Calling all pluckers!!!!!

[WhiteCollarWeezy]

For toughness, it depends on how old the rooster is, how long you let it rest so rigor can pass, and how you cook the meat. Cooking method is important. Low heat, long cook time or pressure cooking is best for old roosters (year or more). Let the meat rest until rigor passes after slaughter (1-3 days or more, when the joints move easily, rigor is over). You can let it rest in the fridge until rigor passes, and then freeze/cook it, or you can freeze immediately as long as you let it sit in the fridge after thawing until rigor passes before cooking it. I've had a year old rooster take 5 days for rigor to pass, and it cooked up fine in a pressure cooker, with some awesome broth for soup.

There are lots of recommendations on here for what age is best to butcher at if you want tender meat and to cook it a certain way.

Ty. We immediately smoked it on a pellet grill and I gotta say it was Tough. Had no idea meat needed to rest

 

[WhiteCollarWeezy]

Ty. We immediately smoked it on a pellet grill and I gotta say it was Tough. Had no idea meat needed to rest

Well chicken meat anyway

 

[FunClucks]

Ty. We immediately smoked it on a pellet grill and I gotta say it was Tough. Had no idea meat needed to rest

I didn't either before I started processing my own chickens. You only do it once, right? My year old rooster that I pressure cooked was super tender and delicious.

If you want to butcher and put straight on a grill, if you do it fast enough you can cook it before rigor sets in. Otherwise, resting is needed. I'm not (yet) that fast, but I'm sure my great-grandma did that.

 

[WhiteCollarWeezy]

I didn't either before I started processing my own chickens. You only do it once, right? My year old rooster that I pressure cooked was super tender and delicious.

If you want to butcher and put straight on a grill, if you do it fast enough you can cook it before rigor sets in. Otherwise, resting is needed. I'm not (yet) that fast, but I'm sure my great-grandma did that.

Yes I have only done this once. Trail, error, and yall wonderful folks on BYC will help me do better next time.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

I tried the cone methods- didn’t work well for me. Tried stump-axe-hang and didn’t care for that. Recently I culled a bird using cervical dislocation with a broomstick- bird was clam and death was without a doubt instantaneous. Afterward the neuro-death flapping ended I hung bird by feet and cut carotid to bleed into a bucket.
I Scold at 145. Close to 150
for me caused skin to rip. I then hand plucked (single bird) then process. I remove feet first then separate the esophagus, crop, trachea and cut off esoph and crop (I don’t like pulling that through the small sternal notch in case something remains in the crop). Then move on to eviscerate from the back end. I do not save the tail with yhe preen gland, but some ppl do. Rinse, ice bath and rest for 48 -72 hrs on ice or in frig.
In the sticky thread there is a great processing tutorial.

 

[WhiteCollarWeezy]

I tried the cone methods- didn’t work well for me. Tried stump-axe-hang and didn’t care for that. Recently I culled a bird using cervical dislocation with a broomstick- bird was clam and death was without a doubt instantaneous. Afterward the neuro-death flapping ended I hung bird by feet and cut carotid to bleed into a bucket.
I Scold at 145. Close to 150
for me caused skin to rip. I then hand plucked (single bird) then process. I remove feet first then separate the esophagus, crop, trachea and cut off esoph and crop (I don’t like pulling that through the small sternal notch in case something remains in the crop). Then move on to eviscerate from the back end. I do not save the tail with yhe preen gland, but some ppl do. Rinse, ice bath and rest for 48 -72 hrs on ice or in frig.
In the sticky thread there is a great processing tutorial.

awesome ty

 

[Birdinhand]

