Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[Gen9]

I am a member of a meet up group where there are a lot of people like you are describing. In general I do not give the tiniest hoot what they do with their chickens, but recently there was a whole long thread about a hen that had ascites and the owner took it to the vet to be drained, hand fed foods, added all kinds of junk to the food and water, and all the time I was biting my tongue not to scream "Just put that poor bird out of her misery!!!" The people who were supporting the torture of a dying bird were the same people who got all snippy with me and others about DIY chicken butchering. People grabbing their pearls in shock over my giving the chickens I eat a good life right up until the day they day, but supporting prolonging the miserable death of a terminally ill hen stuns me.

I must admit, I WAS one of those people ya'll are talking about until my hen started laying internally... I started researching about it, & read on how to drain their abdomen. The story ended the same, pretty soon the draining became no longer effective & chicken succumbed to the illness. So after reading others' stories and searching for OTs' advice on chicken keeping, it just didn't make sense to prolong the inevitable. & taking care of an injured or sick bird takes a lot of time away from other things, especially if you have little ones that need attention. I'm so thankful for BYC, because if I didn't read through these forums for advice she probably would still be suffering because I "didn't know what to do" (when really, they KNOW they're just in DENIAL). Yes, it was very hard to let go, but it was in the hen's best interest. The other one (the rooster) was aggressive, & according to my husband, loud and annoying (DUH it's a rooster!) he just wanted to bury him, I said "NO WAY! You're going to throw away money invested in this bird!" Which is why I'm here, because this thread has prepared me to take this next step.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Yup the bleach bottle for normal size birds, I agree the tighter fit the better as they cant flop and move or get out. And I don't know but it may subdue/calm them more as well? idk but I can tell you after processing the quail and having to hold one in my hand through death, I know that its all muscles and stuff. I had a very hard time doing the quail because of holding them and feeling all this, but I forced myself back into the right thinking and got through it.

I had a hard time with it more this time because I was feeling all of it and when I was a kid, my Poppop had a stroke and was in a coma for a week in the hospital, they said he was already gone, but when I tickled his feet he was annoyed and moved big time, I know this sounds weird but the nurse sat with me as a kid of 13 and explained it, Bless her because I don't know how I would have gotten through all that thinking he was still there because I was hysterical with my dad for making the decisions he had to make. I was young and didn't know, now I am old and I still don't know most but I do know that the mind is a wonderful thing, we can use it to overcome many things, mind over matter, control thoughts and think about the facts and remember WHY your processing these birds.

 

[fisherlady]

Being a responsible animal owner means many things.... you are responsible for appropriate housing and feed, keeping the animal healthy and obtaining treatment for minor illnesses and injuries as needed. But hand in hand with all of the 'pleasant parts' is the responsibility you have to maintain a safe environment and prevent suffering in your flock. Part of flock maintainance is removing aggressive animals for the benefit of the flock. It doesn't matter if they are people friendly, or 'the prettiest thing'... it is our job as keepers to do what is right for the entire flock. Along with that is culling ill or injured birds when needed. Butchering for the table often becomes a necessity to avoid waste and to preserve flock balance. Not everyone is able to butcher a healthy animal, but anyone who has animals should be prepared to end it's life when needed.
As responsible owners we should understand these things before we get our birds (or any other animals, actually). If we can't do it ourselves then we should have a plan in place that can be enacted quickly when needed to have an outsider take care of it for us. Knowing how to humanely dispatch an animal ourselves should be a priority as far as I'm concerned... it will minimize the times involved if something tragic does happen. The best interest of the animal comes first.
Many folks understand this and will do what needs done. The folks coming to this thread are the ones looking to take the next step, I believe... the folks getting used to the idea of taking the life of a healthy animal to provide food for the table. And I hope that the info provided over the course of this thread have helped folks make that next step.
Folks who act aghast when I tell them we butcher our own chickens often do so because the idea has just become so alien to many in this age of 'instant gratification' and complete removal from ideas of where food comes from.... many folks have never known anything other than meat coming from a shrink wrapped styrofoam plate at the grocery store. After I provide a simple explanation of why we do our own, and the benefits involved most folks become very curious and I've had many say "I wish I could do that".... my answer is usually, 'there's no reason you can't'. Hopefully more folks will come around, but those that don't get it just never will... but it is their loss. We will continue our course, and educate and help those who ask along the way. It is all we can do.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

I wish everyone I encounter who "gasps" when I tell them I butcher my own chickens could be shown some of the horrors I have seen...like this video on youtube (don't watch if you are sensitive or queasy...it's GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING). Although I don't agree with the final statement of going "vegan", it does show what happens to the baby chicks ( I would replace the Vegan statement with "Raise your own"). Maybe if more people saw this, they would understand and embrace raising their own meat.

