So this is really happening....

Tomorrow is the end of the road for my first flock chickens

I can believe I am here. It seems like the endless hours researching were just yesterday. And here I am.... having successfully raised my first flock of chickens trying desperately to detach emotionally from this final step.

We have chosen to have the chickens processed at Farm Fed. This is a federally inspected and licensed facility in Abbotsford. Its a little more expensive than having a mobile slaughter service, but I have opted to have use Farm Fed because everyone of the birds will be inspected before being released backed to me to sell. I am paying for peace of mind.

They have provided us with the crates we will need to transport our birds from our farm to the processing facility.

10 to 12 chickens per orange crate

The staff have been so helpful, answering our endless questions and being patient with us as we learn and try to get this right.

Mann loaded the crates on to our trailer for us and showed us a bit around the plant. Cam and I could not stomach the smell so the tour did not last real long.

And again I am shocked as to what I am using my SUV for. When we bought the truck a few years ago we had hockey gear, youth group attendees, large playdates in mind - we would have never imagined that we would be using it for transporting 100 chickens.  Mike at Campbell River Honda would be so impressed, I am sure!


So tomorrow morning - around 5am - Cam and I will be attempting to catch our flock and transport them to processing. Should be a time of lots of laughs and interesting to say the least!

Meet Gimp

Our Special Care Nursery

So this little guy (that I have affectionally dubbed "Gimp") has at least one broken leg and the other leg is not quite right either. He can't move around the coop very well and the other chickens just push by (or over) him.









If he is left with the rest of the flock he will die or be savagely killed by his flock mates. Its a survival of the fittest scenario. So we set up a little special care area for him only. We have caught a few healthier chickens hopping the wall and stealing his food. Despite the isolation, he is not growing as quick as the others, but he is alive and being cared for well.

Day 36?!

Well - 3/4 of the way! This is awesome..... these chicks are huge! Full fledged white feathers, red combs and all. We went away for 5 days and left the chickens in great care. When we came back they were way huger than before we left! Its amazing to see how quickly they grow and we really noticed it having been absent for several days.

While we were away, ecoli in beef being sold commercially, locally, was all over the media. People getting sick. Questions being asked "why is so much of our entire country's beef dependent on one processing facility in Alberta?" What about keeping it local? What about eating food that was raised / grown / made close to where I reside. This whole "scare" renewed my confidence in the importance of raising / growing / making my families' food. Raising and processing these chickens is only a small cog in the wheel. But its a good start.

Oh how I love paperwork!

The accountant in me - loves documents

The BC Chicken Marketing Board is a wealth of information and regulators of small flock farms like ours. I was finally able to track down exact information on how many chickens I can raise and details on regulations and procedures. All inquiries I made lead to the Marketing Board. I can raise up to 2000 chickens per year and sell from the farm gate all of these. I can not sell to commercial facilities (grocery stores, etc.). So I just received a beautiful package in the mail with a wealth of reading material and this beautiful document.

Promptly after reviewing in, Cam asked me if he could hang it on the barn so that we look official.  "Look official?! We are official, baby!"

The Board is collaborating with the University of the Fraser Valley and putting a course together in November for small flock chicken farmers. Looks like I am heading to the Chilliwack campus on Tuesdays in November. Some free education? Yes, please.