There are few things as empowering as collecting eggs from your very own backyard chickens.
In fact, chickens are often referred to as the “gateway” homesteading animal. In other words, once you raise chickens…the gates of self-sufficient living are opened wide to a plethora of options that lead us gently on a path toward independence.
Urban or rural, no matter what the state of the economy, money in the bank or not…if you own backyard hens, you’ll always have one of nature’s freshest foods on your table — the homegrown egg.
From Eggs to Meat
I’ve raised chickens for years — five years to be exact. The first 3 chicks I brought home were to my little, tee-tiny suburban backyard.
Back then, my expectation for raising those sweet girls was centered around egg production…I never expected to raise chicken for meat — NEVER.
Sure, thoughts of what to do with them when their egg-laying days were over did cross my mind. But as nature would see fit, I’ve not yet seen a hen to that end. During these chicken raisin’ years we’ve had issues with heat (our 125F Arizona summer days are brutal and present serious livestock challenges), coyotes, snakes, and who-knows-what!
It wasn’t until we made the move out of the city and into the country, that I seriously began to consider raising chickens for meat.
I read books like:
- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
- The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals: Choose the Best Breeds for Small-Space Farming, Produce Your Own Grass-Fed Meat, Gather Fresh … Rabbits, Goats, Sheep, Pigs, Cattle, & Bees
- Backyard Farming on an Acre (More or Less)
And it was Angela England in Backyard Farming on an Acre (More or Less) who said, in the chapter titled “Keeping Chickens on a Small Scale,”
Even in a small space you will be able to raise enough chickens for fresh eggs for your family. And if you choose, and have just a touch extra time and space to devote, you can raise extra chicken specifically for meat production.
…I started to believe that we could do this!
You should know that as a family, we only eat meat once or twice a week. We are committed to locally produced, pasture-raised meats…but let’s just be real, it’s freakin’ expensive! We can’t afford it…and what’s more, we certainly can’t afford the health risks to our bodies that eating store-bought chicken/beef will cause. So, we do the best we can with what we have.
And what do we have?
We have a beautiful piece of property.
A perfect place to raise more than enough food to feed our family.
Vegetables, fruits, and meat.
Working Out The Why
Maybe it’s just me, but when it comes to making decisions that will require an investment of time and money I have to work out “the why” in my head. It helps me to stay grounded and committed through the process.
Back in the fall we had a trial run — something to test the waters — we purchased 20 Cornish cross birds from a hatchery in Texas and had the chicks shipped to our home. 15 made it to dispatchment (the fancy term for harvest). It was such a wonderful learning experience, so, we decided to take the challenge of raising enough meat to fill our freezer for a year.
And here they are…the 5 compelling reasons that helped us determine that raising chickens for meat was going to be part of our food production strategy here at the ranch.
1. I love chickens. I care about them…my family loves and cares for them. It is out of this love and care that we raise our own for meat. If we didn’t, I’d simply continue to buy chicken produced in unspeakably nasty conditions, that are processed without respect for the life-purpose they possess. It’s super important to me that the chicken we eat lives and dies humanely.
There’s a reverence that can’t be explained — a deep connectedness and consciousness to nature’s life cycle that is developed within me as I actively participate in nurturing a life, to have that life in turn nurture a life…mine. It’s beautiful.
2. Toxin-Free Food. Knowing that an animal has been raised humanely is primary BUT, knowing it was raised outside on pasture, without synthetic toxins, hormones, and antibiotics is certainly just as important. Raising our own chickens for meat means we have total control over what goes in their mouth (well, for the most part). I can serve this food with confidence.
3. Money saver. Honestly, I have no idea how conventional grocery stores sell chicken for so cheap — in fact, it should raise some pretty serious environmental and dietary concerns if you think about it. When I say it’s a money saver, I’m comparing the prices of organic, pastured meat (from the store, from a local farmer, or from the farmer’s market) to homegrown. Note: Details regarding the financials will be documented in future posts. Stay tuned!
