but remove their food. This will allow all the food in their crop, gizzard and intestines to empty out and make cleaning them easier and less messy. You will also want to have a way to move them closer to the processing area. I kept the live birds in their chicken tractor just moved it closer to where I would need them.

Set up the kill cones (with a large bucket under them with a few inches of water in each bucket). Set up the scalder, plucker, and any other necessary tools you may need. If your outside in the open you may want to set up some portable folding canopy’s. You may want one over the evisceration table since you’ll be there the longest.

It would be a good idea to have a hose at the evisceration table to help with any messes. Then another hose at the plucker if you have a large automatic plucker. Some people have outdoor kitchens set up to do a final cleaning before it goes into the ice bath. Outdoor kitchens are very convenient when it comes to this project.

The morning of processing day, at least an hour before you plan to start, start warming up the scalder. Get your temperature to 150 – 160 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal ease of removing the feathers but not cooking the bird. You will also want to add some fresh water to your coolers with ice to chill the birds once processed.

2. DISPATCH THE CHICKEN

Once you are ready to begin, grab a live chicken and place it in the killing cone (in the photo above we hung it by the legs since the cone was too small). The first cut should be right below the jaw at the base of the head. Grab the head and with a (sharp!) knife, use firm, hard pressure, cut on either side of the jaw, cutting the jugular vein. Some people choose to remove the chicken’s head now. Wait until the bird stops moving and allowing all the blood to drain into the bucket. By processing the chickens this way, we feel that this is the most humane way to process them with the least amount of suffering.

3. SCALD THE CHICKEN

Once the blood has drained put the bird in the scalder and swish it around for about 3-4 minutes (careful not to let it touch the bottom if using a turkey fryer, it can start to cook the bird). You may want to have some rubber heat proof gloves to protect your fingers for scalding the feet. 

Here’s a tip you if you don’t have heat resistant gloves. Take an old fashion potato masher and put the legs in between the grooves so you can submerge the feet.

You will know it has scalded long enough when the skin of the legs easily peel off or a large wing feather is easily pulled out.

4. PLUCK THE CHICKEN

Remove the bird from the scalder and remove the feathers with your preferred method. Either by hand or machine. We used a drill attachment this time. If you have an automatic plucker, you’ll need a hose to spray into the plucker to get the feathers off.

5. CLEAN THE CHICKEN

With your poultry shears, the head of the chicken off and cut the neck off at the base of the neck near the breast. Be sure to cut as close to the breast as you can, so bones don’t poke through the bag. Then remove the chicken’s legs as shown in the photos. You can set the feet aside to save them for making broths. Then remove the oil gland that’s at the base of the spine on the tail.

6. EVISCERATE THE CHICKEN

With the bird on its back, loosen the crop from the connective tissue under the skin of the breast near where the neck was, but don’t pull it out. It should be empty, flat and a pale color if they had their food removed the night before.

Turn the bird to the back end and pinch the skin below the breast bone along the abdomen and pull up. Cut a slit big enough to get your fingers through. Now with one hand near the vent and the other under the ribcage, pull apart to make a wider opening. Careful not to cut too deep, you don’t want to cut the intestines that are beneath it.

Put your hand inside the body cavity all the way to the top end and grab the windpipe and esophagus and pull everything out that you can. Be cautious when pulling the intestines out so they don’t get punctured. Once the bulk of the organs are out go back and get any other organs that may have been missed. The lungs tend to be squished against the ribs.

7. QUALITY CONTROL

At this point you can rinse off the bird inside and out, either at a sink or under a hose. I check the bird over to remove any feathers that may have been missed. Sometimes the oil gland or crop get forgotten.

8. CHILL THE CHICKENS

At this point you want to cool the chicken in cold water in a cooler before you bag it. It would be best to chill it overnight but I have never done that for lack of ice and fridge space. Usually after 6 hours in the ice water, I’ll air dry the finished chickens a bit and then bag them.

9. BAG THE CHICKENS

At this point, you’ve cleaned up your processing area and emptied your scalder water. Prepare it with clean water and bring it to temp for shrink wrapping the bagged chickens in the hot water. Follow the directions for the bags you get as far as temps and length of time in the water. Attach the zip tie then dry off the freshly packaged chicken. Put a label over the hole that you may have made in the bag for the bagging process. We like to weigh each chicken and put the weight and date processed on the label. They are now ready for the freezer.

