Yesterday was the day we butchered our 20 broilers!! Of course we just had to choose the first 94 degree day of the summer to do it!! :-) Here are some pictures we took to share with you how we did it (WARNING: this is not for the faint of heart!!). This was our very first time butchering a bunch of chickens at once (and using the right tools!) so we learned a lot. It sure feels good to have 18 home grown chickens in the freezer . . . and 2 cooking for supper!! YUM!!
He caught the chicken and brought it over to be slaughtered.
He slit it's neck and let the blood drain out . . .
. . . and brought it over to Daniel, who dipped it in the boiling water.
Then Daniel threw the chicken in the "whizbang," a machine that spins around and plucks all the feathers off.
Tada!! Isn't that handy?!
Anyway, so Daniel had the knives all sharpened . . .
. . . for dad to cut the legs and head off and get all the guts out.
Then one of us would bring the finished chicken up to the house . . .
Where mom, Lydia, and I vacuum sealed each one for the freezer!
Was it gross? A little bit . . .
. . . but not too bad!!!
We got our first raspberry last week!! You haven't lived until you've had a raspberry fresh from the garden . . .
. . . OR a fresh green sweet pea!! YUM YUM!!
Who knows what kind of plant this is? Clue: it's two words.
This year we actually got some juicy, tart cherries!! We also have several apple trees that we make into applesauce in the fall.
It's hard work living on a farm and growing/raising your own food . . . but it's SO good and SO worth it!!!
More long-overdue-posts coming soon!! :-)
