Freezer Heaven

The broilers had their appointment with destiny on July 20. They were to be delivered to the butcher in the evening of Friday, July 19. They would be dispatched, cleaned, and shrink wrapped on Saturday, frozen overnight, and available for pick up on Sunday.

I missed all the excitement. I had left with Jane for the Boundary Waters Friday morning (more on the trip later). All remaining family members were pressed into service for the round-up. In preparation, I had picked up another large cage from Jane because we didn’t think mine would be big enough for 14 chickens. Terry put the two cages in the back of his pick up truck. Terry opened and shut the electric net. Dad manned the door to the cage. Hilda was assigned chicken handling because the chickens knew her and would therefore be less likely to fuss. I’m not sure how good that assumption was. Hilda was so covered in chicken excrement by the time the process was done that Terry parked the back of the truck in the shade so the chickens wouldn't overheat while Hilda took a shower. She dropped all her clothes in the laundry room, which is well-positioned by the garage door.

And on Sunday, there they were, dead, dressed, and frozen solid. The roosters weighed about 7 pounds; the hens 5. Perfect.

Freezer heaven, as Jane says

Hilda cleaned Coop 2 the day after the round-up. Terry and I moved the electric net around the ripening sweet corn to keep out the deer and raccoons, and Terry mowed the former broiler yard. Note how the grass is so much greener in the path between the coop and the feeder due to additional fertilizer, if you know what I mean.

The effect of nitrogen rich fertilizer on grass--note how grass is greener on the path between the coop and the feeder

Hilda waited until I got back to cook the first one. She made Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. Here is a picture of what was left after four people had eaten their fill. It was a big chicken, and delicious.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

In other news, I harvested the first of the red raspberries today. I got 14 all together. It won’t be long before we have way more. I hope I can get to them before the daddy long legs lick all the fruit off the seeds. Did you know that was what daddy long legs eat? It was news to me the first time I saw it.

First pick of red raspberries (all 14 berries)