The chickens wait, blissfully unaware that their lives, which began on a New England farm, are about to come to an abrupt end.

Employees unload them from apartment-style steel crates where as many as four layers of 28 chickens may be innocently pecking up their last supper.

The birds, explains Silver, are fed right up until the end and are generally not kept at the plant overnight in order to reduce their stress levels.

After the fowl are unloaded from the crates, they are shepharded into a small room where a single worker can dispose of "a couple hundred" birds in "a couple hours."

From here, the birds are taken to a back room where they are cut and processed for the clients.

"We cut them any way they want them," Silver says.

After being cut and processed, chicken parts are wrapped for delivery to clients.

A Bird is a Bird is a Bird

But Mayflower doesn't just do chickens, Silver says. Customers, should they desire, can order almost any type of bird or beast "fresh-killed" and ready to cook.

Silver says he prepares quail, duck, pheasant, turkey and even rabbit for discriminating patrons.

Those with less daring palates may prefer to stop by the shop and pick up a rotisserie baked chicken or some farm fresh eggs.

"You can't get eggs fresher than ours," Silver claims.

Although one might expect that Mayflower's unique service would result in higher priced products, Silver says he can almost always undersell the grocery stores because of his small scale and specialization.

And with so many years of experience, the company has had lots of practice in cutting costs and staying competitive.

"My price is competitive on all items," Silver says, adding "All that I'm handling is poultry. I don't have losses, throw-aways or pilferedge."