Since Americans eat more than 59 pounds of chicken per person per year, we should have a reasonably-priced, antibiotic-free source for these delicious birds and you can get that healthy chicken by raising them in your own backyard.
Aren’t you tired of watching the videos that show the life path of your grocery store chicken, from cramped living quarters, where they are literally living in each others mess, to the lonely vigil of the truck ride in the dark in an open pen, to the final slaughtering house where the bird is subjected to untold tortures before being run through a chlorine bath to ensure that you get a “healthy” product?
All this is bad and the chlorine baths can’t add anything good to the chicken, but even if we discount all that and set it aside as necessary, we still have to consider that for 6 weeks the birds were fed an antibiotic-laced diet through their feed and water. Of course, they stop feeding these chemicals to the birds far enough in advance to ensure that they are not in the chicken when you buy it; at least that is what we are told – in accordance with government regulations. You know, the same regulations that have allowed mad cow disease, and untold E. coli outbreaks in our recent history.
However, with a little effort, you can raise your own broiler chickens, the same bird that you get in the store, and save a little money, but more importantly, you can raise it without all of the chemicals and chlorine baths. What do you need to get started? Well, you need some equipment in advance of the chicks arriving: a brooder box, and a covered pen area to grow them out in. The brooder can be a simple box with a screened top and a light bulb for heat. The pen can be any area that has a roof over it and wire fencing sides for ventilation that helps keep predators out and allows uninhibited air flow. This pen area should allow about 2 square feet per chicken. The minimum order for chicks through one popular poultry supplier is 25 and therefore you’ll need a pen of at least 50 square feet for starters.
The whole process, from receiving the chicks until you prepare them for the freezer, takes 6-8 weeks or less, depending on what size you want the birds. At 6 weeks, you can usually have a chicken that weighs about 4 pounds dressed and that bird will be antibiotic free and chlorine free – a healthy part of your family dinner. The good news: you did it yourself!
Worried about noise? No need to. These birds are too young to crow so they are quiet and will not disturb your neighbors. Their droppings can be recycled in to your compost to help produce organic vegetables and the experience is great for young people. Americans need to have a closer connection to the food we eat. The whole process has become so sanitized that you can’t tell what animal a piece of meat came from anymore. We should not be afraid to know that the meat we eat almost everyday started out as a live animal somewhere.
If you like the idea of raising your own food, then watch for my next article where I’ll go into a little more detail about the actual process of raising and caring for the birds.
Jean Buzby; Hodan Farah, Amber Waves, USDA Website
Lexy Zissu, The Daily Green
Low level use of Antibiotics in Livestock and Poultry, fmi.org