Broilers!

     This summer we decided to grow our own broilers (chickens used for meat). Why? We want to eat chicken that has never received antibiotics, vaccines, or growth hormones. We want to know that our meat birds live comfortably; that they are able to walk around, forage, scratch in the grass, and eat all the crickets and bugs they choose.  We want to know that they have been living in the out-of-doors and receiving fresh air and sunshine daily. 
     That is why, in September, we ordered our first Cornish X hens.  The portable shelter that we made for them assured that they had shelter from rain, access to sun, room to exercise, and plenty of grass and bugs to eat. We moved this pen everyday in order to provide clean grass for them to eat. At the end of processing day, we had roughly 88 pounds of fresh, clean chicken for our freezer. 
    Here are a few pictures of the chicks as they grew. 

a few days old

The shelter gave them plenty of room to eat and exercise. They were moved to fresh grass daily.

a few weeks old

The birds stayed healthy and active; all birds flourished.

Friends loaned us this plucker for processing.

We were also thankful to have access to this scalder. It was a good size for the job we had.