Raising Chickens: Slaughtering Chickens

The Chicken FAQ

Questions we've been asked... for how we slaughter our chickens, go here: these are general questions.

I just got my Murray McMurray catalog... there has to be a hundred birds in here! How do I decide?

The sensible thing to do would be to decide what you want the birds for, then narrow down the selection in that category by the traits that are important to you.

For example, we like brown eggs. It's a New England thing. So we don't even look at white egg layers. We want our birds to be winter hearty, which eliminates a few more varieties. We like our birds to be friendly... which narrows things down a little further. And then there is plumage. I like colorful plumage... golds and reds, browns, birds that look like they've got mink feathers, and birds that have striking contrasts. I don't particularly care for black and white. So that narrows things a bit further.

If you're really lost, order an assortment of birds and see which ones you like best. We did that one year and discovered there were birds we really detested, who were just plain mean... and it was a pleasure to eat them! We also discovered the Speckled Sussex, a rare breed bird, is really beautiful. Not the best layer, or particularly friendly, but the bird blends right into the landscape. So when a fox attacked... she survived, simply by sitting still in plain sight.

What is a "bantam?"

A sort of "half sized" chicken. The bird in the picture above is a banty. They do lay eggs (small ones) and do everything a real bird does... on a smaller scale. Hobbyists are crazy about bantams and they've been bred for beautiful plumage and friendly personalities. Our two pet roosters are Buff Brahma bantams, and they're just wonderful. Unfortunately, the there is a high minimum order on bantams, because they are so tiny it takes more of them to stay warm. And it is simply impossible to eat a bantam. They're too cute. So if you go with banties, think "pets," and order a mixed variety. You'll end up with a yardful of moving lawn ornaments... with personality!

What do you do with the birds in the winter?

Leave them in the coop... they're perfectly happy there. We feed them commercial layer pellets, cracked corn (for scratching so they'll stir up their bedding) and vegetable scraps. We also grow pumpkins and squash just for the birds (break in two before throwing into the coop) and gather wild apples for them. They'll eat old citrus, pears, just about anything but root (potato, carrots, turnips, etc) crops.

We do get a drop in production, which we could improve by putting in a light on a timer to trigger the laying. But we figure we're asking a lot of them to keep their own coop warm, so we let them lay as they will. We've never had a day go by without eggs, so it works for us.

My eggs are "wavy" and not nice and oval like they used to be... what's going on?

A lack of calcium. Your local farm supply house sells oyster shells just for this little problem. Ignore it, and the egg shells will thin so much they'll break when you try to pick them up, or the hen tries to get off the nest. Get a bag of oyster shells (buy a full bag, they'll sell small amounts but the price per pound is ridiculous) and throw them out by the handful as scratch. Sprinkle a little into the feed, or make a little feeding station just for the oyster shell. The chickens will gobble them up as needed.

HELP! How do you deal with neighborhood dogs? My neighbor's dog is killing my chickens, digging right under the fence! What do I do?

The biggest threat to our birds is not some bug or parasite... but roaming domestic dogs. Yes, we've lost birds to a fox, but a fox hunts at dusk, and if we'd had the chickens in the coop he would have left them alone.

Dogs are the problem. They come down a path above our place, off leash because they are "in the country," spot the chickens hopping around in the field catching bugs... and they're off. Sometimes with owners screaming in pursuit... sometimes not.

We have the legal right to shoot any animal interfering with our "livestock," including the chickens. This does seem, however, a bit drastic and hostile. Instead, we charge the owner $40-50/bird, depending on how furious we are and how apologetic they are. Nobody gets away without paying for the bird, period. If they don't want to pay for the bird, we call the police. Small town, we can do that. But don't go rushing out of the house, gun in hand, unless you're fully prepared for the consequences of shooting someone's beloved pet right in front of them. Frankly, I'd expect someone to club you to death, or rip you apart with their bare hands. Being in the right doesn't necessarily make asserting that right a smart move.

If you don't have a realistic expectation of the police coming, you could try calling animal control... or you could do what one person did who asked our advice and took the "charge $50" to heart... sue them if they refuse to pay. He ended up collecting for the birds, all court costs, and damages. Cost the defendant some $700. Bet the dog is kept under control now!

