The meat chickens are ready to be processed this weekend! We weighed them this morning and they are the perfect size at between 6 lbs-7 1/4 lbs. They should hopefully average around 4.75 to 5.5 lbs after processing. We were shooting for that average 5 lbs size and it looks like we got it.
I am excited, relieved, and proud of our efforts because we didn't even have to feed them longer than the standard 8 weeks either. We've cared for them several times daily for the last 8 weeks, pondered if we are doing things right, if they are gaining at the right rate, etc. If you can't tell already, it feels really good to have them ready on time and the size we wanted!
They are starting to really fill up the movable pen now, the picture is a little deceiving because they all love to be in the sunshine part of the pen in the mornings and they come forward so they look majorly crowded in there. In the night they all huddle towards the back as close as they can to one another. Whenever we move the pen they race to the front where the fresh feed goes in each day.
I am a little apprehensive about processing this weekend because we don't quite have the chicken plucker up to full speed, it might require a little creative use rather than just plopping them in and turning the switch. We might also have to hand pluck them.....which will make it take a little longer. We will see how difficult it is to do it that way. If nothing else this first batch will make us very thankful for a mechanical plucker for our future batches. That is all part of it, learning to use what you have to get the job done the best way you can.
I am very much looking forward to this weekend and learning how to more efficiently process chickens. When I am in town today, I will buy lots of ice so we are sure to be ready. We have a propane stove and a full tank to heat the water for the scalding pots (scalding helps loosen the feathers to pluck easier), several large canner pots for scalding, several 1/2 barrels for chill tanks to get them cooled down quickly after processing, and we have the bags all ready for after processing. Can't wait to have the whole assembly line set up, sanitized and ready to go. We saved just a few chickens for ourselves this batch so we better get all the mistakes out of the way in the first few chickens so all the rest will look nice and pretty for the paying customers.
I will keep you posted on how it all goes. I am sure there is bound to be some humor and mishaps involved!
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