Chicken In The Freezer

We decided to raise hens for eggs three years ago and I haven't regretted the decision for a second.  We loved our girls and they were amazing egg layers.  Our hens were getting older and their egg production was starting to decline so this year we decided to get new chicks.  We live in a small town on a large lot but how many chickens we are allowed to keep is ordained by the city. We can only have so many chickens.  For this reason we decided to put our older hens in the freezer as crock pet hens, and start off fresh with our new chicks.

Our older hens were treated like the little rulers of the roost that they were.  Treats in the form of garden weeds and kitchen scraps were hand delivered every day.  They had lots of room to run, scratch, dig, and play.  They were given excellent chicken food and their water was always kept fresh and plentiful.  Our girls had great lives, but at the end of the day they were raised for their eggs and meat.  I am sad and already miss the ladies (though the new chicks keep us hopping) but AM happy that I know exactly how well they were treated and what went into their bodies.  I know the meat provided by one of our chickens will be healthy and ethical.  As I don't plan to give up eating chicken, I am glad that some of the chicken we consume came directly from our little backyard "farm".