Alden’s Chicken Birthday

Well, thank God he’s a country boy. Because at some point this spring we realized that the same Saturday when the chickens turned 8-weeks old (butcher time) was the same Saturday of Alden’s birthday. Which meant for his special day, we were scheduled to butcher 90 birds.

I quickly began to spin it positively and told him I’d make a chicken cake- something that delighted him to no end. But the thing I realized yesterday, is that butchering chickens actually is a party. Really, truly. We had two families come and help us, one whole family and the five oldest kids of another, both of whom we have helped butcher at their farms.

When they arrived, we all knew it was going to be a real good time. Because strangely, butchering chickens actually is a real good time.

I have to tell you, we beat our personal best records this time. We butchered 90 chickens in two hours. THAT IS REMARKABLE! We genuinely were not going for speed (not wise with lots of knives) but look at this team! Everyone is so capable and so able. We had seven people gutting the birds. That’s a lot of birds being processed at the same time.

Abel was on my team and helped me drive the truck back and forth picking up the birds. Alden had two jobs, one was to shoo the chickens out of the back of the truck. And the other job was to cut the feet off of all the birds. He was so pleased to be the one doing that. (After a long lesson in knife safety from his nervous mom!)

The birds began with Ivar and Asher at the kill cones. This is a sad part of the process, but honestly, these birds are treated better than any other chickens on the market. It does get a little messy…

Then the birds head to the hot water scalder, followed by the defeatherer. Elias was on that team.

Our birds were little this year. We could have easily fed them another week or two, but we have the self-sufficiency summit this coming weekend and a wedding the following. It meant we kept the same date on the calendar and will make each one stretch in casseroles, soups and broth.

I think you can see from the pictures, no one really dreads this day! It is really fun. After the butchering, the birds soak in cold water to cool down before bagging and freezing. So while they chill, we eat! We had lamb and mashed potatoes, greek salad, Elsie’s focaccia bread, and hummus. And probably most exciting, Arne Palmers. The birthday boy told me he had two.

Now let me tell you about this cake.

I found a great tutorial on YouTube, except it was in Spanish. And I speak un poco. But between Rice Krispie sculpting and the use of two kinds of fruit roll ups, we figured it out. It was a labor of love though. We busted two piping bags and the head sagged off at one point due to the hot kitchen with bread baking. But we persevered! Even with the super excited help of four helpers.

And I was pretty pleased. I haven’t done a “fun cake” for a kid’s birthday since Elsie turned 3. So this was exciting to get crafty again. I used to do this stuff all the time before I had kids… the irony! To everything a season…

After cake, we went back out to bag the chickens.

Alden and Elias got them out of the cold water, and then they went to drain on top of PVC pipes. This is a brilliant contraption our friends made and brought for us to use.

And then they are zip tied and brought into the freezers for an entire year’s worth of chicken dinners.

What a party! By 2:30 everyone was on their way, with bagged chickens as party favors, and hearts grateful for safety and a really good time. Happy 7th Birthday, Alden! Can’t wait to make your next cake!