There's an odd sound permeating the farm today.... the sound of silence. No more rooster fights, chicken yelps, and general unrest that is the inevitable result of 6 roosters in a small coop, battling for supremacy. After 3 weeks of searching, we have finally found someone to butcher our chickens.
I suppose this may seem a bit of a morbid post for some, but it is a reality, a big reality, around here, even a bit of a disturbing reality, and so it is important for me to talk about. We made the choice to raise our own organic chickens, so that we could guarantee a healthy life for them, and be sure that they are chemical- and cruelty-free. We thought we would just slaughter them when the time came, but for us, it was easier said then done. I guess we just didn't have the stomach to do it. Call us wimpy, but it was true....
So we started asking around and had the darnedest time finding someone who processes chickens. We kept turning up empty leads. Cows, pigs, yes... chickens, nope. Finally I thought to call Belle Feed, where we buy our chicken grower and scratch, and they sent us to Homer Skinner in Gobles. And sure enough, when we called Mr. Skinner this morning, he said to bring the chickens on over, he could take care of them today. In fact, he said that it was all but a miracle that our 12-week old broilers were still alive. Due to their enormous size, he said they should have been killed before 8 weeks, because that is when they start having heart attacks and dying off. I guess we had some happy, lucky chickens.
So how does one exactly "bring over the chickens", we wondered? With some quick thought, Alex manufactured a plywood door for our covered trailer, spread out a layer of hay on the floor, and plopped the chickens in there. Two of our chickens were enormous, and though they didn't put up too much of a fight, Alex had to do the chicken catching and carrying. I just opened and closed the gate (still an important job, right?? :)
Well, that's a big weight off my shoulders. The littlest rooster had been getting beaten up so bad, we had to isolate him, but the bigger roosters just moved on to the next smallest guy to pick on. They would literally jump on his back, and start attacking his head and neck. It was terrible. I learned a lot about chicken psychology these past few weeks. When one of us came around, especially Alex, we became "the dominant rooster", but as soon as we left, Speckles was back at it, picking on the little guy. And when we isolated Speckles, the next biggest rooster just stepped in and became the bully. There was no way around it. You simply cannot have 6 roosters living together. Men!!
So in the end, Speckles actually got to stay. Though he was the local bully, we figured he would be fine with only the 4 hens to hang out with. But really, he was just too hard to catch, since he is a fit and trim Aracauna (not a waddling, obese broiler) and he can actually run and fly. So Speckles gets to stay. And I get to stop worrying about the underdog (or under-rooster, I suppose), and start thinking about dinner....
Just found your blog. Love it! After reading B.Kingsovler's book, I'm looking into the hobby farm life. Thanks for your insights! I'm not sure I could butcher a chicken!
Posted by: Jennifer | August 20, 2008 at 04:52 PM