We’ve had the baby chicks for four weeks now. This has been quite an exciting experience for our family. We’ve all fallen in love with “The Girls.” The meat chickens are not quite so lovable.

At least to me. And it has to stay that way if these birds are going to be roasted, grilled, or baked. Paul takes care of the chickens for the most part. I confess that I rarely pay much attention to the meat chicks. It’s emotional and culinary self-preservation on my part.

Hannah feels strongly that the meat chickens deserve names since we’re working on names for the hens. So we’ve agreed to call them Dinner 1, Dinner 2, Dinner 3, Dinner 4, Dinner 5, Dinner 6, Dinner 7, Dinner 8, Dinner 9 and Dinner 10.

Take a look at tonight’s featured chicks at week four. On the left we have Dinner 3 – a Cornish Rock. On the right we have Little, a Buff Orpington. These two birds hatched on the same day and shipped together.

Four Week Old Cornish Rock Compared to Four Week Old Buff

No, we’re not feeding them hormones! We’re feeding them a Maine-made poultry feed. Pretty amazing, isn’t it? Paul will butcher the meat chickens in the next three to four weeks. If they go too much beyond that they’ll die of old age I’m told.

chicken little and chicken big

This little girl looks like she’s ready for a roost! Good thing for her the hen house and run will be ready by the end of the week!