If we catch the dog on our property, and we can safely do so, we pop him in the back of our car (most dogs will jump readily into a car thinking they're going for a ride) and lock the doors. The owner can scream all they want, I've got a bird in pieces which they are either going to pay for, or the dog has a one way ticket to animal control... a $75 fine for being out of control and off leash.

That said, most people are simply horrified that their sweet pet just tore a chicken to shreds and are more than willing to pay for the damages. We've had women in hysterics they were so upset. Collect the damages, but make sure you explain that the dog is just doing what a dog does. Even my dogs, who know very well they aren't to touch a chicken, will give chase every once in a while. The fluttering, skittering, chicken excites the prey drive in any dog. The dog can learn to leave off, or be so well trained to come back it drops the chase... but most domestic pets aren't trained to ignore chickens... and aren't so well trained they'll come back on command.

The owner is clearly at fault, for not restraining their dog. But while you want them to pay for the damages, it is unfair to have them leave thinking their dog is some sort of bloodthirsty monster.

As a general rule, do not try to save a chicken from a dog you don't know. The dog may turn on you. Let the owner try to do it. Do not try and take a bird away, again, you could find yourself on the receiving end of a nasty bite. If you do feel threatened by the dog, retreat to a secure place and call for help. And teach your children to back away slowly from a dog attacking the birds. Do not at the dog, which will be the child's instinctive reaction, and do not run away from the dog (especially screaming) which can turn the prey drive from the chicken towards a young child. We've taught our children to "be a tree" (stand "rooted" and look at the ground) when confronted by aggressive dogs. But have a conversation with children, consider doing "fire drills," so that if they're confronted with a predator going after the chickens they have at least some idea of how to handle it.

Try discouraging digging under your fences with a strand of barbed wire buried 2-3 inches below the surface, and another one strung an inch above the ground. Or try a motion sensing flood light. At the very least, you might get pictures of the guilty party in the act.

Do you sell your eggs?

Yes, and no. Selling eggs gets into a tangled thicket of regulatory agencies. The USDA has rules (including what you must print on the carton), our local health department has rules, and then there is the issue of liability insurance, in case anyone gets sick from your eggs. We filed a Schedule F, the IRS's form for farmers, for two years... then threw in the towel. If you play by the rules there is simply no profit in keeping a small flock.

Unless (there's always an exception), unless you are keeping a flock in conjunction with some other "farm type" operation. A free range flock is, no mistake, a big attraction for some people. Cars stop and take pictures of our flock. Since this is a tourist town, if I wanted to open a little "tea room" my flock would become part of the background scenery, an attractive addition to the setting. If I raised a market garden and sold from a stand in front of the house, I'd probably sell eggs too.

But now that we've rolled down to 8 hens we usually end the week with only a dozen or two of extra eggs. We end up giving them away to friends, or swapping them for something we need.

How much does it cost to get into chickens?

Ah, glad you asked. It will depend on how resourceful you are. Ebay is my favorite place to shop and I'll often find the old fashioned "Mason jar" water or feeder sets up for sale. Most people who find these things in their parent's sheds don't have a clue what they are. Ironies of ironies... the old ones, glass and all, are more durable than the cheap modern plastic ones, which have to be replaced every couple of years because they crack.

To raise chickens you'll need, at a minimum:

