Mine is 22 lbs. You do have normal size for a BBB. I wait until the last available hatch, which comes in July here, to get my poults. We try to time it so that they're slaughtered at 20 weeks. That gives us a few 16 pound hens, several birds from 18-22 and a few toms that are 26-28 pounds. The largest birds usually aren't taken. Our customers want them from 18-20 lbs, especially since farm raised birds have so much more meat per pound than store bought. Store bought birds are typically injected with fluid. That adds weight without adding substance. We cut our large birds into pieces. The breast is used for roasting and the leg/thigh for soup. I don't like to have them larger than 20 pounds but some are always faster growers. They get limited commercial food and have to forage for the rest. I think I'm done raising commercial birds. I'll see how early and many poults my bourbon reds hatch next year. If I have four hens. If they each raise only five or six I'm all set. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi, everyone! I hope everyone is having a great day!!! I am incredibly busy, but just wanted to post at least once today! Thank you Tracy - I am SO happy to hear that you all loved the cranberry jam stuff! I have to tell you I made your homemade cranberry sauce yesterday, and my hubby LOVED it! He and I were the only ones that ate it - we always are! But, he went on and on about how it was way better than canned, and way better than any other homemade anyone has tried! Then, the stuffing! Girl - that was wonderful!! I did add a half pint of mushrooms that I canned a while back, and chopped them up very small so the kids wouldn't really notice them. That went really well too! Dave said it was the best ever, and my brother-in-law loaded half his plate with it! William is the only kid here that is a stuffing eater, and he loved it too! (So did I!!!) I am getting close to finished. Not really, but it's nice to say! I have all the chocolates and candy and cookies packaged. Just have to cut and package the fudge yet. Make labels and stick them to all the jars of preserves. Make the cocoa mix, muffin mix and pancake mix, and make all those labels and package them. Umm, make an order form and price sheet, make an inventory, and I'm sure much more, but that's all I can think of right now. I am not going to bring the cupcakes I'm afraid - I've just run out of time to finish those. I got some baked, but I don't have time to make frosting and make the decorations, so hopefully some people will check out my website, where I will post some of those soon, I hope! Anyway, gotta get back to work - I want some sleep tonight! : ) Hugs, Becki

Awwww, Klick, I am soooo glad you liked your box of pampering goodies! That file sponge is the kind that is for calluses on the feet. I picked one up for me and started using it and it works wonders! I have nearly gotten rid of all my rough patches from barefootin' this summer! LOL! Should have gotten one ages ago. My feet don't ache so much now! I may have worn it out already! I knew those cookies wouldn't last long! LOL! Whew! Glad I figured out how to pamper! Happy Bathing! I know how bad you want to take a good soaker! Had surgery on my wrist a few years ago and couldn't do the full shower thing for a while! That first one was a good long one after all the sponge washing! Phfltbtt! Back at you bunny! I seriously worried that I would blow it! I never do any of this stuff for me and haven't the faintest clue as how to go about it except for taking a break and talking to you guys! April, I am so sorry that she has Mono. I had it when I was 15. No, not from boys! Sharing drinks in highschool is what did it to me. All girl's highschool. My throat was totally miserable. I couldn't eat or drink anything. The doctor recommended Chloraseptic spray and it numbed my throat really well. I was finally able to have smoothies and slimfast after that. Becki, I meant to take my camera with me today! I keep forgetting to do that. I still have some desserts left so maybe I will put a little plate together tomorrow and snap a shot of it. The raspberry marble cheesecake was so yummy! The ginger cookies were a huge hit! The fruit platter looked really nice. The other stuff was pretty basic: brownies, chocolate chip cookies and plain cheesecake. We did 2 non-alcoholic punches, coffee and tea. The table looked really nice and the group was very happy with everything. All in all a good day. Got another booking yesterday for December 21st. This will be a company holiday luncheon. So things are going well. I am glad to hear that Lilly is feeling better! I think you are right about it being a virus. Fevers don't usually accompany bad food and the vomiting usually happens within 45 minutes or so of ingesting bad food. Trust me, I gave Ted bad turkey for lunch when he was 7. Within an hour of lunch he was hurling his brains out. Poor buddy!

This post makes me nostalgic for my very first CF post about six years ago. I was making a TURKEY for the first time for my family (being a vegetarian but finally deciding to bite the bullet and make turkey to make everyone happy) and also doing an organic free range bird which I was afraid would be dry owning to NOT being injected and also not being "fattened up" so to speak. Well let me tell you, that was the best turkey we ever had! And I did nothing out of the ordinary. One of the main reasons it was so good, IMHO, is because it was relatively small, (12 lbs for my family of four at the time), so I didn't have the trouble of the different types of meat getting done at different times like you might with a turkey with a hugely inflated breast. We also liked the nice mix of dark and white meat. And the meat as a whole is just so much more flavorful. Brine if you like brining, but I can't be bothered. I just salt and pepper lightly inside and out, stuff lightly with onion, apple and fresh or dried herbs, (apples instead of celery for super picky dad. Use more fresh herbs than dry, so if you're going to use dry, cut the herb measures by 1/2 to 1/3 if using dried herbs, depending on how touchy your family is about herb tastes, lol!), raise up with a roasting rack OR use a line of carrots for ease and flavor. I used the half high heat half regular heat method, although either one seperately will work too. I tend to be kind of Buddhist so I was seeking the middle way. :) Here's the recipe. I don't start breast down and flip. It might make a SLIGHT difference, but to me not worth the trouble. Also I didn't baste it nears as much as the recipe says. I only basted the last hour. You may have to tent the bird with aluminum foil if you find the wing tips browning too much or too fast. Herbes de Provence Roast Turkey Serves 12. Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Ingredients: 1 fresh or thawed frozen turkey, about 16 lb. (Adjust roasting time for smaller birds) 1 yellow onion, quartered 2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch lengths 3 or 4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs 2 to 3 Tbs. herbes de Provence Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 4 to 6 Tbs. (1/2 to 3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted Directions: Let the turkey stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Do not leave the turkey at room temperature longer than 1 hour. Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 425F. Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey and reserve for making gravy, if desired. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place the onion, celery, parsley and 1 Tbs. of the herbes de Provence in the body cavity, and season with salt and pepper. If desired, truss the turkey with kitchen twine. Brush the turkey with some of the melted butter. Sprinkle with the remaining herbes de Provence and season with salt and pepper. Place the turkey, breast side down, on a buttered roasting rack in a large roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes, basting with some of the remaining butter after 15 minutes. Using 2 pairs of tongs or heat-resistant kitchen gloves or mitts, turn the turkey breast side up and reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Continue roasting, basting with the remaining butter and pan juices every 15 to 20 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast, away from the bone, registers 165°F, and into the thigh, 175°F. Total roasting time should be 3 to 3 3/4 hours. (LESS for a smaller bird). Transfer the turkey to a warmed platter, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for about 20 minutes before carving. Here's a link to the recipe I used as a guideline. There are a TON of great recipes on the Williams and Sonoma Web site. I use it every year at the holidays and it has never steered me wrong.