Id say losing food from a freezer that big isn't an issue. If one gave out, as long as you found out quickly, you'd have at least 12 hours to make a plan. Dont forget you literally have 100s of kilos of ice (frozen meat) in a massive cooler, it'll stay cold for a while as long as you keep the lid closed
I had our first set of chicks shipped last week. Ordered 10 chicks. They were hatched and in the mail monday and didnt arrive until friday! 4 were dead upon arrival and the 5 of the 6 remaining were clinging to life and couldnt even stand. I tried so hard to save them but slowly they all died that day. I had one that somehow is still doing great. Our little miracle! Thankfully tractor supply has chicks still so we could get her some friends.
I got an incubator so I could hatch at home now and just ship the eggs. Problem is you won’t know how many you will get. I had a great hatch rate last time and got more than I bargained for 😆
As far as vacuum sealing the chicken (or anything really), I dont have one either but what I like to do is fill one of the sides of my sink with water and close the ziplock bag almost all the way (with whatever food that you are dealing within it). I then slowly lower the bag into the water until its almost going into the bag where I left it open. The water pushes the air out and then I seal the ziplock the rest of the way before any water gets in.
Time lapsing the entire process of raising meat birds was a brilliant idea Cody. I especially like the idea of sectioning the birds out for storage and now I'm hoping we see a video on how the bone broth is made because where I buy my poultry they often have backs available for bone broth but no recipe.
Roast the backs in the oven until browned. boil with aromatics such as thyme, rosemary, garlic, ginger, onion, leek, S&P, etc. The aromatics you use will depend on what flavor you are going for. Asian/ ramen stock will have ginger, star anise, garlic, miso, soy sauce, allspice, etc. Something a bit more country fare could be achieved with just the holy trinity (2 parts onion + 1 part carrot + 1 part celery) + garlic and S&P. Modify to desired taste. The most important thing is roasting the backs first to really unlock that delicious chicken flavor.
You say that you have a mold problem in the vegetable garden. My grandmother taught me that you should never use leaves as cover in the vegetable garden because mold accumulates on them. Use wood chips instead, willow is good. Or planer shavings, but not oak. And for the BUGS, plant with wormwood, decorative cress, St. John's wort, velvet flower, celery, sage around your vegetable garden, these are repellent plants. And you should have a compost with sections, 3 at least, this way materials in the compost will burn hotter and the soil will be better and mold free. All the best and a lot of harvest to you from the land of Santa Claus. (Not from North Pole)🎅
Labels are important. I also learned this the hard way. I get beef from my Dad and he had to use a different place to process the cows that just use butcher paper and write the cut with marker. The place he used before had nice labels with the date and everything printed. So with the butcher paper, i need to bring a sharpie with me to write the year when I bring it home. I also watched my Grandma make an apple pie for lunch instead of the meat pie she thought she was making because she didnt label lol
I have to tell you when you mentioned putting chickens in the freezer, I expected that you would doit all! Imagine my surprise seeing you take the chickens some where to get them processed! I had no idea that there was such a place! Here in rural Colorado if you raise chickens to put in the freezer, it is our job to do all of it! Which is a horrible job that the men in this family refuse to do! You are so very lucky to be able to have the chickens done that way! Love your videos and look forward to each one!
My wife and I did our first set of 23 meat chickens a couple months ago. What an amazing learning experience! I love your system setup! Everything is very well thought out. We’re new to homesteading (just over a year now), and I know it takes time to build/set up your system. Always adjusting little by little as you learn. Love the content! Definitely stealing that chicken tractor idea
Great video. Feeling inspired. We just bought 5 acres and are about to close in the next couple weeks. This is one of the many things we want to do to be self sufficient.
I live in a village. Can't have chickens. But my friend lives in the country. She's going to raise the chickens organically. She's raising 10 chickens for me. I'm going to help her harvest them. Not sure if I can do the deed, but I'll process them. I do have a garden. We barter sometimes. I love it.
I have a friend with 10 acres. I give her a deposit and pay a percentage of the feed and help her process. I get some birds and she gets some $$$. I feel it's a fair exchange.
