Early one April morning, I got a call from the post office: the chicks had arrived! (We bought Red Broilers from Cackle Hatchery and they arrived in excellent shape.)
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| It was a very exciting day! |
It didn't take long for the birds to outgrow their digs on first a ration of chick starter and then 18% Layer Pellets. While we believed this was necessary in order to keep them from growing too quickly, next year we'll use 20% Meat Bird Grower.
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| A week before butcher day, the birds are looking good! |
Butcher Day Arrives
Perhaps the best thing about farm life is it truly is a family affair.
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| While we had lots of help throughout the day, basically there were three families with children who did all of the butchering. I love to see children enjoying the work of the farm. |
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| Our youngest girls wrangled chickens when no other kids wanted to. The one in the red apron specialized in roosters with a bad attitude. |
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| Mother teaching son the ropes. This is the other family that raised the bulk of the chickens that we butchered that day. |
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| Many hands make light work - and working together makes for happier work. I don't know if you can see all of the smiling faces in this picture but, truly, hard, messy work doesn't have to be miserable - if your attitude is right. |
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| The kids got in on every part of the action - including the part I find the most hard to take. |
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| The boys took over the killing cones for a while. Both 9yo Jacob & 15yo Will learned the necessary, if not pleasant, skill. |
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| When there was a lull in the action, the chicken wranglers would be called from their respective duties to round up more chickens. |
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| While the automated plucker did a fine job, just before the birds went into the chill tank, the kids made sure that all pin feathers were gone. The pin feather pluckers ranged in age from 4 to 7. |
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| A little bit of the end result. |
After nearly 10 hours, all 140 birds were bagged and chilled. Here's what we learned from raising and butchering chickens this year...what we would do again, and what we wouldn't.
What Worked Well:
1. We liked the birds from Cackle Hatchery and would order them again. Our neighbors ordered theirs from Strombergs and they liked theirs as well.
2. I loved the tractor that The Cowboy made. I could even move it on my own. Very nice!
3. The time of year was just right - we got the birds in April and butchered in June.
4. We liked the 10 week birds. The neighbors had 12 week birds and they were, generally, slightly larger than ours (ours averaged a bit over 3lbs each and theirs averaged about a pound heavier), but I think that had more to do with feed.
5. We let our birds "relax" for 48 hours before freezing them. We just kept them chilled in ice chests - with ice replaced often - until ready to freeze. This resulted in a wonderful, soft, texture.
What We Will Change Next Time:
1. While our birds grew fine, the neighbors used a 20% protein feed (as opposed to our 18% feed) and they did have larger birds overall. Their birds were 12 weekers and ours were 10 weeks old, but I think the difference in size had more to do with the greater amount of protein in the feed.
2. Fifty birds is the most I would put in our sized chicken tractor as a big part of the reason we raised these birds was because the commercial industry standard is inhumane. I think putting more than 50 or 60 in our sized tractor wouldn't be comfortable for the birds. Additionally, we were wiped out after butchering just 140 birds - and I don't think I'd care to increase that number.
3. We didn't get our birds out on pasture as early as we intended as we still had the chicken tractor to build when they arrived. Next time we will get them out as soon as they are big enough to be out on pasture. I think some would have been more vigorous foragers had they been introduced to the field as soon as possible.
So, there you have it...our experience with meat chickens, 2014.
Shared at:
Homesteader's Blog Hop
Homestead Barn Hop
Tuesdays with a Twist
Maple Hill Hop
Butchering must have been in the air this weekend. We spent out Saturday doing the same thing! We didn't have as many helpers as you had but it still was a family affair and sure made us feel good that job is done for another year. I have a hard time butchering, but it sure is nice knowing exactly what my chickens ate and that while they lived with us they free ranged and lived like Kings and Queens.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Tracy - it is nice to know that the meat you eat lived well and died humanely. I don't mind butchering day (but I don't do the killing - that would be hard) and I actually like the whole barn-raising type feel to the day...but I'm sure glad when it's over. Congratulations on getting yours in the freezer!
DeleteI'm so glad to see this process. I don't know if I could participate, but I applaud you for raising the chickens so humanely and doing your own butchering. Thank you for sharing this valuable post on this week's Maple Hill Hop! We hope to see you again next week!
ReplyDelete