4. Self-sufficiency. We made the decision to raise meat birds because we want to be responsible consumers and reclaim the homesteading skills of self-sufficiency to the best of our ability. That’s why after our first batch, we decided to do it again, this time raising enough meat for a year.
5. Reshape the future of food production. When it comes to the way we eat as a family…I’m all about balance, harmony, and knowing where our food comes from.
The sad truth is, so many of us modern consumers of food are so far removed from the reality and nature of our food that any thought of the harvest or slaughter (of animals especially), even using the most humane methods, is seriously disturbing to us.
But what should really disturb us is land that is being raped to produce plants in insane quantities, and the chemicals that are sprayed on those plants that poison our water and soil, and the meat that is raised and killed in places fit for no life whatsoever.
Raising our own meat, vegetables, and fruits on our own land, is us actively casting our vote for the reshaping of our society’s method of food production.
How to Get Started
In a few days we will receive our second batch of chicks. This time there will be 60 (enough for a year’s worth of meat). I will be documenting our meat bird raising journey in detail (i.e. supplies needed, feed used, financial costs, time involved, etc.).
Here’s what we have done so far — likewise, these are the things you should have answers for prior to even considering raising meat birds:
Commit to the process.
You must be willing to stay close to home, or have a plan for someone to be home, for at least 8 weeks. Raising meat birds will require about 20-30 minutes of your time in the morning and evening for feeding, watering, cleaning, and health assessment. Not to mention, you will need a solid day for dispatchment. Note: More on the process later.
Choose your breed.
For this second batch of chicks, we’re going with the Cornish cross for the ease of production. In 8 weeks or so the whole process will be complete. The downside to the Cornish…they are a hybrid and there’s no sustainability to the breed for the small-scale homesteader. Therefore, we’ve also ordered 50 Silver Gray Dorkings and have big plans for sustainable meat and egg production. Note: More on breeds later.
Learn more about meat, dual-purpose, and egg-layer breeds on sites like:
Choose your feed.
Buy it or make your own? With the price of GMO-free, organic grains (yes, even when buying in bulk) it’s still cheaper for us to purchase pre-made feed. Through Azure Standard we purchase what I think is the BEST non-GMO, organic chick starter by Scratch and Peck at a fabulous price! Note: More on feed later.
Choose your housing.
I was able to score a large cattle tank via Craigslist for super cheap. Here the chicks with live — in the garage under a brooder light with a heat lamp — for 2-3 weeks until they live the rest of their days outdoors on grass. Even outdoors, they will need protection from the elements and predators. Note: More on housing later.
Freezer space.
When determining how many birds you will raise…you must consider storage. Be sure you have the freezer space for your bounty.
Our birds are scheduled for delivery the week of January 26th.
The entire process will be documented here with bi-weekly posts full of financial details, tips, and giveaways to help you determine if raising meat birds is for you — so be sure not to miss a single step in the process, click this link to subscribe and get Frugally Sustainable tips by email.
Go ahead…I know you have questions! Ask them in the comments! And if you’ve raised meat birds…please share your tips!
DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my knowledge-sharing/writing/blogging activities, I occasionally may receive monetary compensation for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this article. However, I only recommend products or services I have personally used myself and trust.
Medicine You Can Grow at Home & Tips on How To Get Started
Wow! I would LOVE to do this! I have a small, but (considered larger yard) in suburban standards). I have a dog and wonder how that would fare? He is a hound dog. (A beagle) Any thoughts on this? I would love to do this for all the reasons you mentioned above! Good for you! I can’t wait to read all of your posts and see how it’s going. 🙂
Is there anything you don’t do?? (Smile) I’m so envious! I’m so inspired by you. It gives me hope.
Thanks for all of the information and tips!
Estelle
From our experience, we have 4 doxies. Our mama doxie is a straight-out bird killer! She will kill any chicken she can get too……we had 6 beautiful babies just about big enough to put with our existing girls, and Trixie got in there and killed them all in 2 minutes flat.
