I alway feed growing layers as much as they want to eat. Keep the feeder full and Don't limit them until they start laying. Once they're laying, limit feed to 4-6 oz per day. Hens in lay can over fatten, especially dual purpose breeds. Once they're too fat, they stop laying.
This is from the USDA website concerning Organics. I'm not trying to prove anyone wrong, I just thought someone might want to see this.
"The use of genetic engineering, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs), is prohibited in organic products. This means an organic farmer can’t plant GMO...
Air chilling can be tricky. You want to make sure to get the carcass temp down to 40•F ASAP. I think within 2 hrs of kill. Putting them in a freezer would speed up the chill. Air chilling does eliminate added water weight.
Butcher paper should work. You might find something reusable.
Keep limiting there feed. One night away from feed shouldn't hurt.
Males and females that age look almost identical when you butcher them. Older hens butcher the same way, it's just a little more... Interesting.
I think you're pretty safe. We used to butcher 400 birds couple times a week and we never saw any predators. Look into niteguard. They sell product that deters predators. Here's the link: http://niteguard.com
I would give it a try. I had a friend that used a Salatin tractor for FR until they were about 8 weeks old, then he moved them to a feathernet. If you reduce the density you might succeed using the Tractor alone. For CX I always give each bird at least 1.5 square feet of tractor space. For...
As long as you collect all the offal/blood and wash everything down, you shouldn't attract any predators. If a predator was interested in her cats, it would have long since started the hunt. Its probably not a real threat, but since its something that she is worried about you will want to make...