Pastured poultry can give everyone an opportunity to farm

When Jenn and I started raising livestock, we started with laying hens like a lot of other folks do. Our next step turned out to be hogs. That was in Ohio, and it wasn’t until we moved back to Michigan that we began to raise broilers. We found that broilers were a good investment because so many folks love chicken, and, every aspect of getting the bird onto your dinner table (other than hatching the chicks) is accomplished at home.

We drive to Zeeland to buy our broiler chicks, finding the Cornish White Cross breed to work well. Unless you are interested in dual purpose birds, those birds that are bred to grow quickly are best suited for a model intended to feed more than a few families. I’ll talk about the drawbacks of this breed below.

After the drive to Zeeland, we bring the chicks home, usually 50 of them, and introduce them to water as we place them in a brooder. The brooder is a place that will hold warmth from heat lamps, keep out predators (especially barn cats), and serve as a safe place until the birds are ready for pasture in about two weeks. We have placed chicks in a variety of items intended to serve as brooders, including plastic children’s swimming pools in our living room at the house in Ohio. Some of my seminary friends might remember that. About five years passed before I finally built a more permanent outdoor brooder. At the new farm, we have an already constructed outbuilding that will serve as a chicken house, and there is space for a brooder already sectioned off.

After the chicks have feathered out and are ready to handle cooler temps (you should decrease the brooder temps a little at a time) they are ready to go outside and munch on your grass in addition to their feed rations. The construction of a pasture pen, or, chicken tractors as they are called, are rather simple, and if you are not handy with a power drill, you will most likely have a friend who would love to trade handiwork for a few broilers. The pens are generally 8’ x 8’ x 2’, or 8’ x 10’. Some folks will put as many as 50 birds in these, but we stick to 25 to allow the birds more space. It is recommended that bird enjoy at least one-and-a-half square feet, but that doesn’t seem like enough to us.

The birds are fed non-medicated grains to supplement the grass and bugs that they can access while outdoors, and after eight weeks, they should be large enough to butcher. In some cases, we have raised birds that dressed out at over six pounds. The pens they are held in are moved to new grass every day at the first feeding, though sometimes if the grass is really long they might do well for a day and a half.

The next step is butchering. Chickens are small enough that one can spend a bit of time learning the process until perfected. Usually, after culling the bird, you will remove the head and scald the carcass in hot water. We prefer the water to be 155 degrees, but the recommended range is between 150 and 160 degrees. After scalding, you pluck the bird. For the first few birds that you try, learn to pluck with your fingers. Every person should have to pluck one chicken in their life in order to appreciate the commitment that luddites have to the “simple” life. After plucking, it is time to dress the bird.

We wash and then freeze our dressed birds. Jenn wants them to age a day in the fridge before freezing, however. If you don’t have that kind of refrigerator space, make sure to leave the bird in the fridge for 24 hours after thawing, and the same purpose will be served. Then, it’s time to eat!

I mentioned a few drawbacks to the broilers that we buy. These broiler breeds are bred specifically for quick transition between chick and the table. As such, they are considered to be quite unnatural by some. Due to the genetics of the birds, if not properly cared for they can get heat stroke, and a prone to heart attacks due to overeating. Some young birds develop leg problems due to the rate of weight increase. I don’t mean to spoil your appetite, but everyone should know what they are eating, and what sort of lives the animal has before it meets its planned demise. A great alternative to the broiler breeds are large dual-purpose breeds such as Buff Orpingtons or Barred Plymouth Rocks. The Plymouth Rock breed is a really pretty bird if you are interested in that aspect. The dual-purpose birds are so named because they will begin to lay eggs at nine months or so, and are culled for the dinner table as needed, not en-mass. It will take a year or so to get these birds up to broiler weight, and because they are more mobile and get chased by roosters, the meat can be less tender. One benefit is that these birds are entirely cage and pen free, meaning they are free to roam anywhere in the barnyard as opposed to being limited by cage space.

Broiler breeds are preferable to many because the taste is superior, and the pasture access makes them taste much better than store bought anything, even the so-called pastured/organic models at the local stores. The cages are preferable because the birds are protected from predators, and they won’t get stranded too far away from water. Broilers are interested in eating non-stop, and will never go more than three feet from a food source, but I have witnessed birds that eat so much that they will not get up and go to water on the hottest days. This has catastrophic results for the bird. The size of the broiler birds makes them easier to butcher, and with a chicken-plucker and the help of a few friends, you will soon be processing six to ten birds an hour. Another benefit to broilers and the pens. The “Chicken Tractor” model requires the moving of the pen on a daily basis. The tractor part is the result of the manner in which the soil and pasture is cultivated by the birds as they scratch for bugs, and then manure the pasture where the cage is. I can tell you that the benefit to your back yard will be so remarkable that, if you have a certain kind of neighbor, they will be jealous of your green grass. You can see an extraordinary difference in the grass where the birds have been and grass that has been left alone. This is certainly true of pasture.

Finally, I’d like to pass on a little information about the commercially raised organic/pastured birds you buy at stores. There are federal regulations that benefit corporations, but mislead consumers and may be considered detrimental to the health of the bird. Federal specs state that each bird must have one-and-a-half feet of space, but they are placed in a warehouse that houses thousands of birds. Not only is the buildup of waste remarkable, but that many birds in one place heaps enormous stress upon the birds. Organic feed is hardly a benefit when the context of commercial farming is considered. Also, “free-range” poultry is not pastured. The birds simply have to have to have “access” to the outdoors. For most commercial farms, this space is about the size of a large old-fashioned chicken run that contains no grass or bugs, and cannot accommodate every bird. Many birds may never find get to the exit door due to pecking-order issues. As for pecking order, the birds or most often de-beaked to prevent cannibalism and sever damage that can result from so many birds attempting to establish hierarchy.

I hope you will visit the farm and observe how we raise our broilers. We invite everyone who is interested to butcher with us, as we are confident in our cleanliness and attention to detail, and also, hope folks will want to experience what kind of sacrifice is necessary to put meat on the table. Not only is butchering your own meat a way to make the meal even more satisfying, but it can be an eye-opener to the way that human beings interact, or don’t interact, with creation and our fellow animals.