Michael and I spent the past two days harvesting 12 of our broilers. They are about 6 weeks old now and rendered about 5.5 pounds of various chicken parts, which means 66 pounds of meat and bone went into the freezer.

These two chickens are the same age. The one on the left is a broiler; the other a barred rock. This was two weeks ago.

I’ve been trying to figure out our cost to raise these birds. It’s not easy as we haven’t separated feed for our various chicks and ducklings. Even though we have (had) 16 broilers, and 80 other baby birds, the broilers probably eat a third of the feed we buy. In round numbers, I think it cost us $2 to buy the chick and $2 to feed it. So far, about $0.75/lb to raise. We also have increased electricity bills to keep them warm, the building to house them, not to mention our labor to turn them into meat. Unprocessed chicken would be a strangely frantic meal.

Michael and I spent a total of 16 collective hours to move them from coop to freezer. It is the amount of time we spend, without the economies of scale, that makes our farm commercially unsustainable. Over time, and without more mechanical inputs or… — Michael and I spent a total of 16 collective hours to move them from coop to freezer. It is the amount of time we spend, without the economies of scale, that makes our farm commercially unsustainable. Over time, and without more mechanical inputs or young recruits, our farm will become physically unsustainable as well.

Broilers have the best feet for making broth.

It will take our other chicks closer to 14 weeks to grow to about 3 pounds. We are trying barred rocks to compare flavor. The other chicks are mutts, mostly Giant White and Light Brahma crosses. Broilers grow quickly, are one of the most efficient animals at turning feed into meat, and are what you buy when you get chicken at the grocery. They are bland (Julia Child complained that American chicken tastes like cardboard) and soft. We may have waited too long to harvest our non-broilers in the past, as they require slow cooking. Or the tastiness factor may be inherent in birds that get more exercise. We will see what 14 weeks does for the size/tenderness balance.

In between harvest, we are enjoying watching our trees bloom. We should have a good plum harvest this year.

The Northwest Greening is taking the year off, but the crab blossoms like clockwork.

Clyde and Irene made a sign to hang at the entry of the driveway that says “NORESTHERE.” There will always be work to be done on a farm. What we find in that work is, perhaps, not restful, but nourishing on so many levels.

Sharing at a distance is what we can do for now.