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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

That is pretty much the plan, to leave them alive as long as possible
and then put them in the freezer or can them.  Since I will be pressure
canning a lot this summer anyway(something I am not looking forward to
really-more later) I might as well can some of it.
But also Bob, realize that I have two freezers, one of which is now
empty.  We did not raise pigs last year, and we did not get a deer, so
only one freezer is turned on (It is a big commercial sized freezer)

We do still have turkey from what we raised last year, and plenty of
fish, and some whole hog sausage, and actually someone on the loop gave
us about 50# of ground venison(2007 harvest, but I don't care-it still
tastes great) so we won't starve.  I also have plenty of fruit and
veggies and such in the freezer.  Even with all of that, I could
probably still get 10 chickens in there without turning the other
freezer on.
The hard part is aging them...which reminds me...I need to set out some
jugs of water to make ice.  I will store the ice in the freezer until we
butcher, and then I will the ice in the coolers for aging the
chicken...no room in my little fridge for more than one chicken at a time.

Of this first group, the 8 'free' birds, only one was a rooster.  I have
now mixed the two flocks and pulled out my RIR/white rock rooster to a
cage unto himself and allow the young RIR/Wyandotte rooster to become
Sheik of the harem.<G>  I just haven't decided what to do with White
Roo...might sell him, might turn him into dogfood.  He's two years old,
but getting ornery, he's so big he roughs up the girls, and he throws
white birds, which I don't care for.  In a open environment, a white
bird might as well carry a sign that says I AM DINNER to all winged and
toothed predators. :)  So what I don't sell will be eaten..
The next group to mature consists of 19 birds, 10 of which are
sold...there will be some roosters in the remaining 9, so the first roos
to the freezer will happen in about 3 weeks.  It will be a month before
the next batch of birds matures of which there are only 12 in that group
now, and then by May, the last chicks to hatch should be ready to eat.

Bev

bobf wrote:
> That is a lot of chickens , Bev.  Since a freezer will only hold so 
> many frozen chickens, do you butcher  "X" number of them every 2 
> weeks or what?

--
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will
not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius
will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone
are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve
the problems of the human race"

~ Calvin Coolidge