Chicken Herder

It is with great sadness that I write this post. Starting on Wednesday night (May 12), sometime between 11 pm and 6 am, our field flooded. All the broilers are dead. There was no warning (or at least none that I was aware of), and our field has never flooded this much this late in the year (at least since we’ve been here). When I went out I was holpeful that one or two chickens might be alive. After pulling the first chicken tractor to land, I discovered I was wrong.

Celeste took some pictures of me trying to rescue the chickens. The white things in the water around me are the broilers. I picked a couple up (also pictured) to see if there were any vital signs. I later took a couple clearer pictures and one of Nora surveying the loss.

Our family garden also flooded. I do not yet know the extent of loss there. The next week will reveal more.

The bit of good news is that we just got our next round of broilers in as chicks. They are set to be processed on June 26, assuming fire doesn’t descend from Heaven and consume them.

The first round of broilers for 2010 will be available on May 24. They will be seven weeks old on that day, so I am anticipating an average weight around 4 pounds. The cost is $3 per pound. I am hoping to bring almost 90 to market, but I’m already getting orders in, so if you want some, be sure to reserve yours soon. I have already ordered the next set of chicks…they will be available on or around July 3 (just in time for Independence Day grilling).

Regarding processing: I am trying something different this time, namely, same-day-pickup. More details will be coming within the next couple days…stay tuned!