Warning: mentions getting chickens for meat purposes. Nothing explicit though…
So hello! It is raining and pouring again, the ground is as soggy as soggy can be. But we’re all doing ok. Doing our thing, home educating, doing our jobs, playing, watching Star Wars films… that sort of thing. I’ve been unwell for a couple of weeks, but I’m just starting to feel more like myself again and with a bit of energy. So I am very glad about that!
We went to pick up some broiler chicks yesterday, we got given 12, which is actually 2 more than I ordered (bonus!). The company we used are called Freeway Poultry, you order your chickens online and there are various drop off points throughout Ireland and you go and meet the van and they give you your chickens. I cannot fault them, they’ve been brilliant. When I was meant to pick the chicks up originally a couple of weeks ago, our car was broken and I couldn’t make it, so they said that it was absolutely fine and saved me the chicks and contacted me again with another date (which was yesterday).
The chicks themselves, they’re a breed called Ross, and they’ve been a bit of an education already, they’re only about two or so weeks old and just about fully feathered already and quite large. They don’t really need extra heat either. I’m used to everyday chickens which are on heat until around 5/6 weeks and not feathered until then either. So I guess I can now see why they are processed at around 8-10 weeks old and no older. They’ve gone straight into a pen in the greenhouse, rather than the house, with a deep bed of shavings and straw for them. It was a bit odd when I was collecting them because a few people were around and started being a bit coo coo over them and asking what breed they were. So it felt rather awkward saying they’re broilers … Still, we eat meat and it will be an experience to rear and process our own chickens for this, our first meat birds. All the others have been duel purpose (as in used for meat and eggs) and I’ve only done it because of them being roosters. These are different and it will be good to know how they’ve been brought up i.e. by ourselves.
So there’s a brief update. Will write more soon.
Cathy.
The Shepherds Adventure 