HOW TO BUTCHER A CHICKEN – IMPROVEMENTS FOR NEXT TIME

After our first weekend, I started a list to reference back to so we can improve the next time we needed to butcher a chicken. Here are the things I added to that list.

• Start early – I really wanted to make sure we got an early start next time, to make sure we weren’t packaging chickens at 8pm.
• Get more knives – We had a lot of people helping us and we didn’t have enough for those that needed one.
• Get another awning for scalder and plucker – because of the rain, we really could have used one at those locations.
• Get a big plucker – We had way more chickens than a drill attachment could handle. We ended up hand plucking a lot of the chickens.
• Start on a Saturday – If something happens, you have an extra day to get it done.
• Look ahead for weather – If possible, plan for a good weather day.
• *Ducks* scald and pluck 2 min 45 seconds each – We had some ducks to process and ended up skinning them because of their thick down feathers.
• Catfish pliers help to remove the thick and stubborn feathers – Sometimes there are tail or wing feathers that don’t come out easily, especially on ducks.
• Stainless steel sheers to cut the necks – You can dull your knife if you use that.
• Long handled potato masher to hold the legs when scalding – We ended up getting rubber heat resistant gloves.

Would you add anything else to this list? Did I forget anything that you’d like me to explain? Let me know in the comments below.

Show your support and appreciation. If you did this project and found it helpful, give it a 5 star review and leave a comment. Follow me on Instagram @naturalliving.homestead then tag me in a photo of your project! Thank you!

SHOP THIS POST

Poultry Shears – All stainless steel because I’ve used poultry shears with a plastic handle and the handle broke before I was done using them.

Waterproof Apron

Scalding Gloves

Folding Table

Poultry Shrink bags

Canopy Tent

Here are some other posts about raising meat birds if you want to learn more.

How to Butcher Quail – Step-by-Step Process for Beginners

Raising Meat Chickens: Getting Ready

DIY Chicken Tractor Plans

Want to see videos on How-To Animal Butchering? Like Turkey’s, Pigs and Cows?

Abundance Plus has a whole library of How-To videos for these things and more. Want to learn more? Head on over to this link.

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The post How to Butcher a Chicken – Beginners Step by Step Process appeared first on Natural Living Homestead.

Learn how we made our DIY Chicken Tractor for our meat birds. It is a very simple design, you can easily make this in a weekend. This chicken tractor is inspired by the tractors Joel Salatin uses.

Why we chose this DIY Chicken Tractor design

My husband and I have been following along with Joel Salatin’s YouTube videos as well as reading his books. He has a very successful pasture raised farm and has been farming for about 30 years. We think he has a really good idea of how to do things efficiently.

We felt that the chicken tractor he uses works perfectly for meat chickens. It gives them shelter from the rain and shade from the sun but provides an area if they choose to lay in the sun.

This size chicken tractor can fit up to 40 birds. Some people go with 1.5 square feet per chicken and some give 2 square feet per chicken. We decided to go with 2 square feet.

We wanted to give them a bit more space with this being our first batch of meat chickens. We also wanted to keep our options open, so if in the future we wanted to do more then 26 meat chickens, we have that option.

We also like this design because it isn’t tall. You don’t have to worry about it tipping over if we are on a hill side when moving it. Also this breed of bird tends to not roost due to the rapid growth and the larger breast meat. Since they do not roost we have no need to go any higher then 2 feet high.

Tips for making your DIY Chicken Tractor

• I would recommend aluminum roofing if you have the option, since it is much lighter and will make it a lot easier to move your tractor.
• You can customize this to what ever you would like. This seems to work fine for us. Some people make the whole roof into one that can be lifted up on one side and others make only half the roof a door.
• If you decide to make the whole roof the flip up door you will need more 8 foot boards so you can add that on top of your frame.
• Use a Speed Square- this will help make sure that your frame stays square during the building process.
• We were able to keep costs down by using supplies that we had on hand or from family members.
• When moving the chicken tractor you could use a dolly. If you find that it is a bit too heavy or difficult to move, the dolly will give you just a bit of leverage with the wheels to easily move it to a new spot. Just slide under the back end of your chicken tractor and pull on the other side with the rope.

Supplies Needed

For this chicken tractor we used tin roofing so it does add a bit of extra weight to the tractor. I am still able to move it, though I do have some difficulty. We used the metal roofing because it was what we had on hand.

