Last Day

The duck in with them adopted them when they were small chicks

Today the Cornish Cross chicks are eight weeks old and it's their last day.  Tomorrow morning Bruce and I will cage them up for the trip to the processing plant, where they'll be slaughtered, cleaned and plucked.  They'll come home in ice chests.

As they've gotten older, their genetics really kicked in -- their main activities are eat, drink , poop and sleep.  They do have a fenced passageway from the stall in the barn to a large dog kennel, so they can be out in the sunshine.  This also gives them a little exercise.  One will occasionally half-heartedly snap at a fly, but they're really not into it.  They are solidly couch potatoes. 

These last two weeks, they've really put on the weight and the heat is hard on them. They do seem like they're ready to go. It also will be relief to get the barn well hosed down. And I won't miss the smell or the flies.

They've had good lives...for meat chickens.

I'm really working on allowing this to feel natural and right.  I think I'm getting there. 

I've been studying my recipe books and believe that I'll be making Coq au Vin tomorrow night.