After about 12 weeks we butcher and process all of them, giving us a great homegrown chicken dinner every two weeks or so.
It's never been enough. We love our own farm raised chicken!
So after our regular fall butchering, we made two big decisions. The first was to double the number of chicks raised for meat from twenty-five to fifty, and the second even more exciting one; TO PAY SOMEONE ELSE TO DO THE BUTCHERING FOR US!
For just $3.00 each they will butcher, clean, and vacuum wrap our birds. Since the plant is about 2 hours from our home we'll drop the birds off early and spend the day in the lovely Amish town of Arthur, until they are ready. It's a great reason for a date day! Sure, it's cheaper to do it yourself but
Two weeks ago, our Freedom Ranger broilers arrived. With fifty little cheeps, we needed a larger brooder for their first home. In true recycling fashion Keith build this jewel all from materials on hand.
Because baby chicks are very vulnerable to cold weather the first couple of weeks, we lined the earth bottom with heavy plastic and then covered that with wood shavings. A heat lamp was hung alongside a temperature gauge . Baby chicks like temps right about 100 degrees the first week or so.
Both sides lift up for ventilation on warm days and the front section will have a removable board placed over it to keep drafts off the babies at night. It's easy to set aside the front board so the chicks can come and go freely as they mature. Below you can see the front board in place.
We've located the little broilers at one end of our soon to be sweet corn garden, with a small area enclosed with...wait for it...chicken wire. My sister visited the other day and commented she had seen chicken wire used for many projects, but never actually for chickens! When the chicks are older and our sweet corn is high enough they can't hurt it, we'll turn them into the rest of the sweet corn garden to do bug and grub control. We'll also remove the brooder and give them other shelter from rain for the rest of the summer. That "other shelter" is still on the drawing board.
I
Congratulations on your chicks! We've been happy with the red rangers and rainbow rangers we've raised, they also make good layers of you are (like me) inclined to keep the prettier ones. Huge brown eggs, some with speckled.
ReplyDeleteNice work with the brooder too!
It seems like anything with "ranger" attached does well doesn't it?
DeleteWhen I had four chickens for eggs, getting 50 chickens for eating was my goal. My other goal was to get someone else to dress them. Since I am allergic to all meat from mammals, this would be necessary. Since chicken wire will not keep out predators, I had to use something heavier. People always asked me why I did not use chicken wire!
ReplyDeleteYes, our chicken wire only keeps chickens inside the fence. To keep predators OUT we relay on our two guard dogs, most specifically our Great Pyrenees Fannie. She is amazing at her job.
DeleteI admit seing the fuzzy baby chicks and knowing they will be dinner one day is a bit disheartening, but as I also enjoy chicken, it's nice to know they will have a nice lifespan at the Poor Farm, Donna. The brooder enclosure was not only inventive but the low cost was even better.
ReplyDeleteI understand Beatrice, which is why we won't eat chicken in a restaurant that has been raised conventionally. It tastes horrible and since we are aware of their horrific life conditions, we can't swallow that either.
DeleteWe raised meat birds once and had Amish people process them for us, but then government regulations dictated that they weren't allowed. Ironically, I live about an hour from a town called Arthur, here in Ontario. There is a rabbit processing plant there. I agree that home grown meat birds taste soooo much better than what you can purchase at the store. Ours ate purchased feed and whatever they wanted to peck at outside. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteFortunately our Amish owned poultry processor is licensed by the state and USDA. Illinois is very strict also about butchering meat for others on your own property, they do "allow" us to do it for our own use. Some folks get around this but selling the birds live (at a higher cost) and then throwing in the processing for free. Too much government involvement once again.
DeleteWe used to have 'genuinely' free range chickens that lived mostly in amongst the hay of an old stone built barn. Every so often a hen would appear with a dozen little chicks following behind her; it was always a surprise.
ReplyDeleteOur chickens are indeed free range having access to our whole farm, but our broilers are contained in our large garden area. Truly selfish reasons this, don't want a possible chicken dinner just crossing the road for no good reason!
DeleteNow that sounds like a plan and to incorporate a date - well done. My hubby and i have a regular weekly date at the Bunnings cafe - its a gigantic hardware store. We discuss what we are after then taking our phones head off in opposite directions (me to nursery and him to electrical usually) and call each other when we are done. Very romantic but after 25 years it keeps us together.
ReplyDeleteI am a big obnoxious planner. Keith is an obnoxious non planner. I've taught him a bit of structure over the years and he's taught me to enjoy things as they come. And, like you, after 25 years, it works for us. He does love it when I plan pie and coffee dates!
DeleteThey are so cute Donna! I think your idea of having someone else take care of the butchering is a good one!
ReplyDeleteThey are! I love watching them rip through the weeds in their pen, seeking out all the worms and bugs. It is amazing what they consume.
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