I plan to start heritage breed chickens and turkeys this spring. I have held off until the good weather because this will be completely new for me! I think, at first, I’ll just keep the hens for the eggs,(probably keep the males separate, grow them and butcher for the freezer) then later get into the meat birds…. I hear there are issues with having roosters: they can be aggressive towards humans and their hens, I don’t want fertilized eggs to eat! So how to keep them apart, etc. I’m looking forward to it, but I know it will be interesting as well as lots of work. I need to have everything ready first. But the payoff will be well worth it! I buy 2-3 dozen organic free range eggs a week, so that will be a load off my mind.
Good luck, and waiting anxiously for your next installment: maybe you’ll save me some headaches if you do it first!!! 😉
They can also b aggressive toward each other as in pecking, killing and then eating each other. Unfortunately we found this out first hand. All birds will do it but we found roosters and the meat birds freedom rangers have been the worst so we went back to cornish cross even with the hybrid, sustainability issue. We keep trying different birds hoping to find the right balance. Love reading what others find. It gives us ideas to try. Some work, some don’t. Thats life and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Good luck. I hope urs don’t eat each other but watch for it do you have a, chance of stopping it.
I’m so touched that my book helped to encourage you to take such a huge step. It’s a big one, I know, but I’m so proud that you tackled it with such success! GOOD JOB! 🙂 I love that you did this…thank you for sharing your story and congrats on such a big success.
Angela,
You book has totally inspired me too! In our little suburban backyard we grow 80% of our veggies, have 12 fruit trees, 10 hens, and yes…..2 Nigerian Dwarf goats for milk! Our backyard space is a mini-farm! Now if only I can find a way to squeeze in a cow without upsetting the neighbors! kidding. Thank you!
Angela, what’s the name of your book?
What an inspiration you are! I look forward to reading about your meat bird journey.
We have a small farm where we raise our own beef, lamb and chickens for eggs and meat. We also have two milk cows, a Jersey we are milking and a Holstein due to calve around Valentines day,
In the house we have 11 2-week old lab puppies and another dog panting right now!
At meat harvest time we butcher our own in the kitchen.
But about the Cornish cross birds–I didn’t realize what I was buying my first time, with their reputation for growing so large and quickly as to sometimes cause broken legs and heart attacks–so my smart husband decided to get them some exercise! He hangs their feeder up high enough for them to have to stand up and stretch a little to reach it! That way they can’t just sit around and eat with no effort and they have to move more. Also on chicken harvest day we dispatched them with a shot to the head. They died quickly without fear or panic.
We were very pleased with the quality of the meat and the taste.
By the way, we have five Labrador Retrievers. Being bird dogs for hunting, we have lost chickens to them over the years, but for unexplainable reasons our current chickens free range all over and the dogs leave them alone–sometimes a chase ensues, but very seldom is one caught. I think it is a gift from God, to enjoy my chickens without too much pleasure for the dogs! And we were given a rooster from a friend to dispatch, but I wanted to hear him crow for awhile. I like the sound of a rooster, but not the meanness, and as it turned out with this one so far–we call him Herald–he is being allowed to live! I don’t mind eating fertilized eggs, as they are eaten fresh, and I may allow some broody hens to sit a nest this spring.
I don’t have any meat birds right now as the sheep are lambing (not so grand as it sounds…we expect a maximum of ten or so) and with the puppies and milking and turning the garage into an apartment, it is enough to do!!
I look forward to your posts! Thank you.
Fantastic!!!! We are getting ready to start building our house on our farm where we plan on raising/growing all of our own food. Meat chickens are on the list so any info you can provide will help in the planning process! Thanks!!
I have often considered this myself for us although we live in a neighborhood with neighbors on all four sides on roughly, well, maybe a quarter of an acre that is always wet. The Mid-Atlantic is the pits sometimes in that regard.
