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Our quest to know our food and how it was raised and fed has come to the end. At least paritally. We took our first batch of Cornish Cross meat chickens to the processor to become dinner. Hard day to say the least.
Amazingly we did not lose any before we delivered them to the dinner making place. Usually the standard 10% is lost prior to ever making it to process weight. I don't know if we are good at it or just got lucky with the chicks we got but we got 51 and still had 51 until yesterday.
Doyle built some cages to transport them in. The poultry processor is a little over an hour away and we got an early appointment to beat the heat. We caught them and loaded them into the cages we built and made a little shade for them. I really did not want to go with him but he needed a direction reader as we haven't been there before. We took 20 this first time and need to build a third cage when we take the other 31 down.
I think I will sit out the next visit. I actually stayed in the truck the whole time. Doyle said the place was brand new and very clean inside. All stainless steel and concrete with a quick and humane kill. I still felt awful all day long. I really am rethinking this "know my food source" stuff. I know they lived a better life than in a huge place where they are kept in 8" square cages for a 13" square bird but I still struggled. I must admit the coward's way is to know it only as it comes from the store and I kind of like it that way. This was not the cheaper way to go. I figure we have $10 into each bird start to finish but since 31 are yet to finish I am not sure just yet. But cost wasn't the point, the healthy, chemical and medication free food was. I hope they taste good. If I can eat them.
In this picture you can see that this bird dressed out at a little over 6 pounds. They all came between 5.5 and 6.5 pounds. The intake man at the processor said that our birds were in excellent shape and were clean and well kept. That made us feel good. We never were able to leave the house during this endeavor as these birds drank 25 gallons of water every day. It has been a long 9 weeks and we still have a week or two to go. Is it all worth it? I don't know yet. I will let you know how they taste when I finally get up the nerve to eat one. I won't waste them, that would be sacrificing what they did for us, but it may take me a week to actually cook one. I am proud of me for not crying but I still feel bad. I will get better with this but I won't be raising pigs for dinner any time soon.
Oh my goodness. That would be very hard. I give you a high five for doing it though. Who knows what we are putting into our bodies with the meat that we buy.
ReplyDeleteMichelle
You are right, it is hard. But just keep focusing on the good life your birds had -- so much happier than industrial chickens, and the meat will be healthier for you, too. And delicious!
ReplyDeleteI took my old laying hens in to the processor a few weeks ago, to make room for my new chicks. It was not easy, but we decided we needed to do it to be respectful of the birds. Dan didn't even want me to blog about it.
I made stock, as they were clearly old hens, they were small and very tough. The stock was amazing! It made 10 quarts, which I pressure canned. I hope you can come to eat and enjoy your chicken. Kudos to you for making the effort to know your food.
Ali
Hi Heather~~ Thank God the PETA people aren't reading this. :) I could feel your sadness. It made me think of Laura Ingalls and her family and how it must have been second nature for them to slaughter animals for the sake of sustenance. Sometimes I don't know if humanity has evolved or devolved. I think compassion for animals is a good thing but it's also good, like you said, to know where our food comes from and what's in it. Such a dilemma. I'm guessing that your chickens will taste far superior to the imprisoned at the Guantanamos of the chicken world (Tyson, Foster Farms, etc.) I look forward to your critique.
ReplyDeleteYou're very brave Heather, but I think you have a lot of company. I've talked to many people thru the years who will raise their own beef or whatever only to take it in and NOT take the same animal home. I suspect after you eat the first one and realize how good it is, it will be easier. :-)
ReplyDeleteAs for our chicks, I don't trust them in the yard alone yet. I keep them inside a chicken wire holding pen and let them enjoy the grass and sunshine and wind. I've been letting them enjoy the chicken coop (almost finished) also; where I can trust them for longer periods unsupervised. I think they're ready for the coop and to get out from under "mom's" arm!
Heather, you have certainly done a good job raising healthy chickens and letting others have a chance to share them. I guess, farewells and letting go is part of life. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteWow! I understand that this must be difficult, but I really admire what you have done! What an amazing bounty of clean food you have provided for your family! I cannot wait till we are in the position to do what you have done. Kudos to you! and please do report back with how it tastes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for you comment on my blog! Porcupine races huh? Doesn't get much better than that!
