It finally happened. . A while back we stopped in at @tractorsupply to pick up some chicks and feed. . When we checked out, the gal reminded us we could get five free meat chickens with our purchase. I explained while I would LOVE to, Mr. Misty had already put the kibosh on any such idea. . I hope she got a good commission - she was somehow able to convince him that we really needed them and we came home with 5 meat chickens. . That was April. . Typically, meat birds are butchered between 6 and 10 weeks. Our summer was crazy busy and while all our chickens are well taken care of, the meat birds are now past 20 week old. These poor birds waddle when they walk and they look uncomfortable. . We finally found some time, today, butcher one of them. . First, I want to thank everyone who gave me suggestions on how to handle it emotionally. While it was very hard, I was able to stay out during the entire event. I didn’t start sobbing. I didn’t grab the bird and try to run and hide. LOL. . We rigged up an old hazard cone as a “killing cone” and rather than going through the whole plucking ordeal, we decided to skin it out. . That idea actually came from an episode of @alaska_the_last_frontier (we LOVE that program!) where Eivin skinned out one of their birds. . This is the first time Mr. Misty has skinned out a bird - he’s always done it the traditional way. After today’s experience, he HIGHLY RECOMMENDS skinning as its’s much faster and easier. . If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, the rest of the meat birds (as well as some of our older hens who haven’t been laying) will be headed to freezer camp. #meatchicken #freezercamp #farmtofork #growyourown #sustainableagriculture #doyouknowwhereyourfoodcomesfrom #chickensofinstagram #homesteadlife #pnwlife https://www.instagram.com/p/BoidkJylXtF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8vtkxqmf19oh