What has always prevented me from doing this though is that I am very concerned about the fact that the general meat bird is a mix of some genetic ugliness that allows for such quick growth in such a short period of time. I mean, how can we say the meat from these birds is really any better than conventional when we truly have no idea what goes into their creation in these mega-hatcheries in the first place??? I realize that what I buy in the organic store as organic chicken is probably a product of this same DNA mish mosh/genetic frankenbird I am so leery or raising myself so…
It is not like they are GMO birds. They are just carefully bred bloodlines. That is no different than any other pure bred animal. You might not like a breed like how people do not like pit bulls, but that does not make a bird “dangerous” to eat.
I grasp what you are saying but isn’t there some valid concern about the quality of what you are eating with this type of breeding practice? While there aren’t GMO issues, it just seems, to me personally at least, that there are other genetic issues that could arise from such breeding and in turn how would those potential issues cause harm to those putting that meat in their bodies for food. I do think it is a valid point to consider. If it doesn’t bother you personally, that is fine, however, that fact could bother others.
On that note, we don’t know what these chickens are fed nor their parents prior to our purchasing of chicks. They could all up to that point be raised on GMO foods which in turn will enter our systems. So while the chickens aren’t bred with some sort of crazy GMO genetics…
Again, just make sure that it is from someone who raises them “organically’, and free range. You can’t possibly know three generations or so back in the lives of your chicks. But the alternative is so much worse! Heritage breeds are most likely ( I would guess, as they are a bit more spendy, and probably raised by people who care about their food supply) to be raised without any of the GMO, and similar feed. Again, if you are going to be worried about generations prior to your chicks, you will make yourself crazy, and even if one generation back has been GMO’ed, you will be taking proper care, and feeding correctly, so that is going to be much better than what you get in the store!!
Heather,
Does your family not eat any chicken then? Guaranteed any chicken you buy for sale (even organic) is a meat breed.
If you want to eat chicken, then the only choices would be to buy the meat birds from the grocery store that have been neglected, pumped with ‘who knows what’ chemically, debeaked, and abused……….or, raise your own meat birds and love them.
You could also buy a regular/heritage breed and eat them, but the cost vs amount of meat you’ll get would be huge. That is a third option.
Go to Livestock Breeds Conservancy ( they recently changed their name, but I’m sure you will get there by googling this) They have lists of HERITAGE animals that are in danger of becomming extinct, and you can find pure bred birds that are NOT tampered with, true to what nature intended. I plan to get birds from ads listed there for my flock, and herds of other livestock.
We’re hoping to do this this year. We live in a small semi with a fairly small garden (that we’re currently overhauling) and already keep a few chickens for eggs. Having experienced processing a goose (which one of our neighbours kindly gave us) I’m feeling more confident about taking the next step and raising some birds for meat.
Will enjoy following how you get on.
Thank you for this post. Very inspiring. We are currently in our “gateway” phase – our first chickens have been laying for about a month now. My husband wants to raise meat rabbits.
I have had chickens for a couple years. One reason is just because I love chickens. Watching them peck and run is my relaxation after a long day at work. I also get eggs. What a bonus! We had a hen attacked by a dog this summer. I found her and my husband killed her, cleaned her and we put her in the crock pot. That was the toughest chicken I had ever eaten! She was a production red (made to lay). I don’t know if that was the reason she was tough? My chickens are in a pen, and then I let them out most days after I get home so they free range also. I wonder if meat chickens would be more tender. Or if I am just spoiled to the grocery store chicken. Can anyone help me with this? I really want to eat better and I know the food you get at the grocery store, only heaven knows what you are really eating. Thanks!
Sarah, If you allow the meat to rest in the refrigerator for a few days to give it time to go through rigor mortis, it will be much more tender.
Thanks for the responses! I am going to get some meat birds and give it a try. We are big chicken eaters, but it is hard to eat my layers as I treat them as friends! : ) What are the best breeds to get for meat and does it seriously only take 9 weeks til you get to eat them?
