Freezer Camp

Shortly before moving into our new house this summer, we started talking about the possibility of raising our own chickens for meat. Although, I grew up vegetarian and I could go months without eating meat and not feel like I'm missing out, it has become quite clear that I'm alone in that sentiment....my house full of boys does not agree that tofu will suffice!

So, we embarked headfirst on another chicken adventure....thinking we had already done chicks once with the layers, so it should be easy! (Someone really should have told us the vast differences between the two, lol!)

We went in with another local farm and ordered our broilers (meat chickens), which were a Cornish Rock Cross. We ordered 15 of them, thinking it was better to start small this year. We set up a new brooder for the chicks - a 4x4 plywood box, lined it with a waterproof drape and shavings (with the goal of just lifting it out and dumping everything into compost every day or two and then putting down fresh shavings), hung a heat lamp, and filled waterers and feeders.

We brought home the broiler chicks and placed them in their new temporary home....a few hours later, we went out to check on them and found one of them had not made it. We were very disappointed and kind of worried that the rest of them would be sick, but quickly chalked it up to most likely be a genetic issue. Cornish Cross can be predisposed to heart issues, plus the little ones were only a few days old and there may have just been something wrong with that one from the time it hatched. Within the first week or so, we learned they were growing at such a fast rate, they would need to move outside - and SOON!

We learned that the Cornish Cross chicks grow a lot faster, eat a LOT more (easily 2-3 times what our layers eat), and, somehow (probably all that extra food), they seemed to be so much messier! We used to spot clean the brooder for the layers (who were actually in a smaller area as well) every day or two and clean the entire thing a couple of times a week....not so much with the broilers. We were cleaning that brooder out every day, sometimes twice a day, and the last few days I could barely stomach the smell....ugh! There literally was SO. MUCH. POOP.  We thought we would be prepared after working in the hospital for 9 years and being parents for the last 5...apparently, we were mistaken, lol! In addition to eating so much more, we kept reading that you actually need to restrict their access to food because, if food is left out free choice, they are known to overeat and cause significant health issues, including death. (#Murica)

So, we quickly got to work on a moveable chicken tractor. We chose a chicken tractor so that we could relocate it fairly easily every day (or a few times a day) and give the broilers access to fresh grass, dandelions and bugs. You need at least 2 square feet per chicken, and we really wanted to give them more than that, plus have the ability to have more birds next year, so we decided to build a (roughly) 8x10 tractor. They ended up being just a little spoiled this year at almost 6 square feet per bird....so much better than the commercial chicken farms (most sources say they only have about 0.8 square feet per bird)!

Here is Farmer John's account of what we (well, okay...he) did:

• I browsed the web for a bit and found a tractor that was simple and easy to build. My projects sometimes get away from me (Palace de Pollo, stay tuned) and I didn't want to spend months building the tractor. I gathered most of the supplies from my Coop scrap pile. The design is fairly basic - 2x4's, 2x2 cedar for the door frame, simple plywood door, conduit for hoop style roof, chicken wire (or welded wire if you have it), and a tarp to cover and keep the weather out. I used some leftover screws for the base and the door, and some zip ties for the wire and the tarp. I chose cedar for the door frame because it weathers well and won't warp easily. 

The start of the tractor....8 ft long 2x4's on the ends and 10 ft long 2x4's on the sides. 

Apparently, our dog, Hazel, thought she better try it out, lol!

We kept the birds inside for about 3-4 weeks while we got the tractor ready, but truth be told, they should have moved outside earlier (like around 2 weeks)...and next year, if we do them again, they will!

The chicks outside enjoying their new home while the boys help attach the tarp for shade.

In just 8 short weeks, the birds were ready for processing (we got the chicks the week of July 4 and the went for processing the weekend of Labor Day). The local farm we got the chicks with was processing the birds at a very reasonable rate and you could help as much as you felt comfortable with.

The finished product ready for the freezer!

All of our Cornish Cross are in the freezer currently. This coming weekend, since we had such an over-abundance of roosters, they will be sent to hang out with their friends at freezer camp...but until then, they are enjoying life eating yummy veggie scraps, fresh grass and bugs every day. 

Although the process was not always pretty, we now have a freezer stocked with several chickens (and a few more coming soon) to help us through the winter...and, even this tofu loving girl has to say...they are pretty tasty! 

Why?

"Why would you want to raise your own chickens for meat when you can just head to the store?"

That's a question we have gotten quite often, and we wanted to share the many factors that went into our decision with you.

We want:

• Our boys to know the hard work that goes into growing your own food and to be able to taste the deliciousness when fruits and vegetables and meats are super fresh.
• To use it as an opportunity for learning and to teach the boys how plants grow and what it takes to raise animals.
• Our boys to understand what it means when you choose to eat meat. We want them to know there is more to it than just grabbing a chicken or a turkey from the freezer at the grocery store. At 3 and 5, we are keeping it super simple right now, but we want them to realize that if you choose to be an omnivore, it requires raising other living things for the purpose of eating them. 
• To know what we are eating, how it was grown or raised, and what it has been fed or treated with. Avoiding GMO's and non-essential chemicals is a huge reason for this. 
• To be more self-sufficent and be able to rely on ourselves for a large portion of our food.
• And, let's be honest - a huge reason for growing and raising our own food is cost savings. We have two growing boys, who love to eat....and, as they get older, I'm sure that isn't going to change! They already, at 3 and 5, can easily eat as much (or more) than me...we are soooo doomed when they are teenagers! 

So, that's why we chose to raise meat chickens....but why cornish cross?  Well, they are one of the most widely available meat chickens and from everything we'd read the best choice for our first year. After our first experience with them, we definitely learned a few things along the way:

Pros

• Grow quickly (super quickly actually...we got them right around July 4 and they were processed the weekend of Labor Day).
• Tasty! The boys agree! 

Cons

1. They are not smart. Seriously. I know not every animal can be the brightest, but they are really lacking in the intelligence department. I mean, they were terrified when we gave them yummy treats like our other chickens (what chicken in it's right mind would run away from watermelon or lettuce?!?)
2. They eat so. much. food. Our birds had the ability to forage on grass, but did they? No, of course not (see number 1).
3. Poop. They poop. A lot. I know, I know...chickens do that, right? Yeah, well...think of how much any normal living being should defecate and multiply that by about 1,000 and then you're close. Almost. Apparently, that's what happens when you eat so much...
4. They are predisposed to cardiac failure, ascites and other health issues. We lost 2 overall out of 15....a 13% loss. We hear average is about 30% loss, so not too bad. 

So, would we raise them again? The jury is still out... We will definitely raise meat chickens again, but whether or not we will raise cornish cross is still up in the air.