I'm gonna throw this out there. We raise 2, 25 ct, batches of cornish cross each year...solely in 2, 5x8, stationary chicken tractors. Is it ideal? Of course not. But we raise them on non-gmo feed, in a clean tractor(we top off bedding 2x per day, and clean completely every 4-5 days...which would equal moving them twice on grass), we offer grass and weeds..clover, etc. as a supplement, so they do get grass. They are under shade and weather protection as well. The ONLY time we lost more than a couple of birds was the year it was over 100°F and we overfed them...we follow a 12 hours on, 12 hours off feeding schedule after 3wks of age...and that year I totally forgot that! So, it was hot...and they were way too big. NINE died! Our fault. My birds are always healthy and happy. So. There IS another way to raise them without a large acreage. The key is not over-crowdi g, quality feed, great shelter, and CLEAN bedding daily. Oh, and they are always close to 6lbs at butcher(we learned to butcher them ourselves from Sow the Land here on YT), at 8wks. One year, we had to wait until 10 weeks, and they were all over 7lbs...and some were 8lbs! Welp Hatchery is where we always get our chicks from. I just don't want anyone to think they can't do this because of space.
I’m on a quarter acre. I raised 36 chicken, turkey and ducks on this with zero issues! They really don’t need much space. Everyone should have chickens! It’s so unbelievably easy
I also raise cornish cross. I tried both and like the CC. I have a stationary coop/brooder that I built a run for them out of hardwire. When they are feathered I open the doors for them to free range and eat grass and bugs. My CC's always are fully feathered. They don't look sick. They forage around just like my laying birds. I am butchering at 3-4 lbs this year. I have found that the 5 -7 lb birds get too tough. We'll see. It is my experiment this year. Processing in 7 weeks not 8.
I've got just over an acre. How much land do I need to dedicate for 30 hens and 2 roosters? I'm trying to raise them, a small garden, and a mini jersey on this land. I've got farm cats and am going to get an Australian Shepherd mix for a flock guard dog. I've got nothing but the cats so far. They came with me, and it's too late in the season. I can't grow much of anything. It's mid-August.
We had 3 broilers that we couldn't get butchered until November. Thankfully, we put their feed up at the top of a ramp, they had to climb, and exercise, to eat. I have a picture of one of my sons holding one, dressed out and frozen, that weighed 19 pounds! The boys who butchered them said they normally would have broken their legs at that weight! We had several turkeys done at the same time, that weighed 36 pounds, dressed out! We had to cut them in half, to cook them!!!!
Your dedication to preparing delicious meals warms our hearts and fills our bellies with joy. Every dish you create is a testament to your culinary artistry and care. And I am Floating Village Life
You should get a freezer alarm, for each freezer, that sync with your phone, and let you know if one of your freezers gets below a specified temperature. They're not expensive, and could save all your food, that you worked hard to grow and produce!
The woman who taught me about doing chicken said that after butchering you can clean, bag, but keep in a cooler with ice for 36 hours to help tenderize the meat like when you hang beef. We then after the 36 hours put them in the freezer and they are more tender.
I maybe have a dumb question, but I’m trying to learn so I hope you’ll forgive me lol. What does being “tender” really mean for chicken and what’s the benefit?
I do the same thing. I haven't really noticed a difference either but....This year I am culling my cornish cross at 7 weeks not 8. I am aiming for a little over 3 lb birds just like you buy in the store. I think that is the key.
@gamerk3l116 you have never eaten an old chicken or a rooster. Chicken can be tough. I can't imagine his 10 week old ones would be, but the roosters might soon get that way.
So fast to get a plump chicken on the table! And you can't beat home made chicken broth. It's the tastiest. Love your visits with all of us. Thanks. See you all next time. Love from Central Oklahoma
I'm 3 weeks into growing my first batch h of meat birds. I laughed when you said your trying to make a video over 3 months because I'm trying to do the same. I feel your pain! I'm attempting this new format when I normally do weekly vlogs. You feel like you're repeating yourself over and over. I think you did a great job,fair play
Rewatching for chick raising notes. Also agree that Thrive Market is great. With no time to shop for speciallity baking sugar (& snacks for gluten free diet grandkids), it's home delivery is awesome.😊
We did broilers for the first time two years ago. We still have some left in the freezer and they still taste just as good. How you store them helps a lot with that. I thought I’d have a really hard time with butchering something I raised too, but I have the same understanding as the you do: giving them a good life, best I can and certainly better than the alternative. We did Cornish cross, and we ended up with Turkey sized chickens. But this next time we will be doing another breed so we don’t run up against the issues you were discussing. We were fortunate to not really deal with any health issues, but we sure could have. Thank you for noting the breed you raised. We will definitely be considering rainbow rangers for our next round.
