In no way do I mean to minimize the true meaning of those words, taken from a song about the gospel, in which a sinner’s sins are traded for Christ’s righteousness. But the same words took on a new meaning for me today. The chickens are all butchered. The task is completed. And it was done here. And a further step was taken since last week in that I, lil ole me, the Aspiring Agrarian, was the senior member of the processing team.
Last week we had the assistance of this noted expert (Micah) as well as his lovely bride (Natalie) who also has much experience in this undertaking. Between Micah’s dad, and Joel Salatin's book, I have learned most of what I know about raising chickens. This week, we did not have Micah & Natalie’s expertise. I was the one with the most experience. And I was amazed how well things went. I got the scalder started on time. And despite being a little late getting everything else together, we still got started much earlier than last week. We still had problems with the first scald, but got it corrected with the second batch and the scald and pluck were wonderful thereafter. It was dark by the time we finished bagging and weighing. But it is finished. And the weather could not have been better. It was cold overnight, so the water in the chill tanks got very cold. But the temperatures through the day were warm enough that we did not suffer in the least. It was actually very ideal.
A big thank you to Elliott and his sister Kelsey, who helped both weeks, and their sister Lorisha, who helped today. Also, Aaron got his baptism of fire today, with his very first experience in the process. His wife (Eph1:6Beloved) had him believing he would be covered head to toe in blood and guts. I played along with the story as long as I could, but he finally realized that, although it is a messy job, he was not going to be that messy. And also much appreciation is due to Michael who loaned me the propane burner and stand which became the base for my scalder.
I have a long way to go, and a long way to grow, in reaching my agrarian aspirations. But last week and today are a big step forward. It gives me further confidence that as I walk the path the Father has set before me, I can succeed. And speaking of that agrarian vision, let me recommend again the writings of the Deliberate Agrarian, particularly this recent post, and the linked blogpost about the recent article in Christianity Today about Christian Agrarianism which he cites.
JFC
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
I Wasn't Kidding ...
... when I said the chickens were eating like pigs. Last Saturday was processing day, and their finished weight told the story. The average weight of these birds was 6.6 pounds after processing.
This is the first "dis-assembly" done at home. Previously we had taken our birds to a friend's farm on their processing day, and pitched in to help with theirs, and then they helped with ours. (Of course I received a lot more than what I gave in those transactions!) This time we stayed at home. I just finished building my very own Whizbang Chicken plucker. The fellow who designed the Whizbang, and wrote the book, is right there to your left in my blogroll. Herrick Kimball - the Deliberate Agrarian. Herrick, the Whizbang worked wonderfully. I look forward to using it for many years to come!
We got started about 9 AM on Saturday morning. Except ... we didn't get started. Unfortunately, I did not start heating the water in the scalder until about a quarter till nine. So it was past 10 AM (I believe) before we really got started.
What was my scalder? It was a 55 gallon metal drum which had held foodstuffs, cut off just above the ridge about 2/3 of the way up. The ridge was folded over to form a fairly smooth surface around the top. It sat on top of a propane burner and stand which a friend loaned me. He uses it with a big stainless steel container to brew up to 20 gallons of his famous beverage. It worked great at heating the water in the barrel. Except that it took a long time to get started. And when it finally got to the optimal temperature, it suddenly quickened its pace, and went up another 20 to 30 degrees in a matter of several minutes. What did that result in? Birds that started cooking in the scalder. The first couple of batches that went through the scalder were in bad shape. After that, things improved muchly.
Oh, and how, exactly, did the birds get "dipped" into the scalder. Well, we cut off the bottom half (or so) of a 30 gallon plastic barrel, filled it full of holes so that the water would freely flow through it (but not so full of holes that the chickens would fall through), and dipped it down into the water. It was raised and lowered using a pulley system and a rope, rigged up by the Teenager.
