100 Pounds of Poultry

Did you know the average American eats 100 pounds of poultry per year? Wow, y’all! We love our chicken! Probably even more so in the South. Not too many things come close to a plate full of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and a mason jar of sweet tea,in my book.

One of the reasons is because I appreciate the process in which it took to get that scrumptious piece of meat on my plate.

We have some new babies in our family. I’m talking about the little chicks that are in the brooder on our front porch. We are having so much fun with these little guys you would think my kids just received a new baby brother or sister. They are crazy about these chicks. My youngest boy, Howlett, is enjoying keeping up with their food and water. He acts as if he is a concerned new father. There is a desire in him to make sure they always have enough. He is naturally taking responsibility without me giving instruction and this makes me very happy.

Let me kick it in reverse for a minute and share why I have chosen to have chickens in the first place. When I became a mom for the first time, I had an incredibly spirit-driven motive to make sure my family ate healthy. After lengthy prayer sessions and a few google searches, the answer was quite apparent; I had to control the whole process from farm to the table. It meant having to undergo a lifestyle change personally and collectively in order to keep the household in sync. There was a bit of a learning curve and at some times I felt a little behind, but with persistence and determination I created a fully functional chicken production. The process has made me truly appreciate the excellent health meal that I am able to put on the table, but more importantly, it provides an excellent learning and responsibility resource for my children. The skills they obtain raising chickens gives rise to the lost art now that we live in the new world of the ‘corporate chicken’. I’ll explain later on why we should do our best to avoid the corporate chicken.