Slaughter Fest '09

After a title like that I feel I need to explain a little...
We were interested in raising our own chickens for meat this year, AKA "meat birds". We were thinking of raising 10 or so. After I found out that you could get a price break if you ordered 50 birds I decided to call a friend that was planning on getting meat birds this year as well and see if they would be interested in splitting 50 birds so each family would have 25 each. And that is just what we did. :)
Just to clarify, we aren't cruel animal hating people at all. We wanted to raise the meat birds for a couple reasons.

1) We would know what the animal was feed.
2) We would know that the animal wouldn't have been given hormones and vaccinations.
3) We would never have to think about a poultry recall.
4) And lastly so we could learn the entire process from start to finish. Thus taking another step in being less reliant on BIG INDUSTRY to provide us with food.

This was the beginning set-up process. The canopies aren't up yet.

The slaughtering cones and the hay lined wheelbarrows to catch the dripping blood. Yeah, I know it's a little gross but they don't bleed all that much.

Me, with a slaughtered bird, I'm just about ready to dip the bird into the scolding water.

Dusty and his overalls. He saves a lot of clothes wearing these around the property.

This is our birds on one side and our friends birds on the other.

Jon & Ty setting things up.

(Father/son)

Yes, the kids watch and or participate. We need them to know why we raise the chickens, why we kill them and what we do with them next. We would love for them to remember how to do this as adults and hope they can leave childhood with these memories and a confidence to do it themselves. At our house we only have animals that serve a purpose.

Dusty and Jon, they are cleaning out the parts we don't need and preparing them to be wrapped.

Here's Kevin and Jon at the sink Jon made for chicken slaughtering. We are a high tech operation around here! Check out that piping and faucet.

This was just to funny to not post...sorry Kathy, had to do it! hee,hee She is reaching her hand into the slaughtering cone and pulling the chicken out by it's feet.

Here's our friend Greg. He is plucking the feathers off.

Greg, Tara and Dusty in the back. She's the new model face of Chicken Slaughtering Magazine! The subtitle reads "YOU TO COULD LOOK THIS CUTE WHILE SLAUGHTERING CHICKENS" ha,ha

Our friend John got in on the hot dunking action.

The De-feathering Station

Tara, Melissa & Greg.

Greg had lots of fun at Melissa's expense, he was making his chicken talk n' walk just to freak Melissa out. (They are husband/wife and left in the same car so I think it was all good.)

That pretty much sums up Chicken Slaughter Fest '09. The cows are next...

COMING THIS FALL TO A DAVIS BLOG NEAR YOU!