Another problem I had was ... my chickens were so big that they would not fit inside the "killing cones." We ended up using 5 or 6 gallon buckets with holes cut in the bottom, instead of the traffic cones. But those buckets had too much room for the birds to flop around in, leading to a higher incidence of broken legs and wings. Not too bad, but still, it could have been better. We are planning to clip the legs to the sides of the buckets the next go-round, hoping to minimize the flopping around.
I wish we would have got some pictures taken. We were too busy processing (and our hands were covered with "stuff") so we didn't get any photos. Maybe next time.
This being our first time, we didn't progress as far as I wished. However, we processed 50 birds. (At least 50 had been put into the pickup and brought to the processing area the night before. Somewhere along the way, we have lost track of 2 of the 50. Maybe they escaped ... Yikes!) There are about 65 left, and the plan is to "dis-assemble" them this coming Saturday. Just in time for Thanksgiving, and I think they will be big enough that they could pass for small turkeys. :)
Just a note: It took me long enough to get the plucker built that most of the birds were over 9 weeks old. That's another reason they were so big. This Saturday, they will be over 10 weeks old. But from what I hear from others who have let them grow this long (and even much longer), the tenderness is not compromised. (The typical processing date is at 8 weeks old for Cornish Cross. In the summer, those who are kept past that time tend to have problems from the heat and their weight, succumbing to heart attacks, and other problems. In the autumn, this is not nearly so big a problem. In fact, I think the only bird I lost in the field pens was one that got run over when I was moving the pen.)
One more thing. Unlike when I have assisted at our friends home, this time I was the one responsible for the initial step ... slitting the arteries (or veins?) in the chickens' necks to drain the blood. I suddenly felt like I understood for the first time what a Hebrew priest must have felt ... for they engaged in this business day in and day out. It takes a little while to get used to it. But there are unpleasant aspects to providing food for ones family. I think we have tended to forget this when we think we can just go to the grocery store, and that is where food comes from. But food has a history that precedes the grocery store. And, as was noted to me when all was said and done, there is a lot of work involved. I'm thankful to have the opportunity to do that work. I fear the day is coming when a lot of folks that don't expect to will have to do that work. And I'm not so sure they'll be ready. I am not so sure I'll be ready, and I've been aspiring and working toward this for a while now.
Okay, one or two more notes and then I'll quit: Rick Saenz (Dry Creek Chronicles - should be on the blogroll to your left) has written a heap of good stuff related to agrarian thinking. He talks about providing food for your family, plus a little bit extra give away or to sell. I don't anticipate that I'll ever be a big-time chicken farmer. But I do want to provide this food for my family, and a little extra for charity and for cash income. PLUS, it makes a dandy business opportunity for the nine-year-old, who is perfectly capable of feeding, and almost able to carry the 40+ pound water buckets. He needs help moving the pens, and lots of help in processing. But he is capable of doing much of the day in and day out work, and is learning responsibility and earning a little cash doing so. I didn't have any opportunity like that at his age. I'm glad he does.
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you walk properly toward those who are outsiders, and so that you may lack nothing. (1 Thess 4:11-12)
This is the first "dis-assembly" done at home. Previously we had taken our birds to a friend's farm on their processing day, and pitched in to help with theirs, and then they helped with ours. (Of course I received a lot more than what I gave in those transactions!) This time we stayed at home. I just finished building my very own Whizbang Chicken plucker. The fellow who designed the Whizbang, and wrote the book, is right there to your left in my blogroll. Herrick Kimball - the Deliberate Agrarian. Herrick, the Whizbang worked wonderfully. I look forward to using it for many years to come!
We got started about 9 AM on Saturday morning. Except ... we didn't get started. Unfortunately, I did not start heating the water in the scalder until about a quarter till nine. So it was past 10 AM (I believe) before we really got started.