-for my CX, I pull food the night before, aiming for the 12 hour mark so their gut is empty and you are less likely to perforate an intestine and introduce fecal matter into the cavity while cleaning.
- I Set up the yard bird chicken plucker with hose going to it, the day before.
-have a second hose set up for rinsing and cooling the scald water.
- I set up 2-3 sharp knives with rubber handles and place them within reach of the hanging kill cones. I sharpen them till I can shave hair off my arm… razor sharp.
- before beginning, I cover the coop with tarp on the side that would have a view of the killing area. Your remaining chickens should not be exposed to the site of their brethren being executed… it’s stressful. (Check out the book: animals make us human)
- I set up the scalding water to about 130-135 according to a laser temp gun. If it’s any hotter I get tearing of the skin or even setting of the feathers… you want it just hot enough for the feathers on the legs to come right off when pulled with about 40 seconds of soaking while pushing and rotating the bird in the water (holding on to the feet) to work the air bubbles out of the feathers/get the hot water to work it’s way under the feathers. You can go a bit hotter and faster but I find this temp gives me more control of the process, being less likely to over scald, which is to be avoided.
- I set up kill cones over blood catch buckets. I do four at a time, holding them in a dog kennel for only minutes before they are dispatched.
- I take the birds, one at a time, grasping them around their sides, keeping their wings from flapping and hold them upside down for 15-30 seconds so they get disoriented. This way the blood rushes to their head and gorcks them out a bit, prepping them for a low drama dispatch.
-once in the cone, I reach up in the cone and grab their head, stretching their neck out, cutting a bit below each side of the jaw, severing the carotid artery… causing their blood pressure to drop precipitously so that they pass out instantly. Within a few minutes they will jerk about, they are not alive at this point. During that time I have two screws placed below each kill cone so as to secure their head to reduce the amount of blood that goes all over the place. After they are done jerking I chop the head off while in the cone and let bleed for a few more minutes.
- I do about 20-25 chickens in a go, dispatching of them 4 at a time, placing them on plastic after, waiting till they are all ready for the plucker. You have to remember that you are running against a biological clock from here out. You don’t want a chicken to sit for two long with feathers before plucking, not do you want it to stay warm with viscera inside for too long… your aim is to get them cleaned and cooling, ASAP.
-I use a yard bird chicken plucker. Dip them in the hot water, holding them by the feet. Turn on the water to the plucker, then hit the switch, then drop two birds in at a time. Within about 30 seconds they are squeaky clean. If there are still feathers, then I either adjust up the temp a few degrees on the water and or increase the scalding time by 10-15 seconds. If there is any sign of tearing of cooking of the skin, I add cold water to the scalder and lower the flame.
-I scald and pluck two birds at a time,rinse throughly, multiple times. I rinse my hands, change out gloves, if wearing disposables, at this stage and again right before final rinse as they go into the coolers and do my best to begin tightening up my mind set from the ultra dirty, high microbial killing and plucking phase to the level of sanitation you’d want for food handling. Then we are on to hanging by one leg to disembowel.
-beforehand, I set up two cleaning stations with a medium length knife. I attach a screw and wire with washer on the fence to hang them by one leg. It’s a very handy way to position the bird for the process! It’s a little hard to describe but there are pictures on line of this nifty “gadget”. See my ongoing thread on the subject for pictures. You make a loop with lamp cord or some other coated wire, make a loop knot, place the other end through a small washer, and hang the knot on a screw on the fence or post. Put one chicken foot through the loop and synch down the washer to hold the tension.
-once the carcass is hanging, I remove the other leg, then I make two slices on either side of the vent, long ways, up against the protruding bones to either side of the vent (watch some videos on butchering to avoid puncturing the intestines). I then reach in and pull the intestine away from the back bone and cut the back part of the vent free, then make a careful cut, avoiding the intestines to completely encircle/free the vent, which I leave hanging outside the cavity, so it does not leak feces into the cavity.
-once the vent is loose, I remove the excess neck, if I haven’t already, then I take one hand and enter the cavity and scoop free as much connective tissue as possible from the rib cage etc, for a more easy removal of the viscera, making sure to free the lungs and heart as much as possible, then I pull the entire viscera out in one go (ideally), if there is resistance I reach further in to grip and keep pulling steadily, trying to get the remainder of the crop and all to come with it. On the way out, I pinch the gall bladder to prevent bile from coming out as I and remove the liver, setting it cleanly into a glass lock on a shelf for further cleaning later. Everything else goes into a bucket and later buried.
-from there, I cut off the second foot and move the chicken to an ice water bath, to quickly begin dropping the body temperature. (I buy my ice the day before and drop the temp to about -20f, dramatically improving the effectiveness of the ice). You don’t want to kid yourself, backyard chickens, even organic, are full of microbes, you want to take this seriously, at every step I angle to slowing the spread of microbes and dropping the temp so they can’t breed. I find it’s a good idea to make a solution of bleach in a spray bottle and use it pretty liberally on any surfaces you will be using from this stage onward.
-after processing all the chickens, I move them into a cleansed cooler to rest the meat, layering with ice. The coolers get monitored once or twice a day, they stay outside if cool enough, the surface temp is monitored with laser temp gun, and kept in the 20-30’s f, but not freezing the meat, adding more ice as needed to prevent any parts from going uncovered. I rest the meet like this for 3-5 days, then vacuum seal with food saver and freeze. I repeat this process about every 6 months to a year to feed my family of four.
- I tend to bake my chickens for about 90 minutes, one last stop gap to preventing bad microbes from entering your family’s food chain.
-all told, it takes me about 6 hours to process 25-30 chickens.

