New Batch of Chicks!

A new batch of chicks arrived today from McMurray Hatchery.  We ordered 40, but our box included 43 healthy one day old chicks.  The box of chicks was held at the Hartford Post Office, and I recieved a call at about 9:00 a.m. that they were ready to be picked up.

With a van full of spectators we arrived at the Post Office.  Liss and I examined the chicks before we shared them with our children.  If there were any fatalities, we would have had to fill out a certificate at the Post Office and report the deaths to the hatchery.  Luckily, all the chicks were bouncing around and healthy. 

Introducing the new chicks

The kids were very excited to see the chicks and we were all amazed to see how tiny they were, especially the bantams.  You would think we've never seen baby chicks before, but our first batch are 12 weeks now and do not resemble those fluffy little chicks anymore.

Farm kids meeting the new chicks

The chicks brooding area in the dome had not been finished yet so we set up a cardboard pen outside with 1/2 sun and 1/2 shade.  The cardboard walls were 18" high, and there was probably 8 square feet of space for them to run around in.

Before placing the chicks in the brooder we had to inventory them and make sure each one is able to drink and eat.  The hatchery places a list of all the included chicks with the box so we simply went down the list to add each chick to the brooder.  After identifying each chick, we picked them up and placed their beaks into their water dish to allow them a drink, then we dipped their beaks into the feed to get them started on eating.  They were then placed in the brooder. 

Dipping the chick beak into the water

Dipping the chick beak into the feed

The Dome is almost complete, but until it is secure all the chicks will stay in a brooder cage to keep them safe.

Have you ever seen a Bantam chick? 
The chick on the right is a Buff Orpington,
the chick on the left is one of the Japanese Bantams.

Here is a list of the chicks that we recieved in our order and their intended purposes:

5 Female Buff Orpingtons - For egg production, breeding (still need a male) and meat
5 Female Rhode Island Reds - For egg production, breeding (still need a male) and meat
9 Female Araucanas - For egg production and breeding (still need a male)
2 Female Delwares - For egg production and pet
4 Female Blue Andalusions - For breeding and show
3 Male Blue Andalusions - For breeding and show
3 Straight Run Black Tailed Buff Japanese Bantam - For breeding and show
11 Cornish Roasters - For meat
1 Free Rare Exotic Chick

My white (possibly) Araucana

As you can see we have a wide variety of chicks and projects planned for them.  Follow us for weekly updates on this new batch of chicks!

The next post will have information on how we transformed an abandoned concrete observatory (the Dome) into a holding pen for chickens, ducks and a dove using mostly pallets and chicken wire.

~Alexis

Research

Starting any new business can be daunting and overwhelming.  Where exactly does one start?

Well, if you're like me you start by harassing everyone you know and working out ideas in your head, on paper and through discussion.  It is great to have ideas and to dream big, but how do you actually make it happen?

I found plenty of research online, Penn State was especially helpful with brochures on different aspects of farming that cover the basics of different products and sample budgets.  The information is a little old, printed in 2004, but it was a great place to look at to draft a plan.

Another important place to gather information is UCONN's Connecticut Cooperative Extension Program of which there happens to be an office right in Vernon, CT.  I have not met with anyone from the office yet, but plan to do so very soon.  I would like to have a basic plan together so that the office understands exactly what the goals of Longview Hill Farm are.

If you know of any resources for a beginning farmer, we beg you to please, please, please share with us!

~Alexis

Bye Bye Birdie!

Today we took the Cornish X Chickens to the Meat Locker to be processed.  They were 10 weeks old.

Can you believe they were only 10 weeks old?

I did not know how I would react to the killing, plucking, gutting and what not that is involved, but...I can't wait to do it again!  It was amazing.  I could not believe how easy it was to do, both mentally and physically.

Mentally, I wasn't sure I would be able to handle the fact that I raised these chickens from day old chicks.  I fed and watered them every day.  I held them and pet them.  But, when it was time to put those chickens in my freezer it was easy for me to keep my feelings out of the meat locker.  I actually felt a little guilty that I was not upset about killing my chickens.

Physically, I thought it would be just plain nasty to kill, pluck or gut a chicken, but that was surprisingly easy as well.  I thought there would be more "stuff" inside a chicken, but it's just the basics. 

The most difficult part of processing the chickens was catching them!  Normally, when we let the goats and chickens out of the pen, I feed them right away.  But chickens that haven't just eaten are much easier and less messy to process.  So, this morning, after I let everyone out, my husband and I had to chase the meat chickens around and put them in cages so they wouldn't eat anything.  It was seriously ridiculous.

Then we drove them over to the Meat Locker.  Our friend at the Meat Locker let us watch him process a few ducks before we did our chickens so we knew what we were in for.

Our friend and Jesse did the killing, I'm pretty sure I would have cut my hand off by accident if I did it.  They held the chicken by its neck and slit both sides of the throat.  This caused the chickens to die instantly.  There is some twitching involved, but rest assured the chickens are dead.

Next, our friend scalded the chickens in water and put them in the plucker.  We were very lucky that he had a plucker because that took about 20 seconds per bird instead of hand plucking which can take forever!  The next step was to hand pluck any pin needles left and to cut the head and feet off. 

Breaking the leg joint

After we pull the "guts" out the chickens take a nice cold bath, then they are rinsed and put in the cooler.  The next day we went back to package and vacuum seal the individual chickens.

Fully processed chickens ready for an ice bath

All 11 of our chickens weighed in at between 5 and 6.5 pounds, not too bad for being only 10 weeks old!

I have a new appreciation and interest in the food that ends up on my kitchen table.  It was incredibly amazing and rewarding to know that I prepared my family's dinner from the beginning to the end.