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Making the Most

November 23rd, 2015

When you have chickens and allow them to hatch their own nuggets, you invariably end up with extra roosters. This year we were lucky in that out of the 9 chicks hatched, there were only 3 roosters (one year out of 17 chicks 12 were roosters). That means you have to find homes for them of cull them. Finding homes for extra roosters is tough, I tried last year and no one wanted any of them.
Making Chicken Stock 1
The result is a day spent processing chickens for the freezer. We freeze the young ones and the older guys get made into chicken stock. Yesterday 6 chickens (5 ours and one from the neighbor) went to Iceland.
Making Chicken Stock 2
I always grow lots of extra celery, carrots, and leeks for my fall stock making days. I’m happy to be able to use up all the excess in the garden to have a freezer full of stock for winter soups and stews.

What are you eating this week?

4 Comments to “Making the Most”
  1. kristin @ going country on November 23, 2015 at 6:23 am

    We take people’s extra roosters, but only because those people won’t do the butchering themselves. It’s a pretty good deal. I get a free free-range chicken I did not have to raise myself, have my husband kill it and skin it (I don’t bother with plucking, because I’m just making stock from them), and end up with a few gallons of amazing stock. I usually give the rooster donator a couple of quarts of stock in return. Everyone’s happy.

    Except the rooster, of course.

    Reply to kristin @ going country's comment

  2. Chris on November 23, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    Fresh, home grown chickens and stock. Nothing better! Except the processing of them. :)
    Do you keep at least one rooster in your flock or cull them all?
    Gorgeous leeks!

    Reply to Chris's comment

  3. Wendy on November 23, 2015 at 3:45 pm

    Nothing better than Homemade stock! Too bad we’re on opposite coasts–we would have gladly participated in your rooster relocation program as our fantastic rooster died early in the summer :( We’re easing into all sorts of cozy foods like soups and roasted veggies. Today for lunch we had homemade rolls and leftover pasta with Brussels sprouts and mushrooms.

    Reply to Wendy's comment

  4. Nebraska Dave on November 25, 2015 at 10:35 pm

    Susy, it doesn’t pay to be born a chicken rooster, does it. Know wonder they have an attitude. No body loves them. :-)

    Have a great chicken stock day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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