Why we bother

After my grumping in the last post about the Cornish-Rock cross meat chickens I got this year from Tractor Supply, I thought to post a pic of why we bother with the hassle and chore of raising up our meat from chicks, and what makes the slaughter chore worth it:

two Cornish-Rock meat chickens smoking on the grill

These are those last two, and you can probably see just how large they are.  That is bits of bacon on top of the skinless one in the roasting pan, with quartered potatoes around it (her, actually).  Each chicken is big enough to be between three and six meals, depending on how many/much side dishes.