Springtime Means Meat Chickens

Night air is cloudy and calm. Peeper song is almost eclipsed by guinea screeches as they settle in to bed. I do declare that those guineas are louder than my own children when they try to settle in. But at least they have been busy knocking out the tick population. What a marvelous form of organic pest control!

Today we had a pleasantly cool day. Not bitter, but pleasant. These are the days of wiffle ball, soccer and bicycle races up and down the driveway. I guess I am not a very good mom. Instead of telling the kids to hit their homework the moment they get off the bus, I tell them to hit the big outdoors. The air has been too delicious to waste.

We drove over to the Thomas's this afternoon to pick up half of our meat chicks. They and the Depret-Guillaume's did the dirty work of brooding the chicks for the first 3 weeks of their lives. What great pals! I couldn't resist the annual urge to raise a bunch of delicious free-range poultry for the freezer. So here we go for one last batch. The chicks are no longer cute little yellow balls of fluff. They are kind of ugly, in an uncomfortable sort of adolescent way. But in a couple of months they will be just right to transform into future Sunday dinners. Seems harsh, but it is real. Will keep you posted. Hope they survive their transition out to the little field.

For some reason it seems logical to continue raising food for our family, even as we transition. The thought of roasting a delicious chicken from our farm in our new house and new life brings me joy. Makes me think that it might just make the transition a little easier. Definitely more tasty and nutritious.