I second this. We have raised layers for close to 20 years and meat birds almost as long but just began butchering our own 3 years ago. We did over 400 last year and it will close to 500 this year. The first year we butchered and them immediately grilled and sat under a tree, looked at each other and thought oh no, what have we done. The chicken wad so tough and chewy you almost couldn’t eat it. I wanted to cry and my husband started searching for am answer. What many said was let it rest. We did and it has been awesome tender meat since. Found out learning curves are necessary but I don’t have to like them and I don’t. We raise goats for milk and meat, pigs and I’m trying to talk my husband into lambs, turkeys and ducks. He is kinda resisting. Lol Good luck. Ifind it amazing what we learn every single year of this journey.
Oh yay! He skinned that chicken I plopped her in the crock pot and when we tried to eat her I was like….rubber??? LOL That gives me hope! My husband just built a milk barn and he wants to have a milk cow, but I am trying to talk him into goats. Last year my son got a deer and we ground all the meat (after it sat in salt and ice in a cooler for several days) and we lived off that deer meat. I was shocked when I went to the grocery recently to buy hamburger.
I would rather grow my own. Do you eat your goats and do they taste like deer? We have 3 sheep too and was considering butchering them if they are good. We have never had lamb. Thanks so much for the comments!!
Hi Sarah,
We will be butchering our first goats hopefully soon, as soon as our lovely northern Indiana weather allows a weekend of close to freezing temps at night but above freezing during the day. So, hopefully February. I have had goat once before that was an older male and strong tasting. Mine will be about 10 months old and they are wethers. I am really, really, really hoping they taste like venison since they are almost 100% pastured and 100% gmo free. I hope I don’t have one of those learning curves I don’t like and have nasty tasting goat! lol I have had lamb and absolutely love it. Lamb burgers are the bomb. I almost have my husband talked into lambs and my son and daugher-in-law have a pond (I don’t have a pond) so they are going to get the ducks I want. I am the “tryer outer” and my husband is the cautious “thinker-not surer.” I have been known to just do and and say not that big of a deal if it doesn’t work. I also know if I just talk enough LOL he will eventually see it’s a good idea. We kinda even each other out! I’ll try to remember to get back on and let you know how the goat tastes, but if you have lamb, I’d have them in my freezer in a heartbeat!
Sarah, do you let them rest for a few days in the fridge before you put them in the freezer? Or is it ok to put them straight into the freezer?
Nicole, it was the first chicken we ever ate out of our flock. It was still warm when I put her in the crock pot. From what I have been reading, you are to put them in the fridge first and let them rest before you cook or freeze, We do that with deer, but I thought it was only to get the gamey taste out. We have several roosters that my husband wants to kill to eat, so I will put them in the fridge first.
That makes sense!! Thanks, Sarah!!
This is Jenny from above. I put the chickens in the frig for at least 24 hours. When we butcher i usually have between 30 and 40 chickens resting so sometimes it takes me 3-4 days to get them all in the freezer. What we read and have learned since is 24 hours is an “at least this long” time. It really is the best tasting meat I have e er had and I will not ever buy conventional again. We have the cornish cross but have figured out, after Many years, how to help mitigate the bad traits that have been breed into them. They get no meds. We give a nutritional yeast product normally, but not last year cause we ran out and forgot to get more. W have them 9 weeks. We do keep feed in front of them at all times to cut down on fighting and some getting pushed out but our animals are in an outdoor open air pen so they go down at night like all my other chickens. This means they get a rest time and helps with exploding hearts and bad legs. We have had very few losses since we have figured this stuff out. We figure more out every year we have them. We have also tried the slightly slower growing freedom ranger (this was one of my ideas because I hated the breeding aspect of the cornish cross) and that was an experience I never want to repeat. They were smaller overall, slower growing=more expense, and they ATE each other no matter what we tried or did, especially the males! That was sickening. We can’t let our birds run the pasture with our other animals because we have learned the hard way, again, that we have hawks, owls, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, and possums that LOVE chicken. After losing 50% of several batches of our birds, they are now in an enclosed open air pen that the outside animals can’t easily get into. I am still trying to figure out a system where they could run a bunch but haven’t figured that one out yet, at least figured out a way that I can afford. Good luck with your chickens.
