Killing, Plucking, Eviscerating, & Cutting Up Your Chicken - Graphic!

LightningTFarm said:

Yes, I should have said the one gallon jug. I don't have chickens, but it's been large enough for me to use on a Silver Appleyard drake, which should be as big as any chicken you'll want to do. Of course, ducks have kind of long necks. I just shove their head into the jug while holding their wings close to their body with the other arm. Then I reach up into the bottom of the jug and grab their bill and pull down while guiding the body and wings into the top. Once the head is out I use a very sharp knife to cut their throat and they bleed out into the bucket I put under their before the whole process got started. It doesn't take long at all and they are very calm and quiet while it is happening. They don't like getting put into the jug but once there they get very quiet.

I showed this process to my cousin from South Louisiana who was raised killing chickens with a hatchet on a stump, and then letting them run around bleeding everywhere afterwards. He was amazed at how easy it was and how well it worked. He went home and told all his friends about it and they were just in awe. A lowly vinegar jug.....But it does make the whole process much easier and calmer, and there are no broken wings or damaged body parts.

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ChickenChels said:

I just processed my first chicken yesterday. We have our chickens for eggs and we got a rooster that was supposed to have been a hen. We kept him for a while, but as he matured he became too aggressive. We decided to eat him before he attacked one of our kids or their friends. My husband and I had a deal that if he killed it I would clean it. It went mostly how the pictures described, but I think I had my hot water dunk too hot. We didn't use a thermometer and we really should have. I think I partially cooked my bird in the dunk process. The skin was thick and rubbery. When I was trying to eviscerate him it was very tough cutting. Could the hot water have been my problem? He was right at a year old so I was thinking age could have been part of the issue as well. Any thoughts? We are eating him tonight in chicken and dumplings and the meat tastes great . But, I am hoping to perfect the processing part so it goes smoother next time.

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Audio51 said:

Thank you so much for posting this thread. I got thru my first one today...by myself. It was not as traumatic as I thought it would be. The cone helped with that I think. I bought a traffice cone at TSC and cut enough off the top to make about 4" opening. I turned it upside down and attached it to the railing of the deck. It worked great! Took me about an hour to process and I had a little trouble getting the innards out. I guess I expected them to be loose, but you really have to work the connective tissue loose to get everything out. I also had a bit of trouble with getting the cavity clean after removing the innards, but discovered that the luttle metal thing for removing the tops from strawberries workd great! Here is my finished product. Nt too bad for the first time...

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