In the words of the great Ron Swanson of Parks and Recreation, we'd like to cordially invite you to "meet your meat." Tomorrow morning (Friday) at 8:00, we will begin to process these Cornish Cross chickens. And, we'd love for you to join us.

I can't tell you how many people have told me since our first chicken slaughter day, "I just don't know how you can do it. I definitely couldn't!" Here's the thing: you can. . . . and you should. In fact, if you can't acknowledge the fact that an animal died to feed you, then you probably have no business eating meat. Just sayin'.

Here, we "process" chicken in the most humane way we know of, showing respect for the animal through our process. If you think you're ready to take part or just to watch how it happens (the anatomy lesson alone is worth the backyard visit), come on over.

When my parents were here a few weekends ago, we had to unexpectedly process a chicken with an injured foot. My dad wasn't exactly ready to don the gloves and grab a knife, but he did open the guest room window and watch it all go down as John talked to him about the process. The chicken-processing table is just outside this window, so it made a great spot for being involved-kinda. You could always take that approach and watch from behind the window. ;)

As you can see from this pic with the processing table in the background, the chickens which get moved everyday have been slowly working their way toward the part of the yard where it'll all go down. As I write, they're enjoying their final meal. They'll begin their pre-slaughter fast tonight so that their digestive tracts will be cleaner for tomorrow.

If you get here and we're not answering the door, just come on around back. We'll be hard at work, and we'd be happy to have you either participate or watch and learn.