What was my scalder? It was a 55 gallon metal drum which had held foodstuffs, cut off just above the ridge about 2/3 of the way up. The ridge was folded over to form a fairly smooth surface around the top. It sat on top of a propane burner and stand which a friend loaned me. He uses it with a big stainless steel container to brew up to 20 gallons of his famous beverage. It worked great at heating the water in the barrel. Except that it took a long time to get started. And when it finally got to the optimal temperature, it suddenly quickened its pace, and went up another 20 to 30 degrees in a matter of several minutes. What did that result in? Birds that started cooking in the scalder. The first couple of batches that went through the scalder were in bad shape. After that, things improved muchly.
Oh, and how, exactly, did the birds get "dipped" into the scalder. Well, we cut off the bottom half (or so) of a 30 gallon plastic barrel, filled it full of holes so that the water would freely flow through it (but not so full of holes that the chickens would fall through), and dipped it down into the water. It was raised and lowered using a pulley system and a rope, rigged up by the Teenager.
Another problem I had was ... my chickens were so big that they would not fit inside the "killing cones." We ended up using 5 or 6 gallon buckets with holes cut in the bottom, instead of the traffic cones. But those buckets had too much room for the birds to flop around in, leading to a higher incidence of broken legs and wings. Not too bad, but still, it could have been better. We are planning to clip the legs to the sides of the buckets the next go-round, hoping to minimize the flopping around.
I wish we would have got some pictures taken. We were too busy processing (and our hands were covered with "stuff") so we didn't get any photos. Maybe next time.
This being our first time, we didn't progress as far as I wished. However, we processed 50 birds. (At least 50 had been put into the pickup and brought to the processing area the night before. Somewhere along the way, we have lost track of 2 of the 50. Maybe they escaped ... Yikes!) There are about 65 left, and the plan is to "dis-assemble" them this coming Saturday. Just in time for Thanksgiving, and I think they will be big enough that they could pass for small turkeys. :)
Just a note: It took me long enough to get the plucker built that most of the birds were over 9 weeks old. That's another reason they were so big. This Saturday, they will be over 10 weeks old. But from what I hear from others who have let them grow this long (and even much longer), the tenderness is not compromised. (The typical processing date is at 8 weeks old for Cornish Cross. In the summer, those who are kept past that time tend to have problems from the heat and their weight, succumbing to heart attacks, and other problems. In the autumn, this is not nearly so big a problem. In fact, I think the only bird I lost in the field pens was one that got run over when I was moving the pen.)
One more thing. Unlike when I have assisted at our friends home, this time I was the one responsible for the initial step ... slitting the arteries (or veins?) in the chickens' necks to drain the blood. I suddenly felt like I understood for the first time what a Hebrew priest must have felt ... for they engaged in this business day in and day out. It takes a little while to get used to it. But there are unpleasant aspects to providing food for ones family. I think we have tended to forget this when we think we can just go to the grocery store, and that is where food comes from. But food has a history that precedes the grocery store. And, as was noted to me when all was said and done, there is a lot of work involved. I'm thankful to have the opportunity to do that work. I fear the day is coming when a lot of folks that don't expect to will have to do that work. And I'm not so sure they'll be ready. I am not so sure I'll be ready, and I've been aspiring and working toward this for a while now.
Okay, one or two more notes and then I'll quit: Rick Saenz (Dry Creek Chronicles - should be on the blogroll to your left) has written a heap of good stuff related to agrarian thinking. He talks about providing food for your family, plus a little bit extra give away or to sell. I don't anticipate that I'll ever be a big-time chicken farmer. But I do want to provide this food for my family, and a little extra for charity and for cash income. PLUS, it makes a dandy business opportunity for the nine-year-old, who is perfectly capable of feeding, and almost able to carry the 40+ pound water buckets. He needs help moving the pens, and lots of help in processing. But he is capable of doing much of the day in and day out work, and is learning responsibility and earning a little cash doing so. I didn't have any opportunity like that at his age. I'm glad he does.
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you walk properly toward those who are outsiders, and so that you may lack nothing. (1 Thess 4:11-12)
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