We also had some chicken fencing that we had already, this has 1 inch holes and is 2 feet tall. This was used to wrap the south facing sides. We also used this for the top by overlapping it a bit and then connecting the two together with some metal ties, zip ties would work as well.

• 10 – 8 foot long 2″x4″ boards
• 3 inch screws
• Screw gun
• Miter Saw
• Aluminum or other metal roofing
• Tin snips or cut off wheel with an angle grinder
• Chicken fencing with 1 inch holes and 2 feet tall
• Heavy duty stapler and staples
• Handles
• Eye Hooks
• Heavy duty carabiners
• 12 foot long rope

How to make a DIY Chicken Tractor

Making the Frame

Make your 8 foot by 8 foot frame out of the 2×4 boards.

Attach your 2 foot vertical corner support boards on all four corners then build your second 8 foot by 8 foot frame at the top of the corner support boards.

Add your horizontal corner support boards to each top corner to keep the chicken tractor square.

Put a 2 foot board in the center of each side just to give a bit more support.

Spaced evenly across the top of the frame, add two boards for the roof support.

We then added four boards connecting the two inner roof boards and one of the top frame boards. This adds a bit more support for the roof so it doesn’t sag.

Next the door was framed out. Just like when we added the extra support boards in the previous step we did this to frame out the door. These were just placed a bit further apart then the other boards.

Reinforcing the Frame

At this point you can make the door that fits into the frame and attach it with the hinges. We also added a couple small pieces of the 2×4 boards for the door to rest on when closed.

Add your metal roofing to the top back side and sides of your chicken tractor with the metal roofing screws. We used tin snips to cut the metal to size, you can also use a cut off wheel with an angle grinder.

Cover your sides and remaining roof in chicken fencing and staple it in place very well. This part I would not be stingy on since this is what keeps predators out and the baby chicks in.

Don’t forget your handle on the top side of the door.

The eye hooks were then added on each corner so that we could attach the carabiners, which had the rope tied to them. So when you needed to pull the tractor in a certain direction you can just unhook the carabiner and move it to the appropriate eye hook.

Find more DIY Homestead Projects

• DIY Raised Garden Bed
• Cheap DIY Potato Planters
• DIY Montessori Floor Bed

Show your support and appreciation. If you did this project and found it helpful, give it a 5 star review and leave a comment. Follow me on Instagram @naturalliving.homestead then tag me in a photo of your project! Thank you!

DIY Chicken Tractor

Simple DIY plans to make a mobile chicken coop for your meat birds

Print

Materials

• 10 - 8 foot long 2"x4" boards
• 3 inch screws
• Aluminum or other metal roofing
• Metal roofing screws with a rubber washer
• Chicken fencing with 1 inch holes and 2 feet tall
• Handles
• Eye Hooks
• Heavy duty carabiners
• 12 foot long rope

Tools

• Screw Gun
• Tin Snips or cut off wheel with an angle grinder
• Heavy Duty Stapler and Staples
• Miter Saw

Instructions

MAKING THE FRAME

1. Make your 8 foot by 8 foot frame out of the 2x4 boards.
2. Attach your 2 foot vertical corner support boards on all four corners then build your second 8 foot by 8 foot frame at the top of the corner support boards.
3. Add your horizontal corner support boards to each top corner to keep the chicken tractor square.
4. Put a 2 foot board in the center of each side just to give a bit more support.
5. Spaced evenly across the top of the frame, add two boards for the roof support.
6. We then added four boards connecting the two inner roof boards and one of the top frame boards. This adds a bit more support for the roof so it doesn't sag.
7. Next the door was framed out. Just like when we added the extra support boards in the previous step we did this to frame out the door. These were just placed a bit further apart then the other boards.

REINFORCING THE FRAME

1. At this point you can make the door that fits into the frame and attach it with the hinges. We also added a couple small pieces of the 2x4 boards for the door to rest on when closed.
2. Add your metal roofing to the top back side and sides of your chicken tractor with the metal roofing screws. We used tin snips to cut the metal to size, you can also use a cut off wheel with an angle grinder.
3. Cover your sides and remaining roof in chicken fencing and staple it in place very well. This part I would not be stingy on since this is what keeps predators out and the baby chicks in.
4. Don't forget your handle on the top side of the door.
5. The Eye Hooks were then added on each corner so that we could attach the carabiners, which had the rope tied to them. So when you needed to pull the tractor in a certain direction you can just unhook the carabiner to the appropriate eye hook.