 

[WhiteCollarWeezy]

-for my CX, I pull food the night before, aiming for the 12 hour mark so their gut is empty and you are less likely to perforate an intestine and introduce fecal matter into the cavity while cleaning.
- I Set up the yard bird chicken plucker with hose going to it, the day before.
-have a second hose set up for rinsing and cooling the scald water.
- I set up 2-3 sharp knives with rubber handles and place them within reach of the hanging kill cones. I sharpen them till I can shave hair off my arm… razor sharp.
- before beginning, I cover the coop with tarp on the side that would have a view of the killing area. Your remaining chickens should not be exposed to the site of their brethren being executed… it’s stressful. (Check out the book: animals make us human)
- I set up the scalding water to about 130-135 according to a laser temp gun. If it’s any hotter I get tearing of the skin or even setting of the feathers… you want it just hot enough for the feathers on the legs to come right off when pulled with about 40 seconds of soaking while pushing and rotating the bird in the water (holding on to the feet) to work the air bubbles out of the feathers/get the hot water to work it’s way under the feathers. You can go a bit hotter and faster but I find this temp gives me more control of the process, being less likely to over scald, which is to be avoided.
- I set up kill cones over blood catch buckets. I do four at a time, holding them in a dog kennel for only minutes before they are dispatched.
- I take the birds, one at a time, grasping them around their sides, keeping their wings from flapping and hold them upside down for 15-30 seconds so they get disoriented. This way the blood rushes to their head and gorcks them out a bit, prepping them for a low drama dispatch.
-once in the cone, I reach up in the cone and grab their head, stretching their neck out, cutting a bit below each side of the jaw, severing the carotid artery… causing their blood pressure to drop precipitously so that they pass out instantly. Within a few minutes they will jerk about, they are not alive at this point. During that time I have two screws placed below each kill cone so as to secure their head to reduce the amount of blood that goes all over the place. After they are done jerking I chop the head off while in the cone and let bleed for a few more minutes.
- I do about 20-25 chickens in a go, dispatching of them 4 at a time, placing them on plastic after, waiting till they are all ready for the plucker. You have to remember that you are running against a biological clock from here out. You don’t want a chicken to sit for two long with feathers before plucking, not do you want it to stay warm with viscera inside for too long… your aim is to get them cleaned and cooling, ASAP.
-I use a yard bird chicken plucker. Dip them in the hot water, holding them by the feet. Turn on the water to the plucker, then hit the switch, then drop two birds in at a time. Within about 30 seconds they are squeaky clean. If there are still feathers, then I either adjust up the temp a few degrees on the water and or increase the scalding time by 10-15 seconds. If there is any sign of tearing of cooking of the skin, I add cold water to the scalder and lower the flame.
-I scald and pluck two birds at a time,rinse throughly, multiple times. I rinse my hands, change out gloves, if wearing disposables, at this stage and again right before final rinse as they go into the coolers and do my best to begin tightening up my mind set from the ultra dirty, high microbial killing and plucking phase to the level of sanitation you’d want for food handling. Then we are on to hanging by one leg to disembowel.
-beforehand, I set up two cleaning stations with a medium length knife. I attach a screw and wire with washer on the fence to hang them by one leg. It’s a very handy way to position the bird for the process! It’s a little hard to describe but there are pictures on line of this nifty “gadget”. See my ongoing thread on the subject for pictures. You make a loop with lamp cord or some other coated wire, make a loop knot, place the other end through a small washer, and hang the knot on a screw on the fence or post. Put one chicken foot through the loop and synch down the washer to hold the tension.
-once the carcass is hanging, I remove the other leg, then I make two slices on either side of the vent, long ways, up against the protruding bones to either side of the vent (watch some videos on butchering to avoid puncturing the intestines). I then reach in and pull the intestine away from the back bone and cut the back part of the vent free, then make a careful cut, avoiding the intestines to completely encircle/free the vent, which I leave hanging outside the cavity, so it does not leak feces into the cavity.
-once the vent is loose, I remove the excess neck, if I haven’t already, then I take one hand and enter the cavity and scoop free as much connective tissue as possible from the rib cage etc, for a more easy removal of the viscera, making sure to free the lungs and heart as much as possible, then I pull the entire viscera out in one go (ideally), if there is resistance I reach further in to grip and keep pulling steadily, trying to get the remainder of the crop and all to come with it. On the way out, I pinch the gall bladder to prevent bile from coming out as I and remove the liver, setting it cleanly into a glass lock on a shelf for further cleaning later. Everything else goes into a bucket and later buried.
-from there, I cut off the second foot and move the chicken to an ice water bath, to quickly begin dropping the body temperature. (I buy my ice the day before and drop the temp to about -20f, dramatically improving the effectiveness of the ice). You don’t want to kid yourself, backyard chickens, even organic, are full of microbes, you want to take this seriously, at every step I angle to slowing the spread of microbes and dropping the temp so they can’t breed. I find it’s a good idea to make a solution of bleach in a spray bottle and use it pretty liberally on any surfaces you will be using from this stage onward.
-after processing all the chickens, I move them into a cleansed cooler to rest the meat, layering with ice. The coolers get monitored once or twice a day, they stay outside if cool enough, the surface temp is monitored with laser temp gun, and kept in the 20-30’s f, but not freezing the meat, adding more ice as needed to prevent any parts from going uncovered. I rest the meet like this for 3-5 days, then vacuum seal with food saver and freeze. I repeat this process about every 6 months to a year to feed my family of four.
- I tend to bake my chickens for about 90 minutes, one last stop gap to preventing bad microbes from entering your family’s food chain.
-all told, it takes me about 6 hours to process 25-30 chickens.

