Today we had to slaughter one of our 6 meaties. My best guess is that since he had a bum leg, he was pushed around a lot at the feed trough because he wasn't nearly as big as the others. I thought about separating him and attempting to nurse his leg but I figured, after reading every thread on meaties, that it wouldn't be worth it for him because when he gained weight, it would only have made his leg worse. So at 5 weeks old, we had a 2lb 1oz roaster this evening. My brother did 99% of the work because he did it before. Since I don't like skin anyhow, he just skinned him so no plucking which made the process much faster. I watched then donned my gloves for heart and liver removal (for the dogs) and am still surprised that I didn't freak out! I am an animal lover but I am not ignorant of the circle of life. Since I am the one who raises them, I was sure to put it into my mind from the very beginning that these are not our "babies", I love them and care for their needs but I have not and will not "baby" them as I do my layers or cats or dogs!
I was very surprised at how different the meat was from grocery store meat, even my dad (who is not a fan of chicken) commented on how good it was. We both said, we can't really explain it but there is a difference and it's better. After his comment, my mom was hoping he'd agree on raising some but he still says no lol. Even though I was ready to slaughter early due to limited yard space, I am now looking forward to keeping these stinky birds for 3 more weeks!
I was very surprised at how different the meat was from grocery store meat, even my dad (who is not a fan of chicken) commented on how good it was. We both said, we can't really explain it but there is a difference and it's better. After his comment, my mom was hoping he'd agree on raising some but he still says no lol. Even though I was ready to slaughter early due to limited yard space, I am now looking forward to keeping these stinky birds for 3 more weeks!
