Chickens in the Freezer and a Little Break for Us

The last batch of spring/summer chickens are in the freezer!

Part of our responsibility in raising meat as we do, is to make sure they are raised in the best conditions possible for their health and comfort. Because of that, we don’t raise chickens in the middle of summer. It is simply too hot for them to thrive outside like we raise them without us spending all day keeping them cool with water and fans.

So, we take a little month-long break from poultry of any kind. To be completely honest with you, we really enjoy this little break. It is nice to have 1 set of chores off the twice daily list. It’s like being handed an extra hour to your day. So far, we have spent it roping one night, then last night we took easy cause Cameron got his thumb smashed working cows (that is a story for another time though).

The batch of poultry we get will come in the first part of August and it will be our turkeys! It works perfect to get them in the hot months because they need to be kept so warm in the first 5 weeks that they naturally thrive. Then once they are ready to go outside the weather starts to cool down a little and they just do so well out on pasture!

This year we are raising 100! A bit of a leap from our 30 last year, but Cameron just absolutely loved the turkey, so he wanted to raise more. They especially really revived some pasture for us last year so I am excited to see what 100 will do for the place.

Now, we just need to get started on building them a bigger and better shelter to hold all 100 cause the little hoop house is not going to work this time. Thankfully we have James, and he is super handy at building things, and we have about 2 months to get it done while the turkeys are in the brooder. Who thinks we will wait till the week before its time to move them out? I almost guarantee it ha!

Then once the turkeys move out, we will move chicks into the brooder and start the one and only batch of chickens for the fall. That time of both chickens and turkeys is a little on the crazy side! It is all worth it though to know that the food we are eating is raised with care and ultimate health in mind. Health for the animal, health for us and most importantly, health for you!

Are you interested in a turkey from us this year? Should I pre-sell them or just offer them when they are here? Thank you for your input!