CHICKENS
This year I am raising meat chickens for the first time. I applied to be Animal Welfare Approved and they approved me for my humane raising practices which is fantastic. My laying hens were approved earlier this Spring and I thought it made sense to get the meat birds signed on as well.
I have had 3 batches of 50 birds and the final batch is almost ready to process. I thought for the first year I would do a small experiment and compare 2 breeds for taste and ease of rearing. The first breed I chose was the Freedom Ranger which I am familiar with from my time helping on Kinderhook Farm. They are beautiful birds, relatively easy to rear on pasture and they taste delicious…of real chicken. The second breed I chose was the Silver-barred Cockerel which I know because my friend Courtney of Highland Farm in Chatham raises them. They are slightly smaller as a rule than the Freedom Ranger but also taste delicious and take around 10-12 weeks to get big enough to process. The aim is to get them to a sale weight of 4-5 lbs with a few in the 3 lb and in the 5 lb plus range.
The birds arrive as day old chicks in the mail and they are raised in a brooder in my chicken coop for about the first 4 weeks. When they are established and doing well they get the chance to go in and out of the coop to explore the outdoors. They then move outside to the cassitas at the far end of the garden where they can roam in the grass and have shelter. shade, food and water until they are 10-12 weeks old when they are big enough and old enough to process. The longer growing period of these types of birds mean they will be much more flavorful and have a slightly bigger ratio of dark meat to white meat than regular supermarket chickens have. They actually taste of chicken and this huge flavour difference and the fact they are raised humanely is why we do this.
The whole experience has been good so far apart from a rocky start with the first batch which was horrible but since then we seem to be on an even keel thankfully. They look great and seem very happy out there. I move the cassitas every few days and expand or move the grass area they are in when needed.
They have turned out well and taste great and my customers seem very happy. I have the final batch that will be available fresh one weekend later in September. After that I will have frozen ones available until they run out and we have to wait until next year. Remember pastured chicken is a seasonal product. I will miss the chicken but I have to say that the reduction in chicken chores will be welcome by the end of the season.