First timers at slaughtering...we are SLOW! Help please?

[fledgling]

We grabbed 4 to start with. Everything was set up but the scalder took longer than expected to heat up. Got those mostly plucked before a thunderstorm chased us in. Hubby tore skin off of the first one (scalder still wasn't hot enough yet?). Hubby and an experienced friend are finishing those up right now. It has been several hours.

Will they be rubbery because of how long it took to process them?

I tried to brine the oldest ones and they are in the fridge "resting".

I'm going to feed the rest of the chickens and then take the feed away later tonight so I can try again tomorrow.

Should we do two at a time until we get faster? How long should it take from cutting their throats to putting them in the freezer?

Thank you very much!!

 

[jaku]

When you're just getting started, it takes FOREVER! Don't worry too much. It won't affect the texture. You should try to have them down to 45 degrees within an hour after killing them. You'll get better as you get more experience. For now, I'd do one or two at a time.

 

[Winsor Woods]

I read somewhere on BYC that skin tear while plucking is a result of your scald bath being too hot/too long. I wish I could find the post for you but can't seem to find something when you need it

I also remember that some people have a cool water bath that they use in conjunction with the scald. They would, for example, scald for 20-30 seconds at 140°-150°F and then dip in the cold water bath for 3-5 seconds. That was supposedly done to reduce skin tear.

I'll be in the same boat as you in about 8 more weeks so I'll watch this thread with interest. Please report back tomorrow on your experiences with day 2.

Are you guys plucking by hand or using a feather plucker? There are also posts at BYC about making your own feather plucker for a couple dollars using the solid black rubbery bungie cords and a pvc end cap. You end up mounting it a drill and clamp the drill to something. I just bought some of those bungie things today so I could make one. The original poster of that thread said that it took him 30-45 minutes to pluck a bird by hand and 90 seconds to pluck the bird with his homemade plucker. I seem to recall that he had better results with that plucker without the scald too to it sounded like an all around time saver. The only part the plucker wouldn't get was the leading edge of each wing, which he still had to do by hand but that was included in the 90 seconds.

Dan

Edit: Here's one thread on a homemade plucker with pictures - https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=89227
And reading through some other plucker threads it looks like you need to scald, you can't do them dry with very much success.

 

[Nivrocco]

A member on here called "frugal" has excellent tips on slaughtering from beginning to end...

 

[cw]

itll take some time, but once you start itll take only a few mins, per bird. our biggest problem was trying to save time by not scaldin the birds lond enough, then spending all sorts of time tryin to pluck em

 

[PollyWaddle]

I agree, if the skin's tearing the water's too hot and/or you dunked them too long.

Try this: take about 1/4 block of parafin (canning wax) and melt it in with ~ 3 gal. water. Dunk them quickly by the legs in almost boiling water, and have something (eg long handled spoon) to push them down into the water to make sure every part gets in.

When you pull them out, the wax makes the feathers stick together and they come off like a dream. Makes the plucking part go SO much faster. We'd processed dozens and dozens before discovering this trick, and are grateful to know about it now.

Good luck -- keep us posted!

 

[fledgling]

(this is "hubby")

The scalder wasn't at full temp, and the skin seemed to tear b/c of how hard it was to get the feathers out. We didn't really leave them in for very long. When the scalder finally got hot enough for steam to come off the water it seemed to go easier.

I think myself and the other person pulling feathers got a little exuberant and yanked too many at once too fast over areas of thinner skin. The incompletely or barely scalded chicken feathers were thus much tougher to pull than they should have been. Also, we forgot to add soap to the water.

Today will be take two. Wish us luck.

"Hubby"

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've tried skinning the chickens instead of plucking them. You don't have to worry about the pin feathers of darker birds that way. It goes pretty fast except for the wing tips. I just cut them off and discard them. The legs can take some energy too but a sharp knife with a sharp pointed tip can help split the skin there, making it a lot easier. This eliminates the scalding, but without the skin, they will dry out in storage and the cooking requirements are different.

Here is a link to Frugal's butchering thread that someone mentioned. WARNING: It has graphic photos.

Frugals butchering
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=109583

 

[Scoop]

Our first bunch, about 5, took forever, too. But the important thing here is that you are doing it! It is quite an accomplishent I think. I did a big RIR by myself and timed it from beginning to end and I think I had the bird in the fridge in 45 minutes. The last session I did 7 leghorn roosters and if I recall correctly, it took me 3 hours total til all were in fridge or freezer. I don't really worry so much about time. I just want to do it right and be satisfied with what I did. I never plan of doing much else the day of the slaughter. It kind of drains me emotionally. The next day I'm fine. I like the idea of that wax. I might try that next time. Good luck guys!

 

[nivtup]

My first 5 meat birds took FOREVER.

3 weeks later I did 42 by noon. Well I got them into a cooler by noon, then let them rest for final processing the next morning.

Once you get a system going it should go pretty good.

Get everything laid out, sharp knives, cooler ready, plucker ready, scalder heating up etc.

I start by dispatching 4 - 6 birds. Two at a time through the scalder and plucker, a quick rinse and into a cooling tank for a few minutes.

Dispatch two more, and while they are bleeding out, scald, pluck rinse two more, when they go in the cooling tank, take two out for processing.

Do all processing steps on both birds. through cleanup and into ice in cooler.

Back to dispatching and repeat.

Once things are moving, it goes quick. It is getting ready and getting started that take all the time. If I have only a few to do, it take a lot longer on a per bird basis.

Good luck.