Are there advantages to buying meat from a nearby farmer? Initially, it might not seem worthwhile since store-bought organic chicken is...

Raising meat chickens seemed simple enough—buy chicks, feed them, butcher, done. Right? Not quite. From the surprising feed bills to the emotional weight of processing day, there’s a lot I learned the hard way. If you're thinking about jumping into pasture-raised poultry, here are five things I wish someone had told me first—before the dust, the poop, and the freezer full of birds.