Chicken Harvest and Halloween

I'm sure you remember my meat birds.  Here they are last Monday, at 6 weeks:

Now they are 7 weeks, 2 days old, and are significantly bigger still!  I'll have to take a picture of some of them before we harvest more.  Anyway, today I harvested my first chicken entirely on my own.  Normally, Nathaniel does all butchering around here, but I wanted to butcher a whole bird myself, and I did it.  I did use this tutorial:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=How+to+Butcher+a+Chicken+Live&&view=detail&mid=4C2A60411A98FEC843B14C2A60411A98FEC843B1&&FORM=VDRVRV

and I had read many descriptions of how to butcher a chicken, so I had a pretty good idea of what to do, but I had never actually harvested anything before.  So I nailed my homemade killing cone to a dead tree and killed a chicken.  (Don't worry, Missy, I don't have any pictures of the actual butchering process.)  It wasn't difficult, but I was slow, and so it took longer than I thought, and I only had time to butcher one before cleaning up before preschool pick up. 

The hen ended up weighing 4.25 pounds (after cleaning up, sans organs & etc).

It looks pretty much like a store-bought chicken!

Now, on a creepier, Halloweenish note, I also saved and peeled the chicken feet for the first time.  Don't they look like a Halloween prop?

Those feet and neck are currently simmering on the stove to make stock, and the smell is divine.  I've read that necks and feet make the best stock, but I've never actually done that, either.  I've been wanting to use as much of the bird as possible, so I am glad that I have finally gotten to the point where I can peel chicken feet.  Believe me, if you had asked me five years ago if I'd ever butcher my own chicken or make stock from chicken feet, I'd have adamantly said no, but this lifestyle has really grown on me.

In other news, Elijah carved a pumpkin for the first time yesterday.

 I think he did a really good job.  Lydia helped scoop out the seeds.

And yes, she's outside barefoot despite the fact that it was only 49 degrees.  She's so my daughter.

Malachi's friend joined us for trick-or-treating, while Elijah joined a group of his friends.  Everyone had a good time.  And our little spiderman loves his costume but won't wear the mask.  At all.  So he was in a spiderman suit with an Auburn tigers hat.  We just roll with it.