A Chicken in the Oven is Better Than Two in the Coop!

I'm not ashamed to admit that I was nervous about how the Cornish we raised would taste. Anything that's new always has a little apprehension involved, right? I can now say we will definitely be raising the Cornish Cross again. It tasted great, the Reds loved it. and Andrea was happy with it. We also had enough chicken left over to feed us for the week.

I have to build a tractor to move them twice a day next time, and I have to track down a place that we can buy organic non-soy, non-GMO feed in bulk as well. We may also try finishing them on spent brewer's grain as well, and see how that works out. Another proof of concept here on the farm, and moving forward we'll look to move the price per pound down as much as we can.

Cobb Creek Farms

My best friend once told me if you're going to raise cattle, don't try to raise hay as well. Do one really well and let someone else raise great hay for you. It is sage advice if your farming for a .

As a homesteader though, we really are working towards being as self reliant as we can be. That said I frequently think of Adam's advice and when it makes sense I seek out folks who are great at what they do. 

Cobb Creek is a Joel Salatin style farm not too far away from my little homestead. My USDA Extension Agent, after telling him about my hopes to paddock shift, and follow with chickens, didn't mock me. Instead he said a couple years priors he would have, but after seeing Cobb Creek he thought they might have the best pasture in the county. 

Today was my first time I had the chance to visit, and it was awesome. I was told they're raising and processing 1,000 chickens of their own each week. Their chicken tractors are impressive, and look much more like what I want to build and pull around with a four wheeler than they look like Salatin tractors. In addition to processing their own, they also open their facility up to the public. 

I was the second guy to show up and I was lucky enough to watch the fellow in front of me so I wasn't totally clueless. He had his own fancy crates (you can see the 18 he brought in above), but they had crates available for me to use since we'd just loaded out chickens up like the Clampots moving to Hollywood, right in the back of the cattle trailer. Thankfully the Frankenchickens have zero Houdini in their DNA and we made it safely to the facility.

The slaughterhouse itself was awesome. Super clean, no smell, friendly staff, I couldn't have asked for anything more. 

What an amazing resource to have 20 minutes away! If you live nearby and you're thinking about growing broilers, give them a call. The price makes a lot of sense once you're over 25 chickens, but even if you're under the vacuum sealing, plucking, gutting, and disposal of if it all is a tremendous value in exchange for your time (and your wife's sanity),