Spring Prep

The last few weeks have been busy as we've been making calls, gathering supplies, and preparing in general for our pastured poultry operation again this year.

In less than two weeks we pick up our first batch of baby chicks. This year we're trying out an even more local hatchery, so we'll get them hours after they're born instead of day-old, and cut out the middle man (post office). It'll save some money, decrease our carbon footprint, and make life as comfortable for our chicks as quickly as possible.

Another change we're incorporating this year is a brooder box out in the pasture. A brooder is basically a transitional house for the first 2 weeks. It protects them while they're young and vulnerable, and gradually prepares them for the outdoors while their feathers grow in.

A few Saturday's ago my dad and Pete took advantage of the cold rainy weather and spent a number of hours in my parent's garage. They put some items from Dad's highly organized pack-rat collection to good use, did that male bonding thing, and at the end of the day we carted this behemoth home. I'm sure we drew a few glances driving through the square in Manheim.

The fiberglass roof allows for perpetual sunlight while the two screened doors allow for ventilation and protection from predators. And we can prop the fiberglass roof at different heights depending on how much ventilation we need.

We'll put 18" of bedding (fine wood shavings) down and use heat lamps to help maintain the warmth crucial for the chicks--they need a stable, dry, 90 degree environment for the first week especially.

Our little chickie loves the country life...so do we.  :)

This has been such a learning experience for us, and we're still learning. But it has been such a blessing to be able to grow our own meat birds. It's given us a much greater appreciation for how our food gets to the table each and every day, and deepened our respect for the animals too.

We look forward to what this year will bring...challenges and all.

Why We Do What We Do--Part 2

This post will explain why we've chosen to raise pastured poultry, and to have our birds processed by hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joel Salatin's book, PASTURED POULTRY PROFITS, does a great job of illustrating not only the practical steps to take when raising your own poultry, but also the health benefits and reasons for chosing a process that breaks the mold of bigger, faster, cheaper. He outlines a farming practice that models respect for the animal, respect for the Earth God has created, and quite frankly, a lot of good common sense.

LIVING ENVIRONMENT:
We built portable pens, like the one pictured below, according to the design that Salatin describes in his book. These 10' x 12' x 2' floorless structures are framed with lumber, enclosed with chicken wire and metal sheeting to allow for both sunshine and protection/shade, with an access door that flips open on top. Pete and my uncle fashioned a customized dolly to allow one person to move the cage, whereas before it took two people because of its weight and size. Some people use tractors , but because we raise our birds on our Amish neighbor's farm, a dolly was necessary.
Moved daily to a fresh section of pasture, these birds receive fresh air, exercise, sunshine, and all the genetically modified organism-free (GMO-Free) grain they want. We also want our birds to eat as much salad (green material) as their full genetic potential will allow. And knowing that chickens won't venture far for food if they don't have to, we ensure they have a nice saladbar at their fingertips, er, feet 24/7.

How is pastured poultry different from free range chickens? Well, chicken labeled "free range" means that they had some access to the outdoors during their life. That sounds kinder and gentler, but it only means that the animal had the option of going outside--there's no guarantee that it actually did. A chicken could still be raised in a confinement house with around 10,ooo others, with one door open to the outside that it may or may not use, and still be labeled "free range".

Even smaller chicken houses that provide greater access to the pasture aren't as effective as portable pens, because, if the structure is stationary, the birds eat/scratch up the area around it and venture no further. Eventually, their supplemental grain is closer and laziness wins the day.

A portable pen also provides a growing environment with the least amount of fecal contamination possible. The birds are not sitting in their own mess day after day (which burns their skin), they don't have to continually breathe in the fecal dust generated in a confinement house setting with even the best fans and bedding set-up, AND the light, even spread of droppings over the pasture actually fertilizes and promotes it's health.

The industry says Cornish Cross broilers cannot be raised without artificial vitamin packs and antibiotics. They are right, if the birds are raised in a confinement house setting. Disease is much harder to contain, therefore the entire house receives preventative antibiotics. We do not give our chickens any medication in their feed or otherwise. The sick ones are naturally eliminated.

