Eight weeks ago, our “dollar chicks” arrived as small, fuzzy question marks. Now, they crowd around the feeder like a flock of feathered footballs. In one more week, we will butcher them. My sister is coming up from Florida to help Rick and me, turning processing day into a family effort as well as the final step in raising Cornish Cross chickens.

Eating Is Their Favorite Chicken Activity

These birds have certainly made us laugh. However, they do not spend much time doing traditional chicken things. They rarely scratch, explore, or race across the pen with the enthusiasm of our laying breeds. Instead, they focus on their life’s great mission: eating. Then they rest, eat again, and somehow look surprised when the feeder needs another refill.

Of course, all that food creates an impressive amount of waste. Keeping their bedding dry and their housing and yard clean has required far more time and labor than we expected. Therefore, before we raise another batch, we will need a different setup. A movable shelter or another system that manages soiled bedding more efficiently could reduce our workload while still protecting the birds’ health and comfort.
This first group has taught us that good intentions need practical infrastructure underneath them.

A Short Life with Good Care

Despite the extra work, we have enjoyed raising Cornish Cross chickens. They have quiet, mild temperaments, and the entire group has remained together in a roomy area with their hatch mates.

Commercial broilers generally do not live in individual cages. Instead, many live by the tens of thousands inside large enclosed sheds, often with little room as they approach processing weight. The ASPCA’s overview of animals on factory farms provides more information about commercial meat-chicken housing and rapid-growth welfare concerns. Content warning: The linked page contains upsetting descriptions and images of commercial farming conditions.

Processing day will still carry weight. We have cared for these birds every day, and enjoying them does not erase the purpose for which we raised them. At the same time, “saving” fast-growing Cornish Cross birds by keeping them indefinitely is not a simple or necessarily kinder option. As they continue growing, their genetics can place increasing strain on their legs, hearts, and other organs.

Soon, our freezer will hold meat from birds we raised ourselves. We know they received organic feed and no antibiotics. We also know their meat will not contain an injected broth or seasoning solution. Most importantly, we know their short lives included fresh air, room to move, clean water, attentive care, and the company of their flock.

That knowledge does not make the final day easy. It does, however, make the full circle honest.