ReplyDeleteI too felt sad reading this. I'm sure I would be going through exactly what you are. Being an animal lover can't make it any easier but then we have to eat too and why not have your own healthy you know what went into it food.
ReplyDeleteWe buy a beef every year from a co worker of Bobs and we know exactly what it was fed and love the taste of it. Of course I didn't shake his hand or get to know him - it's gotta be hard.
Smart move taking them to the proccessor. You'd have felt a lot worst having to do them in yourself.
ReplyDeleteMy wife wanted to do the whole 9 yards and we ended up with some birds over 20 weeks old because she didn't really have the heart to kill those she named. Now we have a lifetime supply of chicken flavored gum.
Hang in there Heather. That had to be a hard couple of days. I agree about the pigs. I'm sure they'd become more of a family pet than a family meal.
ReplyDeleteDo you have laying hens? I'd really like to get a couple.
The realities of where meat comes from is one of the main reasons I'm a vegetarian. For me, it's just not worth it. That said, I have a great deal of respect for meat eaters who do go through the process of bearing witness to where their food comes from. If you're going to eat meat, I think you're probably going about it in the most ethical way and I think it's really healthy for you to have participated in the experience.
ReplyDeleteHow fortunate you are to have that processing plant so close by. I didn't mind growing chickens for meat but that part, well....let's just say it wasn't very pleasant.
ReplyDeleteit was sad enough seeing the photo of the bird and then the package of chicken! well, i hope they taste good. i'll continue to keep fooling myself... you are doing a good thing.
ReplyDeletethats pretty cool though. i can see it being rough- probably would be for me as well- but they had a much better life than most chickens and will feed you well.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read Temple Grandin's work? Her last book has a whole chapter on chickens -- Doyle's description of the slaughter plant should in fact greatly reassure you.
ReplyDeleteI've killed my own poultry and it isn't lots of fun. Perhaps if it doesn't bother you you should begin to worry. Facing up to where your meat comes from, providing these birds a MUCH better life and swift, humane death, is better than pretending supermarket chicken grows in plastic packages.
Sniff-sniff! That has got to be soooo hard (at least for me). I love animals too much to know that they are going to the plant processor for meat. Reminds me of the movie "Babe". But we all have to survive and this is part of the cycle.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard...but YOU KNOW THEY WERE RAISED right! We hunt, and we harvest deer and turkeys. We eat them, we live off of them. It is a cleaner meat, with no fat. I know what they ate, and I know that they had no steroids in them.
ReplyDeleteBravo for growing your own chickens from start to finish! As a vegetarian I applaud your ability to see it through, enjoy your roast chicken. I bet they'll be deeeelish and they're definately well deserved!
ReplyDeletePS. re: the 10% loss in transport. From what I've read on factory poultry farming, the breed of chicken and their living conditions play a huge factor in transportation deaths. Perhaps because you had such happy healthy chickens they were not at all stressed prior to their transport to the processing facility?
ReplyDeleteYou are doing a good thing for your family. It's hard but if you are going to eat meat it's better to know where it comes from. You have raised them in a good environment and it sounds like they were processed humanly. I eat meat and wish I could do this sort of thing -because I know it's so much healthier, but I can't - I'm a wimp. You are brave and kudos to you! -Jackie
ReplyDeleteI'm very proud of you! Like Victoria said, it might be easier once you realize how good they are. ;)
ReplyDeleteI haven't commented much on your chicken posts, but I've sure learned a lot. And thanks for admitting that it wasn't necessarily cheaper per bird. That helps me understand why Mr. Sorry and I pay so much for organic chicken.
ReplyDeleteBut you must tell us how they taste when you get to that bittersweet milestone. My Fa grew up on a farm and won't eat chicken now because he can taste the chemicals. I'm the skip-generation of Midwest farmers who butchered everything (wings or hooves) and yet I have difficulty harvesting my strawberries and tomatoes. Damned yuppies. LOL
I've been thinking about your post and I just wanted to you to know how proud I am of you. Sounds funny coming from a (relative) stranger, but I am. Great job!
ReplyDelete