HOW THEY ARE PROCESSED:
When it comes to processing meat birds, the traditional mass production method is done by machines. Even with the best technology, this approach breaks open the intestines and pours fecal material all over the carcass, inside the body cavity, thereby contaminating the birds. This is why mass processed birds receive as many as 40 chlorine baths.

Processing is an inherently filthy thing, but the larger, faster, and more automatic the system, the more filthy it is.

Our birds are killed and processed individually by hand at a local butcher shop. Our butcher says you can tell alot about the quality of an animal's life when you are processing it, and he has been very affirming of our practices. To which we turned around and quickly thanked him for still providing the service he does!

THEIR DIET:
We all know that green material (salad) is high in vitamins and minerals, but low in energy. It is good for us because of the chlorophyll, the vitamins, the minerals, and the fiber, but it doesn’t fill us up for long. In comparison, grains and especially corn, are high in energy but low in vitamins and minerals. When animals are fed a high energy, low vitamin/mineral diet, they tend to have more saturated fat (cholesterol) in their meat, milk or eggs. When these same animals consume a large percentage of green material, the saturated fat of their animal proteins diminishes.

If you have a cholesterol problem, your doctor will tell you to decrease your intake of animal proteins, exercise to metabolize excess calories, eat more “salad”, and reduce stress in your life. Current mainline livestock agriculture ensures the very elements that encourage saturated fat: high calorie/low vitamin-mineral rations, sedentary lifestyle, physical and emotional stress. Whereas, the yellow fat found in pastured poultry (and grass-fed beef), and extremely orange egg yolks in pastured layer hens, reflect high levels of chlorophyll in the diet and low levels of saturated fat. And that means good things for our bodies as well!

There really is truth in the saying that, "you are what you eat."

The food in this country is shipped hundreds of miles (if not more) until it reaches our grocery store shelves, where it then sits for another week or so until it goes on sale to make room for the next truckload of stock. For us, there is just something great about eating a flavorful, juicy piece of chicken that you know is so fresh it was running around the pasture that morning!

Why We Do What We Do--Part 1

We are not purists, here at the Winkler household.

When it comes to food sources and products we use, our efforts to go green and natural have happened very gradually over the last 5 years. Slowly but surely, change has come, and hopefully we've maintained a healthy attitude of balance throughout.

Before all of this began, I confess that when I heard the word "organic" I immediately thought "food snob", and mentally dismissed the issue with a "what's the big deal anyway". My husband was the first to look into the matter, and when he said he'd like to find a source for hormone-free beef I just went along with it.

Later, we began watching documentaries and films like SUPER-SIZE ME, FOOD INC., and THE WORLD ACCORDING TO MONSANTO, reading books like PASTURED POULTRY PROFITS, and THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA, and asking questions of our farmer friends.

We learned what certain labels on our food meant, and which claims were misleading. (For example: "Hormone-Free" really only applies to beef, because, by law, poultry and pigs are not allowed to receive hormones. So when you see this claim on a package of chicken, it means absolutely nothing.)

We learned about the digestive systems of animals, the importance of "salad" in their diet, the value of certain grains, and just as important if not moreso, the way the animals are processed.

Along with all of this information, we have been conscious of the natural tendency we all have to drift to extremes. To fear, disallusionment, obsessiveness, and self-suffiency. "Self-sufficiency?" you ask. Yes. Because when we are dependant solely on ourselves for our health and well-being, we will be frustrated. Being wise stewards of our physical bodies needs to flow out of trust in our True Sustainer. Even the most healthy body is still a finite body that will fail. But, neither is that an excuse to toss the issue aside, as if the physical condition of our body and what we choose to put into it isn't also a spiritual issue.

This article, CAN NATURAL LIVING BECOME AN IDOL, addresses what TRULY is most important if you too are pursuing this kind of lifestyle. My husband and I have been conscious that our children are taking their cues from us. So how we talk about certain foods will be repeated. The challenge is to use words that truthfully and adequately explain why some foods are better for our bodies, without giving our children "ammunition" to (knowingly or unknowingly) blast others who choose differently. We want them to appreciate natural, healthy foods without a superiority complex. (We want this for ourselves!)

