For the Birds

February 5, 2008|Comments (none)

As some of you already know, our Gabor sisters were less like hens and more like a Vegas show. All three, we learned, are roosters (read about the discovery in the comments section of yesterday’s post). It turns out that some people pluck the tail feathers of a rooster and yank out the spurs from its feet to sell it as a hen (hens are in demand). We don’t know if the man at the flea market was aware that he was selling roosters as hens or not. We will find out this weekend. The very idea of pulling out a chicken’s spur is upsetting. How horrible! I can only imagine that kind of pain!

This afternoon, we told our story to the owners of One Stop Pet Shop and they told us to go to the Geneva Feed & Seed just outside of Box Springs, Georgia. What a delightful feed store! There we found baby Black Sex-Links chickens $4 each. We purchased ten. Check out the pictures below:

What do you think? We know that nine of them are females — not sure about the gold one (I couldn’t resist).

Just to keep things interesting, I thought I would post my spin on Toscano Soup:

1 peeled & diced yellow squash

1pound HOT Italian turkey sausage

2 cups chicken stock or chicken broth

1 can evaporated milk

1 jar of alfredo sauce

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

black pepper to taste
red pepper to taste

Brown the sausage in a kettle and then chop into bit-size pieces. Add squash and cook until just tender. Pour chicken broth over the meat & squash, stir, and bring to a slow boil. Remove from heat and add milk & alfredo sauce. Stir. Add Italian seasoning, black pepper, and red pepper. Serve with salad and breadsticks.

Okay, I confess that it is not a very healthy dish… but it is easy and delicious. Promise. Enjoy!

With all due respect to our special roosters (a.k.a. the drag queens), I couldn’t resist:

Posted by Simple Livin' gal | Filed Under Chickens

Comments (none)| Leave a comment

Kay on April 15th, 2008 6:47 am

Those baby chicks are so cute! Will you grow them for eggs or for dinner?
Razor Family Farms on April 15th, 2008 6:48 am

Hi Kay! We (hopefully) have mostly girls… if a boy sneaks in then we’ll have to eat him eventually. Sounds dreadful, I know. Mostly, we just want eggs but we’re also looking forward to chemical-free chicken to eat. When I think about the chicken factories that produce huge quantities of chicken who can barely move due to over-crowding and growth hormones — it makes me so sad. I wish everyone could have a few chickens in their yard. Sigh. Thank you for stopping in and leaving a comment! It brings me great joy to read each comment. Blessings!
Leah on April 15th, 2008 6:51 am

Agreed, the chicks are adorable! That soup does sound yummy buy a bit too heavy for my tummy right now. I’ll try to remember to try it out sometime once I’m feeling better though!
Dee on April 15th, 2008 6:52 am

Aw I love baby chicks. Your pictures are so cute. Chicks peeps are so enchanting and sweet. I remember holding baby chicks to my cheek just to feel their soft down against my skin. Thanks so much, you made me smile with warm memories of my youth. Ah, nostalgia.

Lacy, I need to say something here, because some folks didn’t understand what I meant the other day…
I hope you don’t mind my posting this…
“I need to clarify for those unfamiliar with clipping a chicken’s wing.
The only thing My Mom used to do was trim the longest feathers short on one wing of a hen. There is no actual harm done to the chicken. The feathers grow back.(and had to be trimmed again if the chicken began to fly over the pen into danger)
When you live where foxes and wild things try to eat your farm animals, sometimes, you have to utilize necessary methods to protect them.
I apologize for not explaining this the other day.”

Beautiful album of pictures you have Lacy. Thank you for sharing them with us.

Wishing you a lovely day!
Razor Family Farms on April 15th, 2008 6:53 am

Hi Dee! Thank you for commenting! I’m very glad that you clarified about the wing-clipping. We’ve clipped the wings of a few of our chickens in the past. If we have “fly-aways,” then I try to keep them clipped but a few of them really don’t wander. Our Bantams, for instance, don’t need their wings clipped at all. You are absolutely right about it being for their own safety!
Gina on April 15th, 2008 6:54 am

Hi Lacy!
I noticed you have a SHENANDOAH VALLEY crockery on your counter- I’m FROM the Shenandoah Valley!! Winchester, VA is my home town!!!
Your pictures were GREAT!!
We always had baby chicks when I was a little girl- and ducklings!!
Kerri on April 15th, 2008 6:55 am

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment over on the journal. (this link is a different blog, the one I refer to was the http://kerri530.bravejournal.com) This one I try to update daily, the other as I get a chance or idea which ever comes first.
That is bad about your rooster/hens. I think it is awful what people put animals through for money, whether it is what happened to your roosters or dog fighting as has been in the news.

Hope all goes well with your new hens. They look so small. Very nice looking.
Tia Julie & Tio Raul on April 15th, 2008 6:55 am

The little peeps are adorable. We know that you two will take excellent care of them. We know that you are having lots of fun on this adventure; as we are following along on your journey. Thank you for sharing, we love all of the pictures.
Melissa on April 15th, 2008 6:56 am

Thanks for the comment. Some days are good, some days are bad in the whole grief process. It’s strange that there are not medium days.

My husband used to work for the local chicken company here. He was a feed hauler and after 3 or 4 months we didn’t eat chicken anymore. 54 days from hatching to slaughter house. Farmers are getting paid big bonuses for having chickens over 7 pounds. a 10 pound bag at the grocery store costs the same for less chicken now. 67 different types of steroids go into the chickens, over half of which are given when they are very young. YUCK!

Sorry to hear about the roosters as hens thing. It sounds pretty bad. Yes, humans are horrible to animals and plants just to advance their own monetary schemes. It’s horrible.

On the moving thing, we have a son (my stepson really) who is in the army. He just got his deployment papers. 15 months over there starting in June. We’ll miss him very much.

Thanks for the comment. I enjoy reading your comments and keeping up to date on your blog. I have an excellent recipe for stew that’s very quick and easy if you’d like it. I made it tonight actually.

~M~
Sami on April 15th, 2008 6:56 am

Hello! I posted the other day but then your comments area went all blank. I came back and it wouldn’t let me comment at all. Anyhoo, glad to see it is working again. The chicks are so precious! It makes me so sad to hear what come people do to the roosters. Can they be brought up on animal cruelty charges for that?
Thanks for posting all the pictures of your farm. Like I told you I only get to dream of a farm. It brings such a big smile to my face to be able to visit yours. Thanks for sharing…..you have no idea how much it means to me! Take care! Hugs!