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The post DIY Chicken Tractor Plans appeared first on Natural Living Homestead.

Raising meat chickens is a great way to source your own food. I’ll show you the steps we take along the way to make raising meat chickens easier for you. I will fill you in on the equipment we will be using and why we chose them. Some of these things we will be making ourselves with scrap wood and other things on the homestead to make costs lower.

Raising Meat Chickens: Why we chose to do this

In the current times we are in with meat being rationed at the grocery stores we decided that we just need to make the final push for it. My husband and I have wanted to raise our own chickens for meat for a few years now. We just didn’t feel ready for everything that is involved. We have been doing a lot of research and think we have just about all the tools we will need and decided to give it a go.

Cost is a big factor when choosing to raise our own meat chickens. When you go to the store you can buy an organic chicken for over $20 for a 5 lb bird. I understand that cost is well earned for the company that raised and processed them. Though when it comes down to getting organic fresh chicken, it makes more sense to raise them ourselves. In the end the cost per pound raising them on our homestead costs a lot less then if we were to buy them at the store.

Another factor for raising our own meat chickens is because we know the chickens history. From the time they arrive at 3 days old, to when we process them, we know what they have eaten. We also know what medications they were given, if any. We also know that they will have lived a great life living on fresh green grass and fresh clean air.

Raising Meat Chickens: Preparing for the Chicks

The Brooder

For our brooder we will be re-purposing a metal water trough. This will house them for the first 3 weeks of their life.

We will be keeping them in the house since we don’t have a garage or barn. So they will be inside where I have a dog and 2 cats along with an adventurous 7 month old. Some things will need to be done to keep them safe.

The sides are very high, so my child can’t reach inside. It is also bottom heavy so it will not tip over easily. So we will just need to keep the wires out of the way.

The only other factor is to keep the cats out since the dog is too short. So we will be making a wooden frame that will sit securely around the top rim of the brooder. This will then be covered with garden or chicken fencing. Plastic would be best so you don’t have to worry about sharp metal corners.

Using a metal water trough is great because as most of us know, chicks can be very messy. Spilling water and food and poop galore! So anything that get dumped onto the floor of the brooder stays contained and will be absorbed from the shavings.

If things get wet in there, just sprinkle over some fresh shavings and that will keep the smell away.

Keeping them Warm

To keep them warm we will be using a heat lamp secured in place so that it will not fall to the floor. This will keep the chicks from getting too close to the lamp and keep it away from the shavings so there is no fire hazard. A lot of people use chains. These are good to keep them securely in place and you can easily adjust the height of the lamp.

We plan to switch over a heating plate from Premier1. These are very safe if your concerned about heat lamps. These heating plates mimic a mother hen by hovering close to the floor. It is placed low enough for the chicks to walk under it easily and stay warm. This heating plate has legs that can be adjusted on all four sides. So as your chicks get bigger you can raise the heating plate up.

The only reason we are not starting off using a heating plate is that currently Premier1 is completely out of stock. The demand to raise our own food has grown that much.

Shelter

Since we ordered our chicks my husband and I have been working on their shelter. This tractor was inspired by Joel Salatin’s chicken tractors.

Note: If you haven’t heard of him before I recommend checking out his farm or website Polyface Farm. There are many YouTube Videos he is in as well.

The Chicken Tractor

We decided to build a coop similar to the tractors Joel Salatin uses. We chose this because we are able to keep the chickens on grass 24/7 once they are 3 weeks old. At this point they will have enough adult feathers to be able to go outside and keep themselves warm.

This is and 8 foot square and 2 foot tall chicken coop. It sits directly on the ground so the chickens have full access to grass.

These tractors have a metal roof on about 3/4 of the top then chicken wire on the rest. This way they are able to bask in the sun but be sheltered from the rain and sun. The sides also have metal roofing on what will be the north side of the tractor and two sides. Then the rest of the sides will have chicken wire as well to protect them from predators.

On the top we made a smaller door then what Joel Salatin uses. You just lift it up to put their feed/water in and check on the chickens.

The other great feature of this tractor is that if you attach a rope to one side of the tractor you can move it to a fresh plot of grass every morning.

Now the chicken wire will keep the chickens pretty safe and will discourage most predators. If you want a little more protection you could keep a guard goose around them. They actually do a very good job at scaring off predators.