We use the poultry shrink wrap bags for whole chickens. You just dunk them in a pot of hot water to shrink wrap it. Our Freedom Rangers average close to 6 1/2 lbs each at 12 weeks old. Less than $3/lb.
Chamber Sealer is better than vacuum sealer! If a vacuum sealer gets water in the motor it's done. That doesn't happen with chamber sealers. Chamber Sealer was one of the best purchases I've ever made for keeping meats, soups, broths, vegetables, and fruits fresh! LEM Max Vac great!!
We raise and process our own chickens. We do the Cornish cross, but process at seven weeks. Works great for us. Two batches a year. We don’t do a crazy amount each time. But we also raise steers and pigs, they go to the processor though.
Try using the heat shrink bags; we use them for our chicken and they are amazing. No freezer burn or moisture in the bag, and it’s like a vacuum sealed bag but much cheaper, easier, and quicker to use.
If you get a vacuum sealer, definitely get a chamber vacuum sealer, so much better, although it is a couple hundred more dollars it is definitely worth it..
You all should think about fermenting your feed even for your broilers. It’s way more nutritious, it allows the chickens to absorb way more nutrients and cuts your feed bill in half. Love your videos, keep them coming!
I have a SMALL amount of experience with chickens; my parents had a hobby farm in TX for 20 years and they had bantam black cochins which were just adorable. They were a gift from the poultry people when they bought a dozen Weeder geese. Two chicks turned into a dozen or so. My parents couldn’t bear to think of eating them, so they just kept them for their cute little banty eggs. I would love to have some chickens, but we live in a townhome and my husband is not interested in moving to where we could have livestock and he’d hate it anyway. You have to have a partner who is on the same page. Also we are in our ‘70’s. Best wishes to those who can!
Thanks for the cost breakdown. Not sure if you do this but you could add in the cost of things like bone meal if you do that too. Simple enough. Boil the bones for broth. Dry them and grind them into powder. Stuff is like $8/lb. May be able to do the same for feathers if your butcher keeps them.
I can’t do broilers at my home, but I did order 4 pasture raised chicken broilers from a farm by me. I’m excited to have fresh chicken. I can’t wait to see how much better it will taste.
Thank you for this video! We will raise our own next year so this was helpful! For our freezers we have a thermometer in each and can see the temps on the display (we keep that on the kitchen counter) and then if it drops below a certain temp an alarm goes off. We bought it on Amazon and it’s worth it so save all our food!
What you are doing is amazing! I wish I had the resources to do all that. I wouldn't grow chickens to be butchered but, I would like to raise them for eggs. I will feel awful eating something that I know as a living being. I guess that is the effect of having lived a life where everything is bought from a supermarket. You are so disconnected from the source of food that you don't realise all the things that go into it. I would never have a chicken grown in factory farms where they are so badly treated.
Order a freezer alarm for about $13.00. you get two sensors. I keep one in the fridge and on in the freezer. Its magnetic and sticks to the door of the refrigerator. You set the sensors with a high lo temp. Very easy. Youll always know exactly what the freezer and refrigerator temps are just by looking at the fridge door. If they go above or below your settings the alarm sounds.
That bird cost 5 dollars because it’s basically a science project lol But you do you I personally think they are flavorless regardless of their phenomenal price tag ! This is coming from a Costco hotdog connoisseur btw lol
I’ve been waiting for this video excitedly since you first talked about it yay! I will definitely save this for the future when I have my own space. Thank you so much!
Just a thought. I worked at a chicken farm with over 200,000 chickens. You’re moving crates are great. As far as your door idea the ones we move them in we’re about the same size 8 cages high on wheels the ends hinged up like a doggie door so they swung in, but when it came down, it stopped when it got to the edge of the crate and didn’t swing both ways that you can push them in when you pull your hand out the door swings down. Since you mentioned you were going to redo your door, I thought I would throw that out there.
Not sure how far you are from Meyer Hatchery - but it’s a gorgeous drive. We pick all our chicks up at their facility and we have had great luck with very little loss. Out of 75 chicks, we lost 3 over the entire time.
Jason Roades put his chicken in a bag and then he twist the bag and put them in hot water in a bucket and it draws the air out then he ties them up and takes the air out so it is ready for the freezer
Such an effecient farm. Yes, you have to do freezers in one thirds and you know it. ( just a few pieces of hard cardboard and signs would do). Also recommend canning some.