Things we've wrestled with:
1. When given the opportunity to host or provide a meal for someone, are we tempted to keep our "good" meat for ourselves, or do we wish to bless our friends with our best?
2. When discussing our food choices with others, do we model humility, or do we hinder fellowship because we are consciously or unconsciously forcing our views on them?
3. Are we tempted to buy "organic" at the expense of our budget? Are we tithing regularly and giving generously to those in need, or have we elevated our food budget beyond what it should be?
4. When eating a meal that someone else has provided, do we model thankfulness and tact, or do we turn up our nose and slight them by refusing what they've prepared?
5. Are we prone to fear? Has "healthy food" become our highest goal and gospel?

Some of you will read these posts and struggle with frustration, because you desire to make changes, but for whatever reason you cannot. For others, it's TOO MUCH INFORMATION--and not knowing feels better. I understand. I've been in all of these positions.

I urge you to press on. To continue to trust in God's provision, in all seasons. To be content where He has you. Natural Living will look different for all of us. We have varying bank accounts, geographical demographics, possibilities and priorities, but I hope these posts inform and encourage you.

A How-To Kind Of Post

First of all, let me offer this disclaimer. Not because I feel the need to apologize, but because I want to be sensitive to your level of...sensitivity. :-)


***The slideshow in this post has lots of pictures of raw chicken. It's an instructional post, but knowing how I felt about looking at, much less handling, raw meat before our "buying meat in bulk" journey began 5 years ago, I won't hold it against you if you decide to skip this one. I WILL whole-heartedly encourage you NOT to skip it though. I still don't enjoy the task of cutting up whole birds, but it no longer bothers me in the slightest!


I also am no expert. I know my home economics teacher had us cut up a whole chicken way back when, but I had no clue when I started this venture. Really, no clue. Now, with lots of practice under my belt, I'll share some tips I've gleaned along the way, and in a future post, share a few of the reasons why we've chosen this food source route.


I hope these posts educate and inspire you to give pastured poultry a try...or to at least buy chicken whole and fresh and local. It's alittle more work upfront, but the monetary savings can be substantial, even if you just buy what is available at your local grocery store.


Double click on the slideshow below. Captions will accompany each picture. You can adjust the speed or click pause to view frame by frame. You may also view the slideshow larger by clicking on the full screen option.

Wordless Wednesday

Almost There

As if you needed any more proof that time flies!

Less than two weeks before we start group #2.

Our Experiment

It all started with a conversation after church.

Our friends, the Kanes, recommended this book to Pete after learning he was interested in organic/grow-your-own-food types of things.

And now, it has culminated into this.

My Wordless Wednesday post gave you the first glimpse.

Yes, I did pick up a crate of baby 50 (1 day old) chicks at the post office last Wednesday. As soon as I walked in with the kids we heard the cheeping and chirping. The lady in front of us in line exclaimed, "I hear baby chickens!" I chuckled and said, "Um, those would be ours."

We are, in fact, raising chickens for the next 6 weeks. And yet, technically, we're not.

I've written before about our Amish friends who live a stone's throw away. We've made weekly visits to their farm over the last year to buy eggs (and our very own Wilbur). Well, Pete and Chris often talk about farming projects and we've enjoyed getting to know their young family.

They decided they wanted to enter into this experiment with us. We would share the cost of supplies, they would provide the pasture, we would help feed, water, and move the chicks every day, and in 6 weeks...VOILA! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

[Know where that saying originated? The story goes that in Las Vegas
for many years the chicken dinner special was $1.79. With the standard bet being
$2, a winning bet would be enough money to buy dinner. Hence the phrase,
"Winner, winner, chicken dinner".]

But I digress...

I don't really want to think about the butchering part. I'm already contemplating what illness I can feign when that day comes. Just give it to me dead, clean, and dressed and I'll cut it up. Easy shmeezy.

For now I'd rather look at these cute little things and not think about what's down the road.

Pretty soon we can take their pen out to pasture. More pictures will follow. (Only happy ones, I promise.)