Several friends showed up to help and all were veteran chicken processors from last year. What a wonderful thing it is to have strong relationships. Only one person was specifically asked to come and help, yet several showed up, some unexpectedly, simply to show their support and love. That's what we hope our little farming venture does; we hope it leaves a legacy of Biblical community through agriculture.
There were some who managed to escape the camera, but they were a very real part of the experience. And I promise that after 12 hours it was not all smiles. I thank you all for your help.
This year, we used something new. It's a chicken plucker fabricated by a good friend. The design came from a man named Herrick Kimble. You can read more about him here. The parts came from all over. Some new and some not so new. It worked pretty good, but needs a couple of tweaks before our next processing day. It plucked them clean...which is more than I can say for the few I hand plucked!
The biggest question I get asked is "What will they look like when I come to pick them up?" For our area, that's a valid question. This is so new to most of us. When you come to pick them up you'll find that they have no head or feet. They will be plucked clean. All of the insides are taken out. Then we bag 'em and tag 'em. In the end they get weighed so you know what you'll pay. It's that simple.
Here is a picture of a bagged chicken. This one's been frozen, but it gives you an idea of what it looks like.
We don't quarter them or de-bone them...that would take a lot of time. For a good tutorial on quartering chickens, look to your favorite chef. Most of them have a section in their cookbooks on how to butcher a chicken. I think it's a lost art.
So many people came out. Some were customers and some just came to check out the action. All of them left as customers. It was exciting to watch it all happen. Thanks to those who bought and those who helped. We couldn't have done it without you!
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