This is the first video of y’all that I’ve watched and I love it! You guys are amazing and I am so inspired and looking forward to building my chicken coops!
Vacuum sealing is simple without a VS’er, just pack in a freezer ziplock baggie, then dip from bottom to top in a sink full of water. Of course don’t go all the way to the top, and seal carefully while still in the water. If you can’t close it properly, you have to much chicken in the bag. It really is so close to vacuum sealed that it will last a dadgum long time!
Well, now that you have all that fertilized land, you could start growing your own chicken feed, like in the old days, you know, before the chicken feed stores were invented.. :) What's the worst case scenario? The wheat won't reach maturity come first frost? I think your layers will happily eat that.
Thanks for budget. Can you guess at why it used to be $5 to raise broiler for 42 days. Is it feed? What weight are you aiming for at 10 weeks and why? How much do your local stores sell 42 day old broilers for?
Good video Codi! You explained it well. I like the wheel set up you have for the tractor -- I use logs...lol. It works! Have been thinking of building another tractor because although I made mine 3 foot tall and have 1/3 of the roof lift off, I still have to crawl in some times. Great info. I let my meat birds rest for a minimum of 4 hours in ice water before bagging and will sometimes put in the fridge for 24 - 36 hours for the bigger birds - gives them a chance to condition (similar to hanging beef). I may part mine out this year as it certainly has it's benefits I would imagine. Good job!
I know this was all about chickens, but Michelle showed some new style loaves of bread cooking, more simple to do, not the round sourdough loaves, where can I find the info. Cheers x
Love the idea of the waterers and feed on boards!!! I do the cornish cross and follow the 12/12 rule of feeding. 12 hours (daytime) with feed. 12 hours off (night time) I am also going to harvest my birds when they are a 3 lb bird. I have found that 5-7 pounds makes for tougher meat. Store birds are only 3 lbs. You take your chickens in to get butchered? Come on guys!!! How do you know you are getting YOUR birds? My cornish cross are raised just like my layer hens. I have a solid coop/brooder with hardwire fence run for them. They don't just sit around and eat feed all day. They are eating bugs, grass and chasing each other when they find a bug. They all feather out really nice too. Just a helpful hint for anyone.
I close on my new place later this month, 3 acres in Preble Co, You have inspired me to try this next year. I can work on getting equipment over the winter
Cody thank you for doing a walk through on your mobile coop, that would be so much easier to move than what I have. We will be butchering 18 ourselves the end of the month. Giving 5 ea to 2 of my grown kids, but making them help butcher. My daughter said oh, that will be fun. I thought oh you have no idea. All by hand, no plucker
I process my own. Worst oart is getting set up for it but doesn't take many years to be money saved. I share a aromatic feather removal machines with a friend we went havrs in to buying it.
I enjoy seeing how different people raise their meat birds! I'm literally uploading a video right now from our harvest this past weekend. We have been raising cornish cross but are interested in seeking a more heritage breed to raise also. We raised red Rangers once and found their meat to be fatty and they were small. I love these transport boxes you use for bringing the chicks to the tractor. Did you make these, Cody?
Thank you for sharing, we did our meat birds a few months ago. We did freedom rangers. Last year and my husband didn't care for the way they tasted. So yes we do the cornishX meat birds. They do eat Alot and grow fast. Our birds we did were on avg of 10lbs some were bigger as they were the roosters. Great video. Till next time God Bless.
Great video! I already plan on doing this starting next year but good to see the process. Maybe you mentioned it and I just missed it but have you ever considered doing the processing yourself? I imagine that would save a pretty significant portion of money. I don't personally plan on doing it because I can afford to not and I like supporting other agriculture businesses small businesses who perform that work more efficiently and better than I do however I'm always interested in why some folks do and some folks don't process their own chicken. One question related to you're pretty awesome tractor, does it have any protection from digging predators?
I gave a little more explanation about why we get it done somewhere else in the description of the video.. basically we can get it done cheap enough that at this point it's not worth the time, hassle, and equipment investment for us to do it. Nothing wrong with supporting other small businesses 😊 There is no extra protection besides just making sure there aren't any gaps.. and having a dog on the property 😊 We haven't had an issue so far.
Thanks for the video! I had only just started considered looking for a processor (the other videos out there are DIY), that seems like I can get buy off from the family on that much easier than doing it ourselves.
Have you ever processed your broilers yourself? My parents did it a couple times when I was a teenager but we were all amateurs and it was a lot of work!
