broiler chickens – Bellfern Homestead

8 weeks to chicken dinner

I often joke that you can grow a chicken to table-ready faster than you can grow a cabbage. The modern variety of meat bird, Cornish Cross, is bred to grow very fast, from hatched to 4-5 lb roaster in just 8 weeks. Some homesteaders think this is terrible and unnatural, and opt instead for slowerContinue reading “8 weeks to chicken dinner”

The cost of novice homesteading mistakes

I really admire people who carefully research their ideas and plans of action before they go ahead. I bet they experience little waste and a high rate of success. Josh and I are not those people. We’re the people who jump in and then learn how to swim. It’s a useful strategy for us, becauseContinue reading “The cost of novice homesteading mistakes”

Raising meat chickens: the nitty gritty

I wouldn’t deliberately choose to process chickens in a cyclone. It’s just that when you raise meat chickens, you’re working on a timeline. There’s a lot to line up: you have to consider the day the chickens were hatched, and calculate 7-8 weeks to determine the butchering window. And when you’re a part-time farmer, weekendsContinue reading “Raising meat chickens: the nitty gritty”