Or if they were to see the conditions grown chickens are kept in. At least my chickens were raised with love and kindness, fresh air, and being allowed to BE a chicken. The three that I have culled were dispatched quickly and humanely. I can eat my chicken at the dinner table knowing it had a good life.

 

[fisherlady]

I mentioned in an earlier post that we try to make use of as much as possible. I make chicken soup out of the carcasses each time we process birds now, and share it with friends and family who always return the dishes quickly with a request to remember them the next soup day! LOL

After soup is made we grind all of the left overs from the soup making. Skin, bone and all of the other little tiny, unidentified bits and pieces and such. This makes a product that looks kind of like a pale sausage. We freeze it in small amounts (like large meatball size) and then have it available for use as soft food or treats for animals whenever needed.
And yes, I do use the feet also. I didn't the first few times, but did more and more research on here and decided to give it a try, and the broth is certainly richer for it!
Some basics in the process...

Water temp between 150-160 degrees

Place a few of the feet at a time into the water to scald, only takes maybe 30-45 seconds. Don't place in too many at a time or it will cool off your water and they won't scald as well and will be harder to peel. They are ready to peel when you can use your tongs and pinch the skin at the base of the leg and it tears.


Here is a pic showing one leg partially peeled, notice how bright and clean looking the leg is, and how large they actually are compared to my hand (not all breeds are so large, but these are CornishX)

I often begin by removing the hard tonail covers. This is easily done by tightly pinching from the end and pulling. They pop off surprisingly easy. If your hands are tired or sore it can also easily be done by using the back of a knife blade to pinch the nail against your cutting board and popping them off that way.


You can then peel the skin from the leg. I haven't perfected this part yet, much of the time it works great, and it comes off in a couple of pieces, but sometimes I get one that is just stubborn and it peels in multiple small pieces. Thankfully those are the exception, and probably my own fault because they were a bit to short in the water or something like that. But overall they do peel surprisingly easy.










A before and after...

Once peeled the feet can be added to your pot of water and other carcass pieces (bones, skin, necks, etc.) that you are simmering for your broth.

I didn't remember to snap a pic of the stock pot in the process... but here is the end result... Adding the feet to the process really did seem to thicken the broth.




Ready for the freezer...



After the people food is taken care of we end up with the left overs to deal with. We used to pitch them, but it bothered me and I remembered I had an old grinder stashed in the closet and drug it out and put it to use.

The left overs before...

Placing a 130 yr old grinder back into service.... note... special thanks to Radioman for being the arm power behind most of this part of the process. I can only grind for a few minutes at a time, he is the true hero here!
The resulting 'chicken mush' as we call it...

We have a small plastic cup we use to form the mush into approx 2 oz portions. It would be easy at this time to mix in any extra treats you may want to include, such as wheat germ or cracked corn or raisins.. whatever you wanted. We keep it simple because it is also used as a treat for our dogs or cats or as a food supplement if they need to be on soft food for anything (such as our dogs recent encounter with a porcupine which resulted in surgery to remove quills from her inner jaw, inner mouth and tongue)
After the mush is frozen we then just dump them into a gallon zippy bag and keep in the freezer till needed.

 

[Beekissed]

That was an extremely helpful and comprehensive pictorial on making the stock including the feet...and also not letting things go to waste with the use of the leftovers!!!! Wonderful!!!

The feet, though seemingly gross, are a delicacy in some lands and are a staple in stock making . They contain a lot of collagen and thus make the very best in stock jelly...clear, golden and firm! The CX feet are the very best for this because they are huge, easy to peel, tender and young...my granny would have given her eye teeth for some CX feet!! She loved to eat chicken feet and would suck all the juices out.....I know, hard to imagine, but she came from a very, very poor upbringing where children made homemade traps to catch songbirds to eat. Not something we've ever had to do in this time and place in our country.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I mentioned in an earlier post that we try to make use of as much as possible. I make chicken soup out of the carcasses each time we process birds now, and share it with friends and family who always return the dishes quickly with a request to remember them the next soup day! LOL

After soup is made we grind all of the left overs from the soup making. Skin, bone and all of the other little tiny, unidentified bits and pieces and such. This makes a product that looks kind of like a pale sausage. We freeze it in small amounts (like large meatball size) and then have it available for use as soft food or treats for animals whenever needed.
And yes, I do use the feet also. I didn't the first few times, but did more and more research on here and decided to give it a try, and the broth is certainly richer for it!
Some basics in the process...

Water temp between 150-160 degrees

Place a few of the feet at a time into the water to scald, only takes maybe 30-45 seconds. Don't place in too many at a time or it will cool off your water and they won't scald as well and will be harder to peel. They are ready to peel when you can use your tongs and pinch the skin at the base of the leg and it tears.