Thanks for all the info! I am inspired to try my hand at meat birds and goats, maybe lam
Jenny, I’m trying to talk my husband into pigs for meat and goats for milk. We raised 2 lambs this past summer and 2 the prior summer and they are so easy! If your husband is ok with the goats he would probably be ok with the lambs. Not much work at all and the meat is so good. I think you should absolutely get a pair of duck (at least) because they drastically reduce the insect population that eats at the garden as well as ticks and other nasties. Our neighbors had terrible tick problems this summer, but we didn’t have any.
I never thought of that! My cousin had reason to eat two of his layers and he said it was unbelievably tough, too. I never thought about letting it sit for a few days, though. Thanks.
I have never heard of letting chickens “rest” for days in the fridge before freezing or using them and we have been raising chickens for years, the only time they have been tough is when they have been stressed before dispatching.
Perfect timing. I just started thinking about adding chickens in my suburban backyard. I can’t wait to see how this all works out for you!
Question: Do your laying hens and meat chickens live together, or do you raise them in separate quarters?
This is Jenny from above again. We have also tried this, LOL. When they are small, we can and do sometimes raise them together if we need new layers. They can actually be raised together until butchering the broilers. One of the most active batches we have EVER had was raised with some new layers. They were so active we had a devil of a time catching those birds. We have found you really can’t put full grown layers with broilers. The feed requirements are totally different and layers can be really mean depending on the breed. We pasture layers so I don’t keep feed in front of them all the time in the spring, summer and fall. I do keep feed in front of the broilers. We try t o slow the broilers down enough to stop leg and heart problems,but fast enough to be able to raise about 4 batches from april til late october.
A timely post! I actually laughed when I read the title in my mailbox 😉 I’m looking to raise chickens for the first time starting this spring. I don’t know if I will add meat birds in with the mix for my first set of chickens mostly because I want to get a good rhythm down on taking care of chickens. Plus I live in the city so my backyard only has so much forage room. :/
Sarah P. the reason your chicken was so tough is not because it was bred to lay eggs, rather it was because of the stress of the dog attack and possibly the age of the chicken. Younger animal = more tender meat. Any animal that is kept calm before being “dispatched” will be more tender than one that is stressed
I am wondering it you could stagger your chicks through the year. Rather than raising, dispatching and storing a year’s worth in one season? Granted, only having to commit 8 weeks and getting all of the dispatching done at one time is appealing. My questions are probably addressed in one of the resources you recommended. Thank you very much for that. I am just curious to know your “why” for raising all in one batch. Pinning this to my chicken board! 🙂
Did you ‘dispatch’ them all yourself? We live in a suburban backyard, with 2 story houses all around. I pretty much push my luck with 10 hens (my kids are in 4H so the county allows us to have more then legal), so butchering meat chickens in our backyard would NOT make my neighbors happy.
We have the number of a lady who will do the dispatching, plucking/cleaning for $4/bird. Is that fair?
I also wonder if it is OK to put layers and meat chickens together.
I look forward to your future posts about raising your meat chickens. I have been planning on doing this same thing this Spring and am now extending my coop and chicken yard. For those asking about raising them together….from all that I have read this would not be a good idea because of the different kind of feed they eat. Layers are fed a different ratio of grains than meat birds. Someone who has experience, please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
Oh – that makes sense, J Randall. Thanks
I have a quarter acre lot and always wanted to grow chicken. However, I’m very squimish and would not be able t dispatch them. But would like to give it a try