meat birds

[Guest guest]

Well, my first crop of meat birds is in the freezer. I've had

laying hens for two years but never raised my own meat. I couldn't

find any locally raised chicken that I was happy with. It wasn't

really pastured, just " free-range " , i.e., in nice barns, not cages,

but never outside. So I got 25 White Wyandotte roosters in May and

now they've gone off to the big pasture in the sky, leaving their

bodies in my freezer. I know that these birds had wonderful lives, an

acre and a half of woods and meadows to run around on, all the bugs

they could eat etc. But it's been kind of intense. I'm haunted by

their faces. I didn't do the butchering myself, but took them to a

local guy who charges $1.20/bird to do the deed. I'm assuming this

must get easier, or no one would do it. I know I've done the right

thing by assuring they had good lives with the proper food and

environment but it's still really hard. It's made me very conscious

to give thanks before eating. Or to give thanks in general. My life

depends on so much death, and the whole experience brings it home in

a pretty profound way.

Any insights from those of you who've done this would be

appreciated.

The meat tastes really good, though there's not as much breast

meat because these were an heirloom breed rather than the cornish x

rock hybrids.

I have a second batch which will be ready in October. They're

still at the cute fluffball stage right now. The one thing I don't

feel great about is having to take the birds to slaughter. I had to

put them in crates and then drive them to the--what--butcher? killer?

Is there a nice word for this? I'd so much rather that their last few

hours weren't spent cooped up and scared. I know I should kill them

myself but I just can't do it. So I'm trying to find someone who

would do it, here at my place. Here's the deal: I'll raise them, you

kill them. We can split the cost of the organic feed. Meadow and bugs

are free thanks to mother earth. I have plenty of space for more

chickens and if we do a few batches over the course of each summer

we'd have enough meat for the year. Obviously you have to live close

enough to me (western Massachusetts) to be able to get here when D-

Day arrives. I figured I'd ask on this list first, since you all

understand the importance of pasture-fed meat. Email me privately if

you want to discuss it.

Lierre