Here is a pic showing one leg partially peeled, notice how bright and clean looking the leg is, and how large they actually are compared to my hand (not all breeds are so large, but these are CornishX)

I often begin by removing the hard tonail covers. This is easily done by tightly pinching from the end and pulling. They pop off surprisingly easy. If your hands are tired or sore it can also easily be done by using the back of a knife blade to pinch the nail against your cutting board and popping them off that way.


You can then peel the skin from the leg. I haven't perfected this part yet, much of the time it works great, and it comes off in a couple of pieces, but sometimes I get one that is just stubborn and it peels in multiple small pieces. Thankfully those are the exception, and probably my own fault because they were a bit to short in the water or something like that. But overall they do peel surprisingly easy.










A before and after...

Once peeled the feet can be added to your pot of water and other carcass pieces (bones, skin, necks, etc.) that you are simmering for your broth.

I didn't remember to snap a pic of the stock pot in the process... but here is the end result... Adding the feet to the process really did seem to thicken the broth.




Ready for the freezer...



After the people food is taken care of we end up with the left overs to deal with. We used to pitch them, but it bothered me and I remembered I had an old grinder stashed in the closet and drug it out and put it to use.

The left overs before...

Placing a 130 yr old grinder back into service.... note... special thanks to Radioman for being the arm power behind most of this part of the process. I can only grind for a few minutes at a time, he is the true hero here!
The resulting 'chicken mush' as we call it...

We have a small plastic cup we use to form the mush into approx 2 oz portions. It would be easy at this time to mix in any extra treats you may want to include, such as wheat germ or cracked corn or raisins.. whatever you wanted. We keep it simple because it is also used as a treat for our dogs or cats or as a food supplement if they need to be on soft food for anything (such as our dogs recent encounter with a porcupine which resulted in surgery to remove quills from her inner jaw, inner mouth and tongue)
After the mush is frozen we then just dump them into a gallon zippy bag and keep in the freezer till needed.

AMAZING share my friend!

Thank you for sharing so much with us!

 

[Gen9]

Yes this exactly! These 2 videos are the reasons I currently have 20 eggs in the incubator (or just get from a backyard breeder) & raise my own meat. There is a disconnect with food in the mainstream life.
I have peace of mind knowing that the food I feed my family has a clean, healthy environment. even if the product labeled "kosher" you can't even trust. There is an undercover video on youtube that reveals this situation, so it's Back to basics for me.

I wish everyone I encounter who "gasps" when I tell them I butcher my own chickens could be shown some of the horrors I have seen...like this video on youtube (don't watch if you are sensitive or queasy...it's GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING). Although I don't agree with the final statement of going "vegan", it does show what happens to the baby chicks ( I would replace the Vegan statement with "Raise your own"). Maybe if more people saw this, they would understand and embrace raising their own meat.

Or if they were to see the conditions grown chickens are kept in. At least my chickens were raised with love and kindness, fresh air, and being allowed to BE a chicken. The three that I have culled were dispatched quickly and humanely. I can eat my chicken at the dinner table knowing it had a good life.

 

[Beekissed]

Whenever I see these "go vegan" films of chicken horror, I always post my own video of my CX being raised free range as a reply. They never put my video response up!

That would knock down their reasoning for veganism...... CX running wildly over green grass, chest deep in clover and foraging in cool forest glens. NOT anything they want meat eaters to see..meat chickens being raised like real chickens should.

 

[fisherlady]

That was an extremely helpful and comprehensive pictorial on making the stock including the feet...and also not letting things go to waste with the use of the leftovers!!!! Wonderful!!!

The feet, though seemingly gross, are a delicacy in some lands and are a staple in stock making . They contain a lot of collagen and thus make the very best in stock jelly...clear, golden and firm! The CX feet are the very best for this because they are huge, easy to peel, tender and young...my granny would have given her eye teeth for some CX feet!! She loved to eat chicken feet and would suck all the juices out.....I know, hard to imagine, but she came from a very, very poor upbringing where children made homemade traps to catch songbirds to eat. Not something we've ever had to do in this time and place in our country.

AMAZING share my friend!

Thank you for sharing so much with us!

Glad I am able to help.... this thread has shown some incredible journeys for folks. I have been able to make the journey with the constant help and support of my DH, but not all have that. Many, many hours of research through this wonderful site have greatly reduced learning curves... so if I can take a few extra minutes to take some pics and help out the next person then I'm glad I am able to return the favor in the names of all of the educators who have done the same before me.

Beekissed... took me a while to get used to the thought of using the feet, did seem a bit gross at first, actually seemed strange till I cleaned my first one and realized just how much meat there was and how well protected the meat was from the thick skin over it. Now I'm kicking myself for the waste of all of the ones I threw away! Live and learn, I guess... but I'm not sure I could emulate your gran and eat them direct. Call me a pansy but I'm not quite ready for that!