Another option is to keep the chicken tractor fenced off with electric poultry netting. We prefer the electric netting from Premier1. This will add another barrier that the predator has to go through and it being electrified will deter them.

Feeding

We will be feeding the chicks a commercial starter feed. I plan to soak the feed overnight so they get the most out of it. Soaking the grains breaks down the phytic acid. Which will then make it easier for the chickens to digest and get the most out of their feed. I will then strain off the water which is where the impurities are and feed the strained feed to them.

When giving the chickens their food after soaking you’ll probably want to use some plastic feeding troughs. The metal ones will work but the water in the feed will slowly start to rust your feed trays.

When it comes to feeding Cornish Cross chickens it is recommended to ration their food after a while. This breed can eat too much if not monitored properly. This is where you could have health issues with your chickens. If they eat too much they will gain too much weight. Some things that could happen could be a heart attack, heat stroke and a lack of ability to walk.

It’s recommended to give them free choice chick starter for the first 5 days of their life. Then ration it to 12 hours on 12 hours off. When they are 5 weeks old you will want to switch them over to a grower feed until their processing day.

Processing typically happens around 8-9 weeks of age. At 8 weeks they are typically around 4-5 pounds once processed.

Cornish Cross

We ordered the baby chicks a couple months ago. I had to call around to a few places because most places were already sold out for a couple months. We ended up getting all our chickens from Meyer Hatchery. They were so nice and answered all my questions. At the time of writing this our chicks should arrive in about a week. How exciting! It’s been a while since I’ve raised baby chickens.

Cornish Cross chickens are known for their fast growth. You can hatch, raise and harvest a 4-5 pound chicken in about 8 weeks. That’s crazy fast. This is the breed that most commercial growers use. Though we plan to raise them in a much healthier setting outside.

A lot of people think that this breed is genetically modified (GMO) but the good news is, they are not. I used to think this as well. They are actually two breeds that were chosen for specific traits and bred over time to create this hybrid chicken. From them you will get a fast grow rate, high feed conversion ratio and their meat is high in protein.

Stay tuned

Once the baby chicks arrive and as they grow up I will give you updates on their progress.

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The post Raising Meat Chickens: Getting Ready appeared first on Natural Living Homestead.

This year I have so many potatoes to plant I need some quick and cheap DIY potato planters. So I’ve done some digging (pun intended) and have found 2 ways you can get potatoes growing on your homestead. Let’s dive on in and I’ll show you how!

Back Story of Cheap DIY Potato Planters

I recently got my sweet potato slips in the mail because I was silly and didn’t think to grow my own. Oh well, there’s always next year.

So once they arrived I knew I wouldn’t be able to plant them in a permanent potato box outside. We were still getting some cold nights and I didn’t want to take the chance of them dying.

I actually stumbled upon this idea from Lisa Steele’s website, Fresh Eggs Daily.

This idea is actually more popular then I realized. I love this idea so much I knew I had to share this with everyone.

Benefits of Cheap DIY Potato Planters

This first DIY is great if you have chickens or something of the like. This DIY calls for feed bags. Having ducks and chickens myself, I have plenty of these bags. You could also use empty plastic compost bags or if you use wood pellets to heat your home you can use those bags as well.

These options are great if you need something quick and cheap but the ground isn’t an option, this one works great. This idea will also work great if you only have a small porch or balcony to plant on living in the city.

Lets not forget, they save you money since we are using scrap wood and empty grain bags.

Though, once these bags are filled with soil after a couple months you may not want to move them. I only move them in the early weeks, just to keep my plants safe from the cold weather. After that to you can keep them outside in a nice sunny location.

How to Make Grain Bag DIY Potato Planters

Equipment

• Grain bags or something similar
• Scissors
• Old window screens
• Potting soil or top soil
• Compost
• Straw

First thing, grab your grain bag and fold down the top until your about 12 inches from the bottom.

Next place the bag on a flat surface to flatten out and square off the bottom of the bag.

With your scissors cut 4 to 6 holes in the bottom of the bag that are about 1 inch in diameter.

Now cut a piece of your window screen to fit on the inside bottom of your bag.

Now prep the soil you will be using and add that to your bag. You’ll want to add 4 to 6 inches of soil to the bottom of the bag. I used a mixture of top soil, compost and straw.

