Chronicle of the meat chicken: Part 3

My biggest chicken, which was 6 pounds!

A freezer full of hard work and gratefulness!

When I first started urban farming I thought that maybe I could butcher my food myself.  However, I just can't do it so I contacted a local German Baptist butcher who did this for me.  I was told when I made my appointment that I could drop my chicken at 8:30 am and pick them up later that day at 1 pm.  You have to pull their food away from them 12-15 hrs before butchering so their crop will be empty, but you can give them water until you load them that morning.

So, I did just as I was told to do.  I pulled their food last night and let them have all of the water that they wanted before loading them into my car.  I didn't have a chicken crate, so I folded down the seats in my CRV, laid down cardboard, and loaded them into a wire dog crate.  Thank goodness we only had the 15 chickens because that crate was packed full!  I thanked each chicken prior to loading it in the crate.  I thanked it for being my dinner and for nourishing me and my family.  I hope that they understood how grateful I was to them.  

When I arrived at the butcher I explained that I didn't have a clue what I was doing, and was reassured that I would have the hang of this in no time.  The receptionist told me to drive my chickens around the back of the building and that a gentleman would help me unload them there.  I drove around and was greeted by a young man who helped me put my chickens in plastic crates and loaded them on a cart for me.  After I unloaded them, I went back to the front of the building and explained how I wanted them packaged and got my pick up time worked out.  The lady said I was welcome to watch through a large picture window that they have.  I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but curiosity got the best of me and I decided to take a peek.  It was a very clean facility with everyone wearing nets over their hair and protective coverings for their clothes.  I watched the entire process and it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

I left for several hours and came back to pick up my chickens after they were chilled.  These are the pictures of my finished product.  I am very proud of how pretty they are!  All of my chickens dressed out at 4-6 pounds, which is a pretty nice weight.  I can't wait to eat one just to see if all of my hard work was for a good reason.  I will keep you all posted!