Details:
If you’ve been following along with SFA’s Homesteading Series, you’ve learned how to raise your own meat chickens from start to market weight. Join us on Tuesday, September 16th from 9AM-2PM to learn how to properly finish this project by processing your own chickens at home. At this workshop, we will actually be processing 35-40 chickens from start to finish, and teaching you how to kill, scald, pluck, and eviscerate the chickens. Each attendee will have the opportunity to perform the complete process with instructor help on several birds. We are limiting the number of participants to allow each person ample opportunity to get comfortable with the process. If you don’t want to actually participate in the process, but would like to attend, see below for different ticket options. The day will include: Jonathan Kilpatrick has been raising chickens since age 10, developing hands-on expertise in brooding, raising, processing, and marketing poultry. One of the stops in his agriculture education was an internship and apprenticeship at Polyface Farms, where he gained extensive experience with commercial scale pastured production, processing, and marketing of broilers, layers, and turkeys. Jonathan and his family raise pastured broilers on their farm in Alexandria, MN. Herman Bartsch and his family have been raising and processing their own chickens for 12 years at Deep Roots Farm near Good Thunder. Herman has developed and fine-tuned a process that makes processing your birds an organized, enjoyable project. Mary Fischer has been raising and selling pastured broiler chickens as part of her farm’s business for 7 years now and has learned quite a bit on the way. Previously frustrated with chicken processors she was working with, Mary has seen the practical need for people to learn to properly process poultry themselves. Advance registration is required. Space will be very limited to ensure that attendees get the best training out of the day and to ensure a proper chicken:attendee ratio. There are two options available: Option 1: Hands-On Training 40 This will include hands-on training and processing of several chickens on the day of the workshop. Option 2: Viewer-Only 20 This will include receiving the training but only viewing the process and not participating hands-on. Be sure to bring your own apron for the day! Refunds for cancellations can be requested up to 48 hours prior to the event. SFA staff and volunteers occasionally take photos during our events for promotional purposes and to use as documentation to share with our funders. If you do not wish to be photographed, please let our event host know — we’ll make every effort to make sure you are not photographed.
