Come and get-um

Come and get your chickens! We are finishing them tomorrow (nearly today as I write this). The process is as follows for those who have ordered but need more info or details.
If you want to see the processing/butchering feel free to come by in the early morning, we are starting at 7am and have 30 to work through total. There will be a little set-up initially but then the feathers will be flying. For those who are just wanting to pick them up and go, come late morning or early to mid-afternoon. Your birds will be waiting for you in a cool ice water tub by then; clean and ready to be bagged up, weighed, paid for and taken home.
If you have a long drive you might want to bring a cooler, or tub, otherwise just be sure to refridgerate your bird so it gets cool all the way through before you cook it up. If you do not fully cool the bird after processing, the meat will tend to be much tougher and pretty chewy overall, which can detract from the great chicken taste. Also, our birds are pastured so they will have some differences from your typical store bought bird. The first difference is a lot more nutrition and instead of white, the little fat that is on our birds is more yellow due to the consumption of greens in the fields, and exposure to the 'real' sun - go vitamin D. The second thing to note is that due to the difference in 'lifestyle' that these birds have had they will probably taste the best and retain much of this added natural nutrition when cooked slowly on lower heat. We barbequed our birds last weekend, and they turned out fine but all the literature I've read lately is saying a slow cooked natural bird is better than anything one has had before, so I'll pass that along to you and hope you have the chance to enjoy this somewhat rare treat.
Thank you all for your response to the chicken project this summer and please give us some feed back once you've had a chance to enjoy your bird. We will do this again next year if people are still interested and satisfied with the results. I'll probably post something in the early spring again to remind you of it, but would love to know how it went while the taste is still making your mouth water.
Also: On another note, I am looking into scheduling a canning seminar of sorts to occur in the next few weeks if anyone is interested in learning about pressure canning please let me know. So far I have a group of three that might do it and a small group is nice but we could probably have a couple more and still get all our questions answered and a bit of experience. Shoot me a note if you would want to come.
thank you and good night. :)

Growing

Growing ~ my green house is fully constructed now and ready for some dirt... well, first some water, then some power, then some dirt and rocks. I am hoping to figure out how to grow things through out the winter so we might have some fresh vegetables and maybe some fruit this winter and early next spring. After this weekend when the chickens will be finished I will be putting more attention on the garden and then the greenhouse as cooler weather approaches. It is such a nice space to be in even now as bare as it is, I can't wait to fill it with plants.

The results of our Chicken Dinner are in. The processing was not nearly as smelly, nor disgusting as I had braced myself for. It was actually pretty interesting and humane in the sense that death for the chickens was quick and quiet once we figured out the make shift 'killing cone'. Plucking by hand was a bit tedious but it went well and didn't take too long. Once they were ready, Andy and friend Joe carved them up and mixed up a special sauce before we put them on the BBQ. They were about 3.5 lbs in the end and tasty. We are excited to hone our skills with our more experienced friends Nick and Ivan helping next weekend.

If you want a more detailed story let me know, it really was an interesting process. Enjoy the sunshine everyone.

2 Chicken dinners

PHOTO: These are the dinner birds about 2 weeks ago, running around on fresh grass in the chicken tractor, on the cow pasture. The bucket on top keeps them watered, and the trough in the back is for their food. They love getting on new grass 2x or more each day to peck up bugs and tender plants on every square inch. They are much bigger even now.

Tomorrow is the day that two of our delicious and nutritious chickens will meet their end. To sort of test the waters we will be learning to 'process' on them this weekend in preparation for the processing of our whole flock next weekend. If you have not signed up for one, and would like to try a fresh homegrown bird please send me an email or letter or give me a call in the next week, they are ALL going to meet this same fate next Saturday and will end up in my freezer or yours that afternoon. They need to be picked up on the day of slaughter and must be pre-sold (while still alive that is) so get your orders in.

I will post in a few days to let you know how tasty they are going to be as well as the approximate weight you can expect per bird. They are selling for $3/lb. and we are only selling a total of 25 this year since we are still figuring out how much of a market there is for chickens and what it takes to grow them well. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Jam and Green beans

The berries are ready... all over I see the signs for 'U-pick' farms. I hope you are gathering up as much as you have room for and planning to enjoy for another year. My favorite use; besides eating them fresh and ripe, is Jam. If you have never made jam yourself, you are missing out. Home made jam is truly different from what you get at the grocery in so many ways and if you make it yourself you are going to know first hand what you are eating and feeding to your family.
Making jam or jelly is really pretty simple and doesn't take much time, it is relatively inexpensive to start and if you need some help or equipment let me know, maybe we could share. You can also reuse your jars this way as well and save a few more inches of landfill space for some diapers or something. If anyone is interested in making a batch together let me know, some of us are visual/experience type learners, vs. those who just read the package of sure-jell and get it right off the bat. Either way I would love to teach/work together and create more wholesome first hand food and this is a great way to start learning to can.
Also, my mom's green beans are nearly ready... for those of you who have sampled these feel free to share your satisfaction and delight. These are literally what I ask for at Christmas for my present, a case of her canned green beans. They are delicious. My mom has graciously agreed to sell her surplus this year to interested people that want them for canning or just to eat fresh. If you are interested in purchasing some let me know and I'll give you the details and take orders over email.
That is all for now. I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather for a few days.
Jamming,
Susan

The First Post

Hooray! I figured it out... this is easier than I thought, making a post that is... Thank you Tammy for helping me and for this beautiful blog. It is getting late and I've had a busy day working with friend Maureen on the garden so I'll keep this short and sweet.
I want to say thank you to everyone for all of your interest and encouragment. It is always nice to be affirmed when starting a new venture. Your emails and visits have been great. I look forward to learning and growing with many of you.
Next, CHICKENS! Our double breasted broiler birds are growing like crazy and will be ready to go home with you in about 3-4 weeks. We are going to charge $3/lb for this first batch which is our 'cost' to produce them at this time. They are expected to be about 4lbs each after they are 'processed'/butchered. There will only be 25 of them for sale so don't wait to get your order in.
That is all for now. I'll try to get some pictures up soon of the garden, cows, Layers and broilers so you can all see how things are growing. :)