D - Day --- My First Experience of processing. No pics but *...

[Peeper7]

A sincere thanks for all on BYC for getting me to this point. I started processing my meat birds Saturday and -- overall -- it wasn't so bad.
My post is descriptive and detailed...not for everyone. Some of you will be amused while some are disturbed, but I want it to be honest and real for the next person trying to decide whether or not to do meaties.

I raised about 16 Cornish crosses and I am still astounded by their rate of growth. They are 8 weeks and dressing out at about 6-7lb. Amazing and pathetic all at the same time.

I arranged my "killing cone" -- a gallon jug used by other byc'ers...with one problem...it was too small and my bird got stuck. So out comes the bird to "die another day" and I hunt for a bigger jug. A 1.5 gal clorox jug did the trick.

I used Frugal's amazing tutorial as my method and I would highly recommend it. Thanks Frugal...

I relaxed the bird before he went into the cone. He did not fret at all...just looked around upside down. I used a garbage bag under the bird to collect the blood. I made a slice to the neck and the bird began to bleed. Problem was, it didn't bleed fast enough to suit me -- it was looking around inside the garbage bag shaking the blood off of itself calm as could be. OMG how awful. I cut again and this time hit the artery like I was supposed to. It really seemed to be deep. Then the bird went nite nite and all was well. It plucked beautifully and cleaned up into a very nice meat bird. I was proud and ran to show it to DH who was quite impressed.

I was feeling pretty good about it all. The second bird went well also.... but the third... OMG...it was rather awful.

I did not take time to relax the bird which may or may not have made any difference. My first cut was, again, not deep enough. I slit the other side and darn...still not good. It was bleeding pretty good though so I pulled the bag up around it and left it there for a minute. This bird did squaak when I cut it. Oh man it was still breathing after several minutes. I looked and it was still conscious looking around. I could not believe it. I made another cut and STILL did not hit the artery. The bird squaaked. I thought it looked like it was bleeding cups of blood so I could not believe it was still alive and alert. I should have just axed it but noooo I made one more cut and finally hit the artery. The chicken suffered. And me along with it. It was even hard to get the feathers out.

I quit after that being exhausted with the experience. I will be reviewing and changing my technique.

 

[shadowpaints]

that is what im going to be experiance in about 2 weeks.. only we have 30 to do!! im worried i wont cut the artery deep enough.. its a learning experiance i guess! ill be using frugals illistrations and meathods as well ! cant wait to have those stinky chickens in the freezer!lol good job!

 

[rancher hicks]

Well I hadn't planned on doing my own birds and I don't think I will be. Even before reading this. Hope things will go better next time.

 

[Peeper7]

I have 12 more to go -- gotta get it done. The birds can barely walk as it is. Finding time is always the issue. It's tiring because it is unpleasant.
I had them penned until now and turned them all out to range. If they think there is food somewhere they will walk toward it otherwise they lay around like slugs. I can't wait to see them gone either, they are pitiful.
I cut their feed way down.

We cooked the first one yesterday. I will admit it was a bit hard to take the first bite. What surprised me is that the meat had very little flavor. It was otherwise great but I would have thought a home grown chicken freshly cooked (not frozen yet) would have a good flavor.

Anyone know anything about this? Is it what I fed them? The breed of bird? Lack of activity? I fed flock raiser throughout.
Maybe turning them loose will help.

I hatched multiple breeds of eggs and have a surplus of roos of course. Will see if the breed makes a difference and the free ranging. Otherwise, I don't think I'll raise meaties too often.

 

[Crickett]

Chicken naturally has a very mild flavor, which is why it goes well in so many different dishes and cuisines. If you feel your birds were not flavorful enough, try adding or changing the spices you use. Chicken tends to take on the flavor of whatever it's cooked with as well, so keep that in mind.

 

[Peeper7]

Quote:
good point, thanks. I was comparing it with the same grocery store chickens we usually use. The natural ones even without that solution they pack them in sometimes.

Guess I'll have to become a better cook!

 

[jaku]

Yup, not enough to stop cutting at the sight of blood- keep going til it sprays you in the face!

 

[honeydoll]

Peepers7 I live in NE Ohio too and was wondering what kind of chicks you have and if you ever sell them? We are looking for some more chicks and trying to find a local seller. Would you be interested?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Congratulations on getting done with the first few birds, you'll learn things to improve your technique with each session. As well as learning ways to cook your birds to get the best flavor. Keep up the good work!

I know that having good sharp knives really really helps things go easier. I keep looking for & trying different things. Recently I've been using either utility knife blades -- there's even some that are extra sharp for use in cutting through wallpaper -- and a fillet knife I found in the WalMart fishing tackle dept. You'll soon learn how to make a good deep cut in just the right spot, to get a nice stream of blood to come out.

Are you scalding your birds before plucking? You mentioned having difficulty getting feathers out, I wondered what you were doing to get them loose.

I wish you increased success with the remaining 12, and many enjoyable meals from each one.

 

[dirtfishing1]

Its hard to take a life, I try to remember to say a blessing and thank the animal for feeding my family. Try to make piece with it. If it were not "unpleasant" there would be an issue.

Dirt.