Our first egg!

So after all that slaughter and rooster culling on Saturday, something much less gruesome:

WE GOT OUR FIRST EGG TODAY!

Our little Maran Hen, layed this beautiful and tiny dark brown egg.

We are incredibly proud!

Yes, we ate it right away, and it was, of course, delicious!

Saturday. SlaughterDay.

Saturday was the day.

We woke up with the goal to slaughter four of our roosters.

When we bought our baby chicks a couple of months ago, we knew the day would come where we would have to get rid of some surplus roosters and "make coq au vin". Even though we got chickens mainly for eggs, we fantasized about how we would eat our own "homegrown" meat. Back then it seemed so far away, and we didn't waste too much time thinking about the actual slaughtering process. And if we did, we usually were lighthearted about it and certain that it will be just fine...

20 weeks later,  and we'd been pushing the date for the rooster cull further and further. By then they'd become quite cagy and aggressive, especially towards their girlfriends. There were too many roosters in the coop. So something had to be done.

On Saturday both Wil and I woke up with a terrible hangover, and our motivation was at zero. Luckily Wil was much more disciplined than I, and after some pep-talk we got everything ready. We made some space in the barn, covered everything with black garbage bags, set up a slaughtering station, four places to hang the chickens to bleed out, and prepared a hot and a cold waterbath for plucking.

We felt like Hollywood serial killers. Hell, I still feel like some Chicken Ted Bundy in a way while I am writing these lines. I mean, a killing room! Designed for efficient and quick killing. I never thought I would ever build something like this.

First we tried using a chicken culling cone, a metal apparatus that allows you to place the chicken upside down, while restraining it, with the head sticking out for and easier time. But unfortunately the one Wil and his dad built didn't work as planned, so we quickly found a solution that would be quick and humane. Wil was the one to take on this job

We were nervous and quite tensed up while we worked together. Neither of us spoke, unless it was necessary. But it went quickly, almost mechanically. There were, thankfully, not many unnecessary emotions or hesitations from either of us, as this would have prolonged the suffering of the animals. Neither of us wanted that.

After we bled and plucked them in the barn we brought them over to our house to remove the inner organs and intestines. While I wasn't able to do the slaughter of the chickens, Wil had problems taking care of the gutting. So I took the lead in this task and he assisted.

Removing the inner organs seemed much harder than it was described in the books and online forums. You need to be careful and forceful at the same time, to not make a giant mess. But even this gets better with practice.

We saved the neck and feet, as well as heart, liver and gizzards for stock, and discarded the rest.

By the end of the whole process, both Wil and I were incredibly exhausted, but proud that we had managed this challenging task.

I can't say it was enjoyable, but it was satisfying.

First of all WE DID IT!
We didn't just talk about how wonderful it would be to raise your own meat and eat it in the end but bought raised, fed and cared for our chickens. We build them a coop, cleaned the coop, nursed injured chickens, fed them treats, kept them warm and watched them grow. We watched the roosters and selected the ones that weren't contributing to the flock. We planned the slaughter precisely to make it as easy and quick for everyone involved, both the chickens and us. Last but not least: we didn't waste anything, not time or efforts, and not one piece of the chickens.

We are proud of that and happy that it was in a way far easier, and at the same time more exhausting than we would have ever thought. We may have to do it again, soon. 

Do I look forward to it? No. But I now know that we can do it.

PS:
We did make chicken soup using one of the chickens and most of the organs, necks and feet.
And surprise: It tasted like chicken!

Spring on the Prairie

Finally spring has arrived on our Little Haus On The Prairie!
Let's hope there won't be any more snow storm surprises...

While Wil is being my jet-setting artist husband and showing his work in New York, I'm enjoying 23°C, sun and blue sky on our patio with a glass of iced tea in my hand.

It's so beautiful outside, it feels like I'm on vacation.

As mentioned in my previous post, everything is growing fast, now that it is warm and sunny outside.

As for our rhubarb, Wil read that it grows quicker when you cover it up with a bucket.
It stays warmer, especially during the cold nights on the prairies, and it keeps the moisture.

We covered up half of the rhubarb, and the difference is significant!

Rhubarb to the right is non-bucket rhubarb. The one on the top left is the one we covered up. It's hard to tell in the picture, but it is definitely bigger!

Have a great start of the week, everyone!

Of Chicks And Chickens!

We picked up 14 chicks today.
They need to be kept in a brooding box under a red heat lamp for a couple of weeks in order to grow big and strong before we can bring them into their coop.

This is very exciting, and we are at the same time both terrified and then again confident about being chicken farmers.

Lots of group-snuggling

On the one hand it seems quite easy and uncomplicated.
On the other hand it feels like a huge responsibility.

Wil wiping little Welsummer's chick-butt.

We are complete chicken virgins and there are so many things you need to consider and watch out for: You need to provide them with the right temperature, food and mineral/vitamins and keep away parasites and predators such as hawks and owls or coyotes and weasels.

No, it's not dead. That's how they sleep. Scared the shit out of us...

For our first set of chickens we chose dual-purpose birds, means they are good for eggs AND meat. Among them are big black Australorps, beautiful French Marans, grey and funny looking Ameraucanas and one copper-brown Welsummer.

from left to right: Marans, Welsummer, Ameraucana, Australorp rooster

Our focus will be on eggs for now. I don't even know if I will ever be able to kill a chicken myself. Unfortunately at that young stage (they are only a few days old) it's hard to tell which ones are roosters and which ones are chickens. Too many roosters = Coq Au Vin for us, even though that sounds quite delicious... Well, let's not think about this right now. They are way too cute!

Our little special-needs Marans "Limpie"

In five to eight weeks we will hopefully be able to "harvest" our first eggs.
And these eggs will be the most beautiful eggs in the world! Ameraucanas are known for their blue-greenish eggs, Marans and Welsummer lay dark chocolate brown ones, while Australorps' eggs are "only" ordinary pastel brown.

proud dad.

I'm sure they all will be delicious (the eggs!), and I will keep you updated on how it goes!