Tomorrow is Lockdown

It’s Day 17. Tomorrow is Lockdown. Only a select few know what that means, so I’ll explain.

Tomorrow I will candle all 31 of the remaining eggs in my incubator to see who’s still developing well and if I’ve had any more “quitters” — embryos that stopped developing for one reason or another.

I will pitch all the “empties” (eggs that weren’t fertile to begin with — I had SEVEN this time around! C’Mon, boys, you’ve got ONE JOB!) and “quitters”, add more water to increase the humidity, adjust the thermostat to the perfect 100–102 degrees F, remove the egg turner, and LOCK that mother down!

The incubator will then remain closed until most of the babies hatch, which will be any time between tomorrow and Friday.

If you open the incubator before the chicks have hatched and let the humidity out, it will basically shrink-wrap them inside their shells and they’ll suffocate and die.

Gruesome, right? So — Lockdown is for REAL.

I’ve been raising my own chickens for four years now and I absolutely love it. My family and I have a flock that ranges in size from about 25 birds to as many as 80 depending on the time of year. We raise chickens for eggs and meat and we butcher the birds ourselves.

Yes, it can be difficult. Yes, it is worth it. Yes, I participate in every step. My husband and I butcher together at least once every year. Most years we have two butcher days. One in the spring and one in the fall.

We raise heritage breeds and mixes so our birds take about four to five months to reach butcher weight rather than eight weeks, like the chicken you find at the store.

Store-bought chickens are known as Cornish-cross or “broilers.” They grow so fast and get so heavy they can’t stand under their own weight once they’re eight weeks old. It’s cruel to keep them alive any longer than that. They’ll break their own legs trying to stand.

Again, gruesome.

That’s why my family doesn’t raise broilers. We want to be sustainable, ethical, kind. We love our chickens. Even the ones we eat.

I know that can sound confusing or even contradictory, but it’s not. We take care of our animals, feed them good food, give them treats (they LOVE warm oatmeal with molasses), treat them with kindness and love, protect them from predators, and meet their every need every day. Right up through butcher day.

We make sure that process is as stress-free as possible and when they’re dispatched, it is instantaneous and painless. They don’t see it coming.

We use every part of every animal. Nothing goes to waste. What we can’t eat, we compost.

My garden grows strong because of my chickens. Their manure, egg shells, feathers — it’s all composted and enriches the soil every year. The plants love it.

I grow specific vegetables for my chickens too. Cabbage, corn, and sunflowers are all some of their favorites. Not only does it save me some money on chicken feed, but it gives them extra nutrition in a mentally enriching way.

So, everything here on our little farm comes full circle. The chickens, the plants, us. We all take care of each other, we all nourish each other. To me, that’s what sustainability is all about.

Back to the incubator. As I write this, it’s humming next to me. Keeping the eggs warm and tilting them at just the right angle. All those babies just waiting to break free in a day or two. Day 17, full of anticipation.

It’ll be months before I know how many boys vs girls I have in this batch. But that’s part of the fun of this life. I get to raise this group of babies, care for them, learn about them, and eventually I’ll find out who’s who.

For now, it’s all about tiny fluffy butts, and LOTS of cleaning up after them.

But they’re worth it.