In which our summer groceries are available in neighborhood yards

 Will wanted to know more about how to turn chickens into food.  

So he joined the chicken harvesting crew and got to see--and do--the process.

Mel spearheaded the effort for a group of us to raise and harvest chickens
as an alternative to current commercial meat-processing 

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a lot of spotlights shining on American food sources.  I've been a gardener for decades, and this spring we added another garden to Haiku Farm to bolster our food output.  We've raised our own turkeys in past years, and joined Mel's food-raising cooperative this summer to source chickens.

The process, for those who haven't followed our Turkey Massacre posts in prior years, is simple:

Grab the bird.  This can sometimes be the most challenging part.

(please note that the turkeys in the video follow people around the pen...)

I'll skip the photos of the ooky parts.

Put the bird upside down in the traffic cone.  The blood rushes to the head, and they pass out.   This method is quicker and kinder than the old "put the bird on the chopping block" method.  

Cut the bird's throat with a very sharp knife.    Pro tip:  lock up the dogs before you get to this part.  We remembered to do that this time. 

Dip the bird in a "dip tank" of hot (145* F) water + a little bit of bleach and soap for about 30 seconds.  This loosens the feathers.  When wing and tail feathers pull out easily,  bath time is done.

Pluck the bird.  

The "Yard Bird" mechanical plucker is a game changer, y'all. 

In past years we have needed 5-8 people to hand-pluck turkeys, and we were somewhat daunted at the prospect of plucking a bunch of smaller birds...so Mel procured a Yard Bird!  

With the mechanical plucker, Patty and I were able to de-feather 18 birds by ourselves in a fraction of the time.  Here's a video of the process posted by somebody else.  It's not a dignified process for the bird, but it sure saves on human hands.

Unstuff the insides, hose everything out, 

Food safety:  we wear masks, and we clean everything, often!

and it's ready:

Wearing a chicken as a mitten is totally optional

But we cannot live on just chicken!

That's why we have gardens, of course.  

Collie-flowers?  Nope, just sunflowers and beans...and bean-eating dogs!

In addition to the eggs from our chickens, we are also currently harvesting all kinds of vegetables.

I can't believe we've never grown broccoli before--it's so much better than the stuff in stores

Lemon Boy tomatoes are ripe, Roma tomatoes are growing

So. Many. Beans!  I planted 5 types this year, and we are harvesting buckets of them now

All these things, combined with the potatoes, garlic, and a few other things we harvested in July,  produce a dinner that cannot be beat.

The only ingredients that we didn't produce were the salt and pepper!

And for dessert

blackberry pie

What do you grow or make from fresh local food?  Leave a note in the comment box!