Never slaughtered before, a couple questions...

Ibicella said:

You don't sound dumb at all. You sound like a normal, compassionate person with normal emotions. None of us here enjoy doing the deed and most of us started to sweat the first time. We do it for the sake of bettering our world and feeding our families.

Cut both sides; the blood will drain quicker. Cut right below the earlobes under the jaw bone deep enough that they will start to bleed. Then leave nature to take it's course. Once the bird stops moving entirely (usually within 5 minutes) you can continue with processing. Don't panic about the spasming...it's very dramatic looking and you might wonder if you didn't do it right, but it's normal. The animal is dead, it just takes time for the nerves to unwind.

And hey, if you do botch it because you're new at this, please don't beat yourself up for it. We all had to go through it, we've all botched it, and that's how we learned. A lot of it is just getting in there and doing it and you figure it out as you go. The fact you care about the wellbeing of your animals through it all shows you do not need to justify how good your heart is.

A sure fire way of cooking is low and slow like a crock pot or rotisserie. I love me an old tough hen or rooster, aged past their prime, cooked in the crock on low allll day for about 10 - 12 hours. Best stock you can imagine, and the meat shredded up is ready to pop into chicken noodles, soup, or pot pies! Very flavorful and slightly chewy, but I love it.

Also be sure to either process and cook immediately before rigor mortis sets in or let the meat age at least 3 days in the refrigerator...you can brine it or marinate it for further help if you wish.

If they are fresh and the chickens are healthy you can feed the organs to the dogs as-is, provided your dogs are used to eating organ meats. They are quite rich and can upset a dog's stomach if fed too much when they are not used to it. If they are new to it, cut them up and freeze them into small chunks and feed them as treats regularly for a bit, slowly increasing how much your dog gets.

You can also eat the organs yourself or grind them up and mix them into ground beef for an extra nutrition boost to your hamburger!

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