Once your soil is in place plant your sweet potatoes. It’s recommended to plant one sweet potato plant per square foot, so I’d plant 1 per bag since each bag is roughly 1 square foot.

Water your plants well until their well established, about 4 days is recommended.

Place your planter in a sunny location and keep adding soil as needed.

As your plant grows you will need more soil to cover up the exposed plant leaving the leaves just visible above the soil.

As your soil gets higher to the top of the bag you will need to unroll it as you go.

Once it’s time to harvest you can either cut down the side of the bag or gently dump out the contents onto a tarp so you can save the soil for next year and it makes for easy clean up.

Tip: If you find that your night temperatures will be below 60 degrees its recommended to not plant your sweet potatoes outside. Since these are in a bag with little soil you can bring them inside until the morning when it warms up.

How to make a Wooden DIY Potato Planter

So for this potato planter we used all scrap wood. Just like when we made our DIY Raised Garden Bed, we used scrap wood that my husband was able to find. We made each tower 2 feet by 2 feet and 40 inches tall. Whatever wood you can find will work, the wood listed below is what we were able to find. I just want to give you an idea of what you can use.

Also, I will be planting regular potatoes in these potato towers but you certainly can plant your sweet potatoes in these as well.

Equipment we Used

• Chop Saw
• Screws
• Screw Gun
• Eight 1×6 boards 2 feet in length (you will need more as you keep adding soil over the season).
• Four 2×2 boards 40 inches in length ( you may not need to add this much soil, but it’s good to have extra if need be).

Note: Depending on the wood you are able to find, you may need to pre-drill if it is something that may splinter easily. My husband recommends using a 1/8th drill bit.

Instructions

Place your 2×2 boards vertically with your 1×6 boards placed horizontally at the bottom.

Screw your 1×6 boards to the bottom outside of your 2×2 boards to make a box.

We added a second layer of 1×6 boards to make it deeper for planting the potato seeds.

I used a mixture of top soil and compost with some straw mixed in.

Prep the soil that you will be using in your potato tower.

Fill your potato tower with soil at least 4 inches deep.

Plant your sweet potato slips in your tower, it’s recommended 1 plant per square foot. So for this you should be able to plant 2 per tower.

Keep your planter in a sunny location and well watered but not over watered.

As your plant grows, add more soil to cover the plant, leaving the leaves visible just above the soil.

When the soil reaches the top of the 1×6 boards add on another 1×6 board to the outside on every side of the tower.

At the end of the season all you need to do is unscrew one side to expose the soil and sweet potatoes. I recommend pulling the soil out onto a tarp to easily save the soil to use it next year and make for easy clean up.

Growing Roots on your Sweet Potato Slips

Update on my sweet potato slips, after having them planted for about 4 days I found that the roots on the slips I had not yet planted were growing very well. This reason is due to them being in a jar of water. Now this being my first year planting sweet potatoes I may have not been watering them well enough, it seemed like I was. Instead I chose to gently remove the slips from the grain bag planter until I can get some good roots on them. I will then plant them outside in the grain bags once it is plenty warm enough.

So my plan for next year will be to grow my own sweet potato slips and place them in a jar of water until it has warmed up enough outside that the night temperatures are at or above 60 degrees.

Stay Tuned for Updates on my Cheap DIY Potato Planters

At the end of the growing season I will update everyone on how my sweet potato planters turned out. I am eager to see how many sweet potatoes I get from each plant.

Being Memorial Weekend this would be a great time to build you own Cheap DIY Potato Planter. In New England this is the recommended time to plant your garden outside. Why not give it a try? You could get some delicious potatoes out of them!

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Do you have any tips for planting potatoes? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Planting!

The post Cheap DIY Potato Planters appeared first on Natural Living Homestead.

This DIY raised garden bed is pretty simple to make. The best part is it’s made with 75% scrap wood. My husband and I were able to build it in just a couple hours and get it set up in our front yard. He was actually able to move it by himself 50 feet in one piece to its final location.

Finding Materials for your DIY Raised Garden Bed

We began our new year trying to figure out how we could add some more raised garden beds to our yard. I searched Google and Pinterest for ideas in what we could make for pretty cheap but stay together pretty well with out crumbling after one season.

My husband got thinking and said he was able to get some scrap wood from where he works. There’s a constant supply of wood that they toss in the recycling daily. He thought these would be perfect for a couple raised beds.

