Chicken update

I thought I'd just put a chicken update out there for all (ahem) to read. So, here goes:

1. My Sussex chickens have all been killed by raccoons. So, I'm going to have to start over, but only better this time. What to do about it? Well, I haven't yet fenced in my property entirely, so I'll either have to do that or keep my flock within a smaller area of electric fencing; also, some raccoons must (will) perish.

2. I've finally become a member of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, and they'll be able to help me with my Sussex breeding program.

3. I'm almost through with my annual chicken slaughtering; all my Buff Plymouth Rocks are in the freezer, and I'm starting on my Delawares. I've had some communication problems with my farmers' market, so I may have them all to myself instead of selling most of them like I intended. It's too bad, too: I raised the birds well, and they've been tasting GOOD.

4. I've made a tentative list of chicks to buy in the early spring: mostly Sussexes, but I also plan on getting a Dominique or two and a Dorking.

Surrounded by chicks

Got my first order of day-old chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery the other day. I ordered 25 (they sent 27) of their "all heavies" (heavy breed) special. The reason that these type of chicks are so inexpensive is that they are the males of typically-egg-laying type of chickens, and therefore aren't very desirable. So, hatcheries basically give them away (I think the shipping cost as much or more than the chicks themselves!).

The chicks arrived in good shape, but over the next few hours, four died... and another died the next day. It's sad to see them die like that, but they go through a lot in shipping and, well, it's nature taking its course, really. The other chicks are doing very well and of course are as cute as all heck. (Murray McMurray, by the way, took care of my "problem" immediately and I received a credit -- as I requested -- for the next time I order birds from them. They definitely get an A+ customer service rating from me.)

Reality check: I'll raise them to about three months, and then butcher them and freeze most of them and I'll give a few away to friends.

Next time I order chicks, however, I'll likely order the White Rocks from Murray McMurray, or, alternately, I may try the "Ranger" (similar to the "Label Rouge," see my last post) type chicken. I intend to keep a few for myself, but will probably sell the rest at my local farmers' market. I'm definitely going to stay away from the "Cornish X" type of birds (a.k.a. "frankenbirds"), for several reasons. I'll probably not be raising the "heavy breeds" special again, as they're a bit too un-uniform for sale to customers. The White Rocks and the "Ranger" type of chickens are pretty standardized/uniform, and the White Rocks are more easily cleaned (i.e. de-feathered or plucked, due to their white feathers) by hand, since I do not currently have an automatic picker.

Better than organic?

I am still a big fan of "beyond organic," where you do better than the organic standards, but disregard getting organic certified (since the organic standards are getting watered down yearly so that more big business can profit from what are becoming pretty much misleading and confusing -- to the consumer -- labels).

I've somewhat recently become a fan of France's "Label Rouge" (Red Label) program. France's standards for everything from Label Rouge to organic are much more stringent than our rather watered-down FDA/USDA standards. France labels food for the customer's benefit, not for business's benefit (i.e. profit). And often times, American farmers get stuck in the middle when trying to convert to organic, where in France farmers are the ones who benefit from the stricter labelling; BUT, they can't be lazy and have to stick to the prescribed standards, not just let their chickens see the light through a window ten feet up and magically be switched from conventional to free range.

Apparently, in France, Label Rouge chickens cost about twice as much as conventional chickens, whereas organic chickens cost about five times as much. So Label Rouge seems to be a "happy medium" for both the consumer and the farmer.

It would be nice to see more similar (if not the same) standards applied to food in the U.S. And if the government won't do it, farmers and consumers will need to take matters into their own hands perhaps.

Here's an excellent informational bulletin (PDF version) by the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA) and the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) on Label Rouge:

ATTRA Techs Study "Label Rouge"

Here's a few local (to me) farms that adhere to the Label Rouge standards:

Coon Rock Farm

Ashley Farms