Now that we're a week out ... let's talk about Thanksgiving!!
Hmm. Perhaps some backstory is in order.
My in-laws own a chicken farm; they have two chicken houses that can each house between 25-30 thousand birds. (And since I've had more people ask lately - no, the birds are not in cages. They can wander where-ever they like inside the houses, which are each longer than a football field.) Basically, the birds that my in-laws raise go to the company that provides chicken for places like Zaxbys.
Well, my in-laws work super hard on the farm and on the chickens; the days leading up to getting the birds and the days leading up to getting rid of the birds are almost non-stop - full of crazy hours, hard work, and little sleep. They get paid by how much the birds weigh, so not only is it important for the birds to be alive and healthy, but they need to weigh a decent amount.
That being said, I didn't realize until I married the son of a chicken farmer just how hard it is to keep these birds alive. These birds are dumb. Really dumb. As in, you have to shuffle your feet along the ground when you walk through the house because they don't know enough to walk out of your way so that you step on them. Since my in-laws get the birds practically just out of the egg, they need to keep those birds at a very strict temperature - even a 5 degree difference can kill thousands of birds. They are always praying for the weather to cooperate whenever they have birds!
My inlaws latest batch of chickens were scheduled to be picked up on Thanksgiving evening at 8 pm. A "Catch Crew" would come out with all the trucks, catch the birds, and take them to the company plant. About 6-7 hours before the scheduled catch, my inlaws took the birds off their food and water; this is a requirement by the company so that the birds don't contaminate the factory. What this means is that they are now dependent on the catch crew showing up on time and doing their job; from here on out, the birds will just lose weight - and if they wait too long, the birds will start dying.
Because my inlaws were both working so hard prepping the chicken houses on Thanksgiving, my MIL put the meat in the oven (we had a standing rib roast instead of turkey - So much better!) and I did everything else. While they were working outside, I made the mashed potatoes, the corn on the cob, the zucchini, the veggie tray, and the biscuits. Right before the meal, my MIL came back up and helped me with the gravy and the cranberry sauce.
It was a wonderful Thanksgiving meal! And I'm not just saying that because I made most of it! ;o)
Anyway ... we were planning to go Black Friday shopping after the catch that night, so John and I took naps that afternoon, while my inlaws continued to work in the chicken houses.
Finally it was almost time. My FIL was down with the birds, while my MIL was with us in the house watching for the catch crew. 8 pm came and went. By 9 pm my in-laws were starting to get really frantic - in their almost 20 years of chicken farming, the catch crew had never been so late. The birds were starting to lose weight at an alarming pace, and would start dying soon. My MIL tried calling everyone she knew to call, but only got voicemails - it was Thanksgiving Night - who's going to answer their work phone?
After some quick, frantic discussion, we agreed on a course of action - a rather desperate thought, but the only one we could think of. We left out FIL in charge of the birds, and John, my MIL, and I hopped in the car, and at 9:30 that night we started the 30 minute drive to the plant. Maybe, just maybe, we'd find someone who could help us.
Before this gets too long - I'm going to break here. Part Two is Here!
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