two branches homestead

We have been raising our own meat birds for years.  It was a natural progression from raising laying hens.  We raise cornish crosses and raise about 25-50 birds a year. We also butcher our own birds.  This allows us to to see these birds go from chick to table.  When the recent pandemic started we didn’t look for toilet paper and bread, we ordered chicks and canning supplies.  Knowing we had several birds in the freezer also gave us comfort as everyone around us scrambled for protein.  We knew the hysteria was real when we had to wait over a month for our chicks.  When the birds came to us from the post office they were like a peeping bundle of hope.  We then knew we had 25 more dinners for our family.  We started them in our garage in a brooder made of recycled cardboard.

As long as you…