Chickens! Ordered from Murray McMurray, 25 (plus one freebie) Buff Orphington straight run (not sexed, male and female mix). It will be cheaper to order in lots of 50, cheaper still 100. But then you'll need the space for the chicks, and a freezer, since it is much more efficient to run a slaughter line once than to off a chicken as needed.	$74.39
Container for the chicks (a child's hard plastic wading pool will do), shop light (or some sort of heating bulb), cover (old blanket)	12.00
chick feeder and watering unit	15.00
Bag of medicated starter mash and bag of shavings	21.00
Rough estimate for your first chicks	$122.39
As the chicks outgrow their "baby space" you'll need a larger space, so let's budget for some chicken wire	36.00
Feed, probably 2 bags for the summer	24.00
A larger feeder can be made out of almost anything, but you'll need a larger water font... and those are expensive... try eBay, local auctions, or someone who has a shed full of stuff if you're on a budget	27.00
Food and equipment for the summer	$97.00
If you're wintering the birds over, you'll need to think about a coop... but as you can see, that first foray into birds makes for some pretty expensive eggs. Of course, once you've paid for the necessary equipment, your annual investment is in feed, and any chicks you want to raise. So this summer we'll spend about $100 and end up with 25 birds... or $4.00 (let's call it $5 and amortize some of my upfront costs) per bird. The cocks I'll kill and put in the freezer. I'll get about a pound of usable meat per bird. Boneless chicken breast sells locally for $2.99/pound, on sale as low as $1.99/pound. So for the pure economics of feeding a family... this is a bust. On the other hand, I've seen the exposes on how chicken is raised in the USA. I know what my birds ate... mostly bugs and grass. They had nice happy chicken lives. And they were slaughtered and packed under very clean conditions. Not swimming in some fetid soup of bacteria. My laying hens will yield an average of an egg a day, and calculating the cost per egg is a little tricky, but if 8 hens yield 28 eggs a week, and eat half a bag of food a month... That's roughly $11 in feed and bedding/112 eggs... 10 cents an egg... or 1.20 a dozen. Figuring my hens cost me $5 each... I've got $40 in hens/1456 eggs=3 cents/egg or an additional 24 cents a dozen... sooooo.... a dozen eggs runs me about $1.48. Not too bad. When I first started "selling" eggs to friends I'd charge $1/dozen. With the price of eggs in the store these days I'm comfortable charging $2/dozen and covering my costs. 1456 eggs from 8 chickens?!? Well, yes... at about 5 eggs/day you're looking at 1825 eggs in a year, 4 eggs is very conservative. I bet you're thinking "we'll be throwing them away! Feeding them to the dogs! Our cholesterol levels will be out of sight!" Now, it is true that our dogs probably get more eggs for treats than your average canine, but the fact is that we rarely find ourselves with "too many" eggs. And every once in a while, especially if we've had guests, I'll find myself short an egg, and have to run out to the coop. It sounds like a lot of eggs, but it isn't. One good Sunday breakfast will wipe out any overstocks.

How many chickens do I need for my family?

How often do you eat chicken? During the depression and WWII, a hill farm family could expect to have a chicken a week, if they were lucky. And families were much bigger then than they are today. If we slaughtered to demand (when we needed a bird, we killed one) we'd eat a LOT less chicken. We'd also use the chicken much more efficiently. At least once a year we slaughter a bird as a "life lesson" for the kids and try to consume that bird as my grandmother would have consumed it as a child. Feathers and feet are, of course, discarded. But we keep the neck, liver, etc (what you get in a whole roaster chicken) to make gravy. When we're done making gravy we feed the leftover organs to the dogs. We then roast the bird, if it is a young bird, and serve everyone quite small portions of meat compared to what a child expects on their plate today. One of the reasons drumsticks were so prized was not the flavor, but the fact that they had more meat on them. These are quite small birds, but at the end of dinner we should have about 1/3 of the meat left on the bird. That meat is removed and will be used for either a casserole dish or a chicken salad later on in the week. The remaining carcass (and waste from the plates!) is simmered until the meat falls off, and the results are used for soup. Which will also be the basis for a meal later on in the week. By the time the bones go in the trash all we've got left is shards. While we all *think* we use chicken efficiently and aren't wasteful, the fact is that most of us discard a roaster carcass with a fair amount of meat still on it, and would rarely think of taking bones off a plate and putting them into a soup pot.

That said, my husband and I probably eat 70 chickens a year, plus the laying flock for eggs. I tend to buy boneless breast when it is on sale because there is no waste, and it is easy to work with. But if we were going to supply our entire table needs from our own farm I'd order a lot of 100 chickens. I don't even try to raise to what we consume... I buy a lot of 25 birds hoping to get 8-10 laying hens out of the group... and we'll eat the rest to keep them from going to waste.

Slaughtering 70 birds is a full (VERY full) day of work, and would require freezer paper and supplies for packing the meat away. The alternative, taking a bird as needed, is inefficient, time consuming, and frankly, unpleasant. You'll also need a place to house the birds... 70 birds are going to take up a significant amount of space. They are going to need to be fed... it just isn't an optimal situation for a small place like ours.

You could let nature take its course and hope for chicks now and then. Unfortunately, while the dogs have been taught to leave the chickens alone, they see chicks as fair game, and (being retrievers) will pick them up to bring to us. The average chick can handle this about 4 times before it expires. The average mother hen gives up after she's tried to raise her second brood. So we order from the hatchery.