Chicken seems to be a controversial subject these days, how much should we eat, which kind should we buy? We have made the firm decision recently that we don't want to eat intensely farmed chickens, however, we realize that's nigh impossible these days and so we also made the decision to only eat chicken we raise ourselves.Which brings us to The Chicken Coop.... our 13 chickens who we bought as day old chicks. They cluck around happily having a peck at what they fancy. They are young yet, but we are hoping to get a couple of laying hens as well as some delicious chicken.
Admittedly, it isn't a pleasant thing to have to kill the chickens you raise from chicks, but we much prefer to eat our little chickens knowing that they have been raised fairly and we can be fully thankful for the meat we have from them.
You may well think that 13 chickens are not going to give us an abundance of meat, and you're right, it's not going to be much especially if we keep a couple of laying hens and a cockerel to give us next years chicks, then it's even fewer. But, we think quality and not quantity. We have come to depend on chicken as a daily source of food in the west and it's just not a healthy mindset. 70 years ago, chickens were farmed more fairly and eaten less often, and perhaps better enjoyed. It may be time, certainly for us, re-evaluate and learn to appreciate.
I should also say, we keeps ducks, geese and eventually rabbits for the same purpose. This way we can eat a varied, healthy amount of guilt-free meat.