We decided to make the beds 24 inches high, 4 feet wide and 8 feet long. Most of the scrap wood that he got would be able to be cut in half for the walls, one being the proper length and the other just an inch or two shorter. Not ideal but it worked and only gave us just a few short pieces on each side.

Making it 4 feet wide is perfect for me. I can then easily reach the middle of the bed without having to lean too far over the bed and compress the soil.

Then having it 8 feet long to give plenty of gardening space without having to put a middle brace to keep it from bowing out.

We did end up buying some 8 foot long 2 by 4 pieces of wood for the framing.

If you would rather not purchase any wood you can take apart a bunch of pallets and make some raised garden beds with them.

Reasons to make a DIY Raised Garden Bed

No kneeling down

If you, like me, have issues kneeling down for long periods of time, certainly a raised garden bed is perfect for you. For whatever reason, kneeling down makes my knees make a good amount of noise when I stand up. Not comfortable at all.

Easier to tend to your vegetables

If you make your raised bed to the height that I made mine it is a lot easier to tend to the vegetables. Weeding will be easier because you won’t have to bend over so far. Another great bonus is that it will be easy to harvest your vegetables. Things like tomatoes and peppers, will be at eye level and you can easily pluck your tomatoes from the vine. So divine!

Protects your plants

Where I live we have a lot of underground and surface springs. This means any vegetables in the ground have a high chance of being washed away if not planted in the correct location. So when we get heavy rains we have streams that pop up around my yard. Then if it gets really bad we will have almost a sheet of water running over parts of our yard.

Also if you have wild rabbits in your area this will keep those cute furry critters from eating your precious vegetables. I’d be surprised to see them jump up into these raised garden beds.

How to make your DIY Raised Garden Bed

Equipment

Table saw

Miter Chop saw

Two by fours 8 feet long (12 boards)

One by fours 22 inches long (about 80 boards)

Decking screws about 2.5 inch length (roughly 200 count)

Electric screwdriver

Tape measure

Pencil/Pen

Directions

Frame out two, 4 foot by 8 foot frames.

Attach vertically your 1 by 4’s on all four sides on the inside. This way the soil pushes the boards into the frame instead of away from it.

We did have a few gaps that we needed to cut some boards to fit, we ripped them down with the table saw.

Along the top on your bed, lay flat a 2 by 4 on each side. This is to give you a nice spot to sit on. This also covers the raw edges of the boards below to prevent it from rotting away too quickly.

We also added some braces to each inside bottom corner with some scrap 2 by 4’s to keep the bed squared.

What to Fill Your Raised Garden Bed With

At the bottom of all my raised beds I put a layer of wood, about 6 inches deep. I have used tree bark and branches from cleaning up my yard. If you do not have any logs available you can also add leaves. You can then top it with some wood chips if you have that on hand as well.

Doing this is a great way to clean up your yard. Doing this will add some bulk to your raised bed so you don’t have to add so much soil. Though the best reason for doing this is that over time this will break down and add some organic compost to your bed and as it breaks down it will give off a little bit of heat.

A couple times I have added cardboard over the branches to hold them down so they don’t poke through the soil.

I was able to contact my local tree removal service to find woodchips to dump in my driveway free of charge.

Another thing you can add to your garden bed is peat moss. I added this to the top layer of my soil and mixed that in well. Then if you want to add an extra boost to your soil you can add compost. Your plants will love you for that.

If your looking for compost you can ask your local dump or water treatment facility if they have any. In my town they have some that you can go pick up.

Tips for making your DIY Raised Garden Bed

• You can line the ground with 1/2 inch or 1 inch metal fencing. This will help to keep any rodents from getting under your raised beds, then making their way into your raised beds. No one wants to find their root vegetables nibbled on by those furry creatures.

• You can also line the inside walls of your raised bed with gardening cloth to keep the wood from deteriorating so fast.

• If you want your raised beds to last many years you can use cedar wood. Cedar wood is naturally rot resistant so this would be a great substitution for regular pine wood.

Have you made your own raised bed before? Do you have any other tips to add to the list? Let me know in the comments below. I love to get your ideas!

Check out my previous post HERE on making soil block seed starters to get your garden started!

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The post DIY Raised Garden Bed appeared first on Natural Living Homestead.

Soil block seed starters are a simple and inexpensive way to get your seeds planted. With this method you can skip those plastic seed cups and trays. Just grab some soil, water and a tray to get them started.