-for my CX, I pull food the night before, aiming for the 12 hour mark so their gut is empty and you are less likely to perforate an intestine and introduce fecal matter into the cavity while cleaning.
- I Set up the yard bird chicken plucker with hose going to it, the day before.
-have a second hose set up for rinsing and cooling the scald water.
- I set up 2-3 sharp knives with rubber handles and place them within reach of the hanging kill cones. I sharpen them till I can shave hair off my arm… razor sharp.
- before beginning, I cover the coop with tarp on the side that would have a view of the killing area. Your remaining chickens should not be exposed to the site of their brethren being executed… it’s stressful. (Check out the book: animals make us human)
- I set up the scalding water to about 130-135 according to a laser temp gun. If it’s any hotter I get tearing of the skin or even setting of the feathers… you want it just hot enough for the feathers on the legs to come right off when pulled with about 40 seconds of soaking while pushing and rotating the bird in the water (holding on to the feet) to work the air bubbles out of the feathers/get the hot water to work it’s way under the feathers. You can go a bit hotter and faster but I find this temp gives me more control of the process, being less likely to over scald, which is to be avoided.
- I set up kill cones over blood catch buckets. I do four at a time, holding them in a dog kennel for only minutes before they are dispatched.
- I take the birds, one at a time, grasping them around their sides, keeping their wings from flapping and hold them upside down for 15-30 seconds so they get disoriented. This way the blood rushes to their head and gorcks them out a bit, prepping them for a low drama dispatch.
-once in the cone, I reach up in the cone and grab their head, stretching their neck out, cutting a bit below each side of the jaw, severing the carotid artery… causing their blood pressure to drop precipitously so that they pass out instantly. Within a few minutes they will jerk about, they are not alive at this point. During that time I have two screws placed below each kill cone so as to secure their head to reduce the amount of blood that goes all over the place. After they are done jerking I chop the head off while in the cone and let bleed for a few more minutes.
- I do about 20-25 chickens in a go, dispatching of them 4 at a time, placing them on plastic after, waiting till they are all ready for the plucker. You have to remember that you are running against a biological clock from here out. You don’t want a chicken to sit for two long with feathers before plucking, not do you want it to stay warm with viscera inside for too long… your aim is to get them cleaned and cooling, ASAP.
-I use a yard bird chicken plucker. Dip them in the hot water, holding them by the feet. Turn on the water to the plucker, then hit the switch, then drop two birds in at a time. Within about 30 seconds they are squeaky clean. If there are still feathers, then I either adjust up the temp a few degrees on the water and or increase the scalding time by 10-15 seconds. If there is any sign of tearing of cooking of the skin, I add cold water to the scalder and lower the flame.
-I scald and pluck two birds at a time,rinse throughly, multiple times. I rinse my hands, change out gloves, if wearing disposables, at this stage and again right before final rinse as they go into the coolers and do my best to begin tightening up my mind set from the ultra dirty, high microbial killing and plucking phase to the level of sanitation you’d want for food handling. Then we are on to hanging by one leg to disembowel.
-beforehand, I set up two cleaning stations with a medium length knife. I attach a screw and wire with washer on the fence to hang them by one leg. It’s a very handy way to position the bird for the process! It’s a little hard to describe but there are pictures on line of this nifty “gadget”. See my ongoing thread on the subject for pictures. You make a loop with lamp cord or some other coated wire, make a loop knot, place the other end through a small washer, and hang the knot on a screw on the fence or post. Put one chicken foot through the loop and synch down the washer to hold the tension.
-once the carcass is hanging, I remove the other leg, then I make two slices on either side of the vent, long ways, up against the protruding bones to either side of the vent (watch some videos on butchering to avoid puncturing the intestines). I then reach in and pull the intestine away from the back bone and cut the back part of the vent free, then make a careful cut, avoiding the intestines to completely encircle/free the vent, which I leave hanging outside the cavity, so it does not leak feces into the cavity.
-once the vent is loose, I remove the excess neck, if I haven’t already, then I take one hand and enter the cavity and scoop free as much connective tissue as possible from the rib cage etc, for a more easy removal of the viscera, making sure to free the lungs and heart as much as possible, then I pull the entire viscera out in one go (ideally), if there is resistance I reach further in to grip and keep pulling steadily, trying to get the remainder of the crop and all to come with it. On the way out, I pinch the gall bladder to prevent bile from coming out as I and remove the liver, setting it cleanly into a glass lock on a shelf for further cleaning later. Everything else goes into a bucket and later buried.
-from there, I cut off the second foot and move the chicken to an ice water bath, to quickly begin dropping the body temperature. (I buy my ice the day before and drop the temp to about -20f, dramatically improving the effectiveness of the ice). You don’t want to kid yourself, backyard chickens, even organic, are full of microbes, you want to take this seriously, at every step I angle to slowing the spread of microbes and dropping the temp so they can’t breed. I find it’s a good idea to make a solution of bleach in a spray bottle and use it pretty liberally on any surfaces you will be using from this stage onward.
-after processing all the chickens, I move them into a cleansed cooler to rest the meat, layering with ice. The coolers get monitored once or twice a day, they stay outside if cool enough, the surface temp is monitored with laser temp gun, and kept in the 20-30’s f, but not freezing the meat, adding more ice as needed to prevent any parts from going uncovered. I rest the meet like this for 3-5 days, then vacuum seal with food saver and freeze. I repeat this process about every 6 months to a year to feed my family of four.
- I tend to bake my chickens for about 90 minutes, one last stop gap to preventing bad microbes from entering your family’s food chain.
-all told, it takes me about 6 hours to process 25-30 chickens.

