Processing Day! (Days)

Remember how I mentioned our new plucker in my previous post? Well, it’s officially amazing! Over the last couple of weeks we had a few processing days and the new plucker works so well! We have finally fully processed & packaged 98 birds. We get our meat chickens as 3 day old chicks from Freedom Ranger Hatchery and last type we ordered grew to be 4-5+ pound birds after processing. This time Shannon tried a different bird from them, the Jackies, and they didn’t grow as big as we had hoped. Most of these birds were only 3-4 pounds after processing, so we will definitely choose a different bird for our next round. That being said, they are still delicious! We had lots of help processing from our kiddos and our sweet friend that’s basically family. Processing these birds in the heat and humidity was not an easy chore! Temperatures soared above 100, with 90-100% humidity making the “feels like temp” well into 110-115°F.

After processing for two days in a row, our oldest son, Shaun, got dehydrated without realizing it. Two days later, his magnesium levels bottomed out, causing all kinds of scary symptoms such as not being able to feel his legs, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, breathlessness, and faintness. Unfortunately, Shannon and I were at work, and he was home alone. Shaun called me as soon as he knew he didn’t feel right and I could tell over the phone his condition was deteriorating quickly, so I had him call 911 as I rushed out of my office to make the hour drive home to him. Thankfully, Desoto Parish EMS got to him quickly and was able to load him in the ambulance and stabilize him enough to head to Shreveport with him. We spent several hours in the emergency room as they were running lots of blood work and filling with fluids. Once the doctor determined it was hypomagnesia, they started giving him IV magnesium and other vitamins, and he perked back up within a few hours, and we were able to take him home. The next day, he felt great, but now Shannon had caught Covid while we were in the hospital, and then he was down for a few days. The boys really stepped up and helped me with all the farm chores, and by the grace of God, we got through it. Everyone is now well and back to work, and this heat has been torcherous. Enjoy these pictures!