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First Time Processing! Easier than I thought!

post #1 of 8
3/22/12 at 12:59pm
Thread Starter 

I hatched a bunch of barnyard mixes and ended up with way too many roosters.

Their hormones are raging and they are wreaking havoc on my poor hens.

We decided today was the day.

I had purchased a killing cone and we nailed it to a fence post.

This is our very first time, so it's taking us about 45 minutes per bird.

While one bird is bleeding out, we're scalding and plucking the next bird.

Thank you to everyone on this forum who posted tips on processing chickens!

 

 

smile.png

ƸӜƷ•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.☆

Have Katahdin hair sheep, Silkies, Guineas, Egg Layers, 3 Papillons, 1 toy Poodle, 1 Husband, 2 Cornish Rex cats,

1 aquatic turtle, 2 Kangals and 2 Grt Pyrs on 15 acres of joy.

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ƸӜƷ•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.☆

Have Katahdin hair sheep, Silkies, Guineas, Egg Layers, 3 Papillons, 1 toy Poodle, 1 Husband, 2 Cornish Rex cats,

1 aquatic turtle, 2 Kangals and 2 Grt Pyrs on 15 acres of joy.

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post #2 of 8
3/22/12 at 1:03pm

celebrate.gif Now enjoy chicken dinner.

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post #3 of 8
3/22/12 at 1:42pm

Good news:  Chicken for dinner tonight!

Better news:  It gets easier from here on out.

 

Congratulations.

http://www.voiceofthehive.com - Stories of beekeeping, honeybees and the beekeepers who love them.

http://www.chickendreams.com - In pursuit of the egg

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http://www.voiceofthehive.com - Stories of beekeeping, honeybees and the beekeepers who love them.

http://www.chickendreams.com - In pursuit of the egg

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post #4 of 8
3/22/12 at 1:58pm
Thread Starter 

These roosters have huge cajones!

We're giving all the organ meat to the dogs since we don't eat it, but do y'all also give the testes to the dogs??

Should I boil 'em?

I guess in some parts they're called Mountain Oysters?

smile.png

ƸӜƷ•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.☆

Have Katahdin hair sheep, Silkies, Guineas, Egg Layers, 3 Papillons, 1 toy Poodle, 1 Husband, 2 Cornish Rex cats,

1 aquatic turtle, 2 Kangals and 2 Grt Pyrs on 15 acres of joy.

Reply

ƸӜƷ•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.☆

Have Katahdin hair sheep, Silkies, Guineas, Egg Layers, 3 Papillons, 1 toy Poodle, 1 Husband, 2 Cornish Rex cats,

1 aquatic turtle, 2 Kangals and 2 Grt Pyrs on 15 acres of joy.

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post #5 of 8
3/22/12 at 6:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlienChick View Post

These roosters have huge cajones!

We're giving all the organ meat to the dogs since we don't eat it, but do y'all also give the testes to the dogs??

 

smile.png


You're right---they do have huge cajones! Feed them to your dog raw, they'll love them!! Every time I look at this picture I think of the

Sesame Street song...."One of these things is not like the other....."   haha.

 

DSC_0681.JPG

 

~~Cathy~~
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~~Cathy~~
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post #6 of 8
3/22/12 at 6:17pm

Congrats!

 

Getting a proper scald is most of the battle for sure. It makes plucking much easier even if you have to do it by hand. I would say a good plucker, even a small drill mounted one, is a very worthwhile investment though unless you have a LOT of time to stand around picking pin feathers from a warm carcass...

 

Now make sure you properly chill and rest them before freezing or eating and you should have many excellent meals!

 

Then go place your order for broilers. cool.png

Lifelong chicken nut planning on starting a new flock this year
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Lifelong chicken nut planning on starting a new flock this year
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post #7 of 8
3/23/12 at 5:59am
Thread Starter 

Yep! We're thinking about getting some broilers!

We really wanted to practice with our barnyard mixes to see if this was even something we could do.

Piece of cake!

The plucking is not as much work as I had thought.

The feathers come out real easy in huge clumbs.

We were wearing rubber gloves; maybe that made it easier to pull.

I guess it took us 10-15 min to get all the feathers out.

Of course, a good plucker would take, what, 10-15 seconds?

 

We set up a "table" outside and did the processing there.

I was originally concerned about the huge mess/pile of feathers on the grass.

But I was able to rake them up pretty easily.

 

The videos and step-by-step tutorials that you guys post were a TREMENDOUS help!  thumbsup.gif

 

 

 

 

 

ƸӜƷ•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.☆

Have Katahdin hair sheep, Silkies, Guineas, Egg Layers, 3 Papillons, 1 toy Poodle, 1 Husband, 2 Cornish Rex cats,

1 aquatic turtle, 2 Kangals and 2 Grt Pyrs on 15 acres of joy.

Reply

ƸӜƷ•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.☆

Have Katahdin hair sheep, Silkies, Guineas, Egg Layers, 3 Papillons, 1 toy Poodle, 1 Husband, 2 Cornish Rex cats,

1 aquatic turtle, 2 Kangals and 2 Grt Pyrs on 15 acres of joy.

Reply
post #8 of 8
3/23/12 at 7:05pm

build one of these2012-03-07 16.20.21.jpgthis is the one I built a few weeks ago 

Just another day in paridise!
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Just another day in paridise!
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