The Sky is Falling! The Chicks Are Coming!

Our first foray into raising meat chickens is officially underway.  We ordered 25 Cornish broiler hens from Meyer Hatchery.  We've read a lot of good things about them.  Cute little peeps:

Photo from MeyerHatchery.com

One reason the sky is falling is that the brooders haven't been set up.  One of them is up in the attic, full of remote-control cars & stuff that the last renter left. It's one of those huge plastic tubs.  The other is a 50 (or is it 75?) gallon aquarium that we've used with great success in the past.  I've only ever brooded 6 chicks at a time, so this is going to be interesting.

And although we do have brooder space for them, their pen isn't built yet.  Tomorrow we go to Lowe's with a materials list and Jeff's DD214 in hand; supposedly veterans get 10% off of everything. 

Of course, then we have to build it.  We have to cable tie the (invisible) 1/2" hardware cloth to the sides and top.  We estimate somewhere between 100 and 150 ties.  This build should be a rip-roaring joyride.  Me + Jeff + pipe + glue = lots of "oh, shit!".  Thanks to www.pvcplans.com for the plans! It's a chicken tractor (we'll be mounting the invisible wheels on the back) so there's no floor.  The girls get to peck at bugs and eat grass all day. Assuming they're interested; meat birds are lazy, lazy!  This is what an eat-poop-sleep machine looks like a week or so before slaughter:

Photo from MeyerHatchery.com

We can't sell the meat; these are for our freezer.  We have some practice with slaughtering so we shouldn't have any trouble setting up an area for it.  Once we've processed the birds, here's what we get:

Photo from finecooking.com

Mmmmm.  And by the way - you raise your own chickens, they taste like CHICKEN, not that bland stuff you buy at the grocer's that's been frozen-thawed-refrozen who knows how many times.

I think I'll go fix a chicken salad sandwich.