So time has passed. I have had chickens now since the 24th of August. They were born on the 22nd and shipped from Texas to me via the mail. A long ride in a tiny box.They are now about 14 weeks old. They are all getting close to adult size. Still no eggs. I have to wait till around 18 weeks for an average chicken to lay and with it being winter, I will probably have to wait till spring for my first egg.
So a lot has been learned in these 14 weeks of chicken farming. I received 10 chicks and all ten survived. I handled them daily and kept their food, water and enclosure clean. At 6 weeks, I moved them out to their permanent coop. Before I moved them out, I would take them all out every evening and let them play in the pin. I think that this backfired for my training. They were all really good at first allowing me to pick them up. After a week or so of me bringing them in and outside, they changed there minds about me picking them up. I believe I am now seen as the evil women who takes them back to that boring place.
10 chickens, that is a lot of eggs. However, I don't have 10 ladies. I ended up with one rooster among the mix. I named him Gonzo. Gonzo, to my beginner chicken knowledge is a New Hampshire Red. I mistakened him and his lady friends for Buff Orpingtons. So far, he is quite the gentleman. Hopefully once he reaches puberty, he remains a gentleman. Gonzo can be seen walking with me and the dogs. He doesn't actually walk with us. He happily sits in my arms and is carried for a lap or two most every night. All in the fun of training.
Day to day routines continue with the chicks. I realized how much of a commitment chickens can be on a daily basis. They are very easy to feed, water and clean up after.However, you have to rise early to let them out and be home in the evenings to shut them up to avoid predators. Getting up early is not as big as a problem as i had expected, it is the getting home in time to shut them up before dark and having to ask a neighbor to shut them up if we leave for a weekend evening. Makes traveling hard, but can be a great excuse if you are a homebody and don't like to leave your home.
I am a bit of a homebody, but not to a chicken degree. I decided to solve this problem by purchasing an automatic chicken door. Hope to install it at the end of the weekend.
So this weekend brings me to the reason for this post. I got chickens to have fresh eggs. I realized that once they stopped laying, we would have to slaughter them for meat, so new chickens could take their place. Just the cycle of any sustainable farm. We have the opportunity this weekend to butcher 6 chickens that are not our own and keep the meat for ourselves. The chickens are older, so may be tough, but can be used for stew meat if nothing else.
I am unsure how this weekend will effect me. I have never killed, gutted or butchered any animal let alone one that I have handled and looked into the eye prior. I am lucky that my husband is doing the dirtiest of the work. The killing and gutting. My mother and I are de-feathering and butchering. At least this is the plan. I am excited to take this responsible step, but nervous. I am a meat eater. Therefore, I must witness the death of the animal I eat. Many of us have completely disassociated ourselves with the fact that the item on our kitchen table used to breath, eat, drink and live. I find this weekend a time for me to grow and become a more responsible meat eater.
