ya we had no idea what we where doing ordering so many birds for the first time
I dreaded it as well....even tried to avoid getting familiar with them....calling them 1,2,3,4 and 5....which didn't work...but as I waited for the weather to cool down....I came home to find one of the pullets flipped over on her back, feet sticking up....not a scratch on her....I decided it was time and dispatched the remaining 4 birds the next day I had off. It's never something I look forward to but they had a great summer out on the grass....dust bathing....bug hunting...communing with the laying flock thru the fence....the cockrels even got a chance to challenge the Roosters thru the fence....what a hoot! And yes even though they are big and lumbering they can be surprisingly agile! And look out when the whole crew get a case of the "Wilds" running around, flapping their under sized wings in an honest display of what I can only describe as "Joyful Chicken Behavior"...it was time to go before anyone else dropped dead. I really enjoyed them. I'm glad they had a chance to be real chickens during their short lives. Plan on doing it again next spring.
This is how I feel as well. This is my 4th time raising meat birds and I look forward to getting them as chicks every year. They really are great chickens if you give them the space to be chickens in. I love seeing them dust bath, scratch around and chase down bugs. It does make processing tough, however. I thought it would get easier with time, but it doesn't really, not for me at least. But, I like knowing that my chickens had a good life, and that makes it worth it for me to deal with the emotions come processing time.
