Missing Willow Farm

Today was the day we put our chickens in the freezer (we bring them over to our small barn work area and tether, or tie, one foot to the fence so they can’t fly away).  Don’t worry, I won’t show any photos of the process, but I thought I would say a few words about it.  A good friend and her husband from NC visited us on Friday.  She said she loves chicken but hasn’t been able to eat it since she saw the Food Inc. excerpt on the Oprah Winfrey show which featured how chickens are cared for and treated in commercial chicken operations.  I get that.  One of the things we love about having our farm is caring for our animals and knowing where our food comes from.   When we first got poultry last year, we had no clue how to kill a chicken.  Our suburban upbringing didn’t include those kind of lessons.  We actually bought a DVD (available for cheap if anyone wants a used chicken killing DVD!).  The first time we slaughtered a bird, we had our vet come over and show us the best way to humanely kill it.  Here’s a hint… it doesn’t involve either wringing it’s neck or chopping it’s head off and letting it run around the yard.  Our freezer’s full again.  We’re pretty proud of the job we’re doing here, and our friend from NC says she’ll come eat our chicken any time!