We got chickens from Murray McMurray Hatchery on April 14th and 6 weeks later we had a full freezer. This was super worthwhile, we're doing this again next year. I already miss the routine.

Some pictures!

Picked them up from the post office. Giant smile on my face while driving home with a softly peeping box.

A week and a half in it was too cold to get them onto the lawn full time, so we had Chicken Enrichment Time instead. This was their first time touching grass.

Finally got them into the garage. Saw this brooder box design online and the price was definitely right, 2 sheets of plywood and a few cuts with the saw. Easy. They loved this space, they had zoomies, scratched and pecked around, just had a great time.

Their final home. We had a few wet nights, and a few cold nights, but once they were in the chicken tractor, we didn't lose any birds to the elements. Just one to rank stupidity. This thing was probably overkill, definitely too heavy, but I scooted it around the lawn every morning to get them onto fresh grass. A few months later, the grass is happier and healthier with the extra fertilizer. Next year we're doing the first batch of chickens later so they can snack on some mulberries.

And here they are at finish weight. Most of them were over 6 pounds, and all of them (except the silkie) were over 4 pounds processed.

And here they all are, 116lbs of broiler chickens, 8lbs of livers & hearts, 7lbs of feet, 7lbs of gizzard. This was a very fulfilling way to ensure that the creatures I eat are treated right from beginning to end. Next year we're going to do more. We've run through half our stock in just a few months from selling chickens to friends and family. And, they're the best chicken I've ever had in my life.