Raising a Year's Worth of Chicken on the Farm - Episode 41
Good morning patrons
Inspired by new friends and pastured poultry farmers Jeff and Michelle, we took delivery of 50 Ross birds at the end of Summer to have a go at raising our vey own chicken for the table. Whilst it wasn't necessarily a money saving process, we believe you cannot put a price on the knowledge that each bird lived a good life on pasture under our care.
Our newly purchased second hand chest freezer is now full of delicious, healthy chicken and we can't thank you enough for helping us increase our food security here on the farm. We look forward to sharing with you plenty of delicious chicken recipes over the Winter months.
With gratitude for your ongoing encouragement and support
Troy and Pascale
How to Raise a Year's Supply of Chicken - Free Range Homestead Ep 41 (YouTube)
Comments (10)
Well done! And also very interesting!! We will occasionally buy chicken at the farmer's market from a local farmer. They do not handle the processing themselves, but I know they are very ethically raised up to that point. Suffice it to say the price we pay makes your investment in your chooks very attractive! But aside from that, the ethics of how you handle your livestock throughout the entire process is extremely compelling! We have been feasting on snow peas (or maybe they're sugar snap peas), our first crop harvested each season, and usually our most successful. They mature before the usual pests can bother them. Tonight was snow peas and smoked salmon pasta. We've enjoyed them in various stir fry configurations too. We will sometimes include them in salads, although this year they are not as sweet and tender raw as previous seasons, but they come alive with just a little cooking.
Oh yes. Prices for chicken raised this way go to around $38-$40/ bird so, contrasted to that market, these chooks are a bargain! Our earlier investment in a modest emergency generator brings some comfort now. We have also been enjoying just a wee sample of peas from the garden, which are terrific, but I'm afraid you have us on the salmon. It's nice to know that there must be a little crossover window where we might be enjoying the same harvest as you on the other side of the world.
We did love the chicken disco and are waiting for the next version with the flashing lights. Well done for another great video, keeping us all informed. I’ll never look at an orange witch’s hat the same way again.
The dress code for that disco is pretty exclusive, and I can't recommend being part of the line to get in.
Thank you for another informative video. I have never lived on a farm, so it is fascinating to watch the process of raising and processing chickens for food. It looks like a lot of work, but now you have such healthy food to eat all year. Combined with all the lovely vegetables you have grown, you will eat quite well this coming year. I am one of the sailing fans who continues to follow your fascinating journey homesteading. We are in the process of doing a bottom job on our 30 foot 1973 Cal 3-30 sailboat. I am sure you don't miss that job! She survived a category 4 hurricane 5 years ago and is still providing us with lots of enjoyment, both sailing and repairing, haha. I loved watching your trip around Australia. You have provided a beautiful documentary for the world to see the natural beauty of coastal Australia. Thank you for continuing to take us along on your journey.
Thanks Janet and you are quite right; we don't miss refits too much in our reminiscences! Raising those chooks was a bit of work in the set up, then just keeping the food up to them. The processing day was much easier than we thought. Now, a few months and it's over leaving us with no more meat bills for the rest of the year which is such a good feeling. Good luck with your little battle proven 30 footer!
Amazing to see the full life cycle of the chooks in one vid. Great story. Maybe not dirt cheap to do, but you have produced some high quality product there. I was very surprised to hear that the pigs, or at least one of them, went predator. Learn so many things watching you two. Thank you.
If we hadn't seen the first incident, we might not have worked out why that pig turned into a hunter. It was pure chance, but we were lucky the other two sows remained ignorant of what was inside a chicken!
Awesome processing process guys 👏 2.5kg is some big 🐔. They'll be so tasty. Yet another great informative episode. 👍
Flame grilled the first one with a nice dry rub last night. Lightly smoked over jarrah. We think it might meet J&H standards.