I am the kind of person. I don't want to watch a video to learn . I want 2 read and have "hands on" to learn how...I am going to see if I can find this book. Ty very informative. Next time I decide to harvest I will reach out.....thank you so much.

 

[CNJ]

I had no idea poultry shears existed.

I was cutting the meat around the neck close to the body and twisting it off, but found out that it was easier to cut it off with a poultry scissors. I bought my scissors from Amazon, I can easily cut the center bone, neck and toe nails off the feet with it, so I am happy with my purchase.

The game changer for me was when I found out that I could adjust the temperature on my warer heater to 150F. I use a small foam box for my hot water bath and I can change the water after each bird, I have never ran out of hot water. I set my timer for 2 minutes, this is perfect for feathers and the skin on the chicken feet.

I process one chicken at a time (Slit throat, hot water bath, plucker and gut). I process only 4 in one session, but my plucker is weather proof, so I can leave it where it is and continue the next day if I want to.

I bought a pet cage that can hold 4 chickens comfortably. I starve the chickens that I am going to process in this cage for a day before processing. Its easy to catch them this way. I catch them at night when they are asleep and put them in this cage.

 

[Jmcintosh23]

Ok...That makes sense... pre dawn. Less stressful..plus have had time to digest any food. Thanks.

I like the idea of predawn but I get worried about 1 year old waking up in the middle of me processing and my husbands not home yet works third so I have to wait until he can watch her or when she's taking a nap. Plus I read you said you bought. A plucker. I would like to pluck my own with heating water but I just dont have a stock pot big enough. Also I did pluck one right after just to see what it was like and it was still warm so it wasn't that bad but the bigger feathers were harder to get out so I cut them off but it was kind of annoying bc I need new scissors.