My husband and I have been using a soil blocker for a few years now. I like that they are very simple to use and make very well compact blocks of soil. With each soil block there is a small hole in the top that is made from the soil blocker. This hole is just the right depth to plant most seeds. You can then cover it with a bit of loose soil or like I do, just pull some of the soil from the edges of the block to cover the seeds.

Using soil block seed starters saves so much time and I then don’t need to use the flimsy plastic sheets of seed starting cups. Like these trays below.

I unfortunately didn’t think ahead enough this year and did have to use the plastic seed trays to keep my soil blocks in. It came with the plastic cover so I can have the greenhouse effect for my soil blocks since I do not have a green house at the moment.

Next year I’ll probably switch over to wood trays. This would be roughly a 9 inch by 13 inch board that’s about 1 inch thick with a 1 inch by 4 inch board added vertically to the length of 3 or 4 sides. This will make for a very sturdy tray to hold my soil blocks. Unlike the plastic ones that are flimsy and twist if not held evenly.

Different Size Soil Blockers

There are 3 different sizes when it comes to making soil blocks. There are 1/4 inch, 2 inch and 4 inch.

The 1/4 inch tends to be used more by commercial growers. If your looking to grow a lot in a small space this size would be good for you. Though once the seeds have sprouted they will need to be transplanted sooner. This can either be done in a pot, the ground or put into a 2 inch soil block. This soil blocker will give you 5 blocks at once with a small hole made into the top of each one. Though there are others that can make 4 times that amount of blocks. Like these below.

We went with a 2 inch soil blocker since this is more of a standard size to start your seeds in. You will get four 2 inch soil blocks with this one. This is the size soil block you would transplant your 1/4 inch blocks into. Once your plant outgrows this size, once again you can plant into a larger container, the ground or into the 4 inch soil block.

When it comes to the 4 inch soil blocker it only makes one at a time unlike the other soil blockers where you could get 4 or more blocks.

Peanut butter consistency

When it comes to making the soil blocks you need to make sure that your soil to water ratio is just right. I like to refer to Johnny’s Selected Seeds when it comes to soil block equipment and a quick “how-to” video for this. They recommend a peanut butter consistency when mixing water into your potting soil. If there is too much or too little water your blocks won’t form properly.

How to make Soil Block Seed Starters

Equipment You may need

Potting soil of choice

and of course water

Hand trowel to mix soil (optional)

Gardening gloves (optional)

A large container of choice (I like the rubber feed pans)

Soil blocker of choice

Seed starting trays (wood if you can or plastic)

Directions

To make our soil block seed starters, I used a 2 inch soil blocker.

In a rubber tub I add my potting soil and water and then mix well until I have a peanut butter consistency.

I then take my soil blocker and press it multiple times into the potting soil to press as much soil as I can into each compartment.

Making sure to press firmly onto the bottom of the pan to firmly compact the soil into the soil blocker.

Then I scrape off any excess potting soil that is sticking out from the bottom of the soil blocker.

You don’t want to skip the previous step. This makes sure your soil blocks sit level on your trays.

Grab your seed starting tray and place your soil blocker at one corner and squeeze the two handles together.

It will then push out all your blocks onto your tray neatly with perfect holes in the top of each block.

If your blocks did not form properly, i.e crumbly or soggy, just add them back to your soil container and add water or soil as necessary and then mix well.

Now just continue making your soil blocks for as many as you need.

Once I have all my soil blocks established it’s time to plant your seeds. Since each block has a small hole in the top for the seeds I don’t usually need to do anything more.

Add the seed and cover with soil as your seed packet directions recommend.

If I happen to have a seed that needs to be planted at a 1 inch depth I will take a stick or pencil and make the hole a bit deeper and push the seed down into it.

Seed starter potting soil recipes

There are many potting soil recipes online if you prefer to make your own soil mixtures.

You can add things like peat moss, bone meal, compost, and lime. If the soil you will be planting in is lacking in a nutrient you can add these things to the soil for your soil blocks to help give your plants a boost. Or maybe your planting in containers and don’t want to use commercial potting soil.

I have yet to migrate into that level of gardening, so unfortunately I do not have a potting soil recipe. So at the moment I just use a bag of organic potting soil from my local hardware and that has worked for me thus far.

Do you have a potting soil recipe you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments below.

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