Raising Chickens for Meat

[vebyrd36]

Just processed a couple of fat Roos for Sunday dinner. They where buff/Cornish.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

If you don't think you are ready for it yet, don't take it on. Keep your life simple and happy, only you know what you can handle and what brings you pleasure. Buying a healthy raised home grown bird helps to support those who find their happiness in the raising of them.
where are you at?

 

[MamacatPatch]

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I think you're right about that. I'm in north central Indiana.



Marci

 

[spartacus_63]

WOW! I never knew processing birds was so involved. I just collect the dinner guest, quarantine them from the flock the day prior to D-Day and only provide water for them. No "Last Meal". On D-Day, the DW & I set up the equipment, water heater, trash can, bucket, cooler and knives. We then select two birds at a time, they are suspended by their feet from a clothes line. I cut their jugular and bleed them out. It only takes a minute or two. You will see a final death throw at the end. It is not violent or messy and I have never had any of the dinner guest complain vocally. We then dunk one in the hot water, hang it from the arm of the clothes line pole over the trash can and pluck the feathers off the bird and eviscerate it. The finished product goes into the cooler.

We have a decent system that allows us to have one bird bleeding while we are working on the other. We can fill the freezer in a short amount of time. The entire process does take time when you include set up to storage, but we don't loose time driving to a butcher and at $5.00 a bird, we could drive to Fareway to buy chicken from the meat market and forget the mess.

My DW had never killed or cleaned any of her own meals prior to our first chicken massacre. She thought it was going to be terrible, but at the end of the process she told me, "that was way easier than I though it was going to be." And she was specifically talking about killing the birds.

 

[MamacatPatch]

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She's gutsier than me, I know I wouldn't have the stomach for it.


Marci

 

[CDennis]

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Is your method of skinning a family secret or can you share? For pheasants, we step on the wings really close to the body, grab the legs and pull firm and slow, they pull right out of "their jacket" or skin. I have been tempted to try that method w/ chickens and I was curious if that is what you use.

 

[twister]

MamaCat: just read and read and read.... the people here are amazing and dead on ACCURATE on their experience and are always willing to help you out. My DH and I processed our MMM CX pullets (26) yesterday. (I am the squimish one-never killed anything until yesterday---but did all of it.) At the end of the day, I feel NO remorse. I do feel utmost GRATITUDE to the Lord for helping me along and self satisfaction in KNOWING that I raised those very healthy organic birds, gave those birds the best life and they will nourish my family.

 

[CDennis]

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Well said!!!!!

 

[LuckyDozen Farm]

Quote:
Is your method of skinning a family secret or can you share? For pheasants, we step on the wings really close to the body, grab the legs and pull firm and slow, they pull right out of "their jacket" or skin. I have been tempted to try that method w/ chickens and I was curious if that is what you use.

It goes like this:

1) put chicken in cone and slit throat..leave to bleed out for at least 5 min.
2) Put chicken on back....legs facing you
3) cut off feet at leg joint
4) pinch the skin in the middle of the breast and insert knife and cut down until reaching vent, cutting only the skin, it should cut and tear very easily
5) peel the skin off the chicken breast, like you would unwrap a present...get your fingers down all sides to free it from the meat, then peel skin off legs. The skin should stay on the back of the chicken at this point. The hard part comes when you get to the feet joint, but by now, you should have enough skin to hold on to, and just peel it off inverted. Think of peeling pantyhose off a woman...LMAO!! If the skin tears, have a set of pliers on hand b/c the skin is slippery.
6) with a serrated steak knife..(thats just what I use but serrated is key here)...saw the leg and thigh, right off the side of the chicken on both sides...find the thigh/leg joint and saw that in two also. It really isn't hard if you have a good sharp serrated knife.
7) using same serrated knife or fish fillet knife, fillet the breast meat right off both sides, keeping pressure down on the meat with one hand and being careful not to cut into the rib cage with the knife.
8) wash the meat in the sink and get it into icy water ASAP...with the skin off the meat, it will dry out very quickly if you don't get it under some water.

Now if you want the wings, you have to keep pulling the skin off along the back, you should cut the wing tips off and pull wing feathers out before pulling skin off. Its not hard, but it just takes a lot more work for a very small amount of meat. I usually let the wings go to my hunting dogs. I usually have to do about 100-200 chickens in a day when I butcher and I do it all by myself, since a butcher knife doesn't fit in my wife's hands, and I have to balance meat vs time. If you have the time by all means get the wings...

The best part is that its minimal blood, minimal feathers flying around and ABSOLUTELY NO GUTS to deal with. You may leave some meat on the carcass compared to other methods, but my wife loves the convienence of having the skinless meat in supermarket condition when she gets it. Plus its easy work, and with practice you can do a chicken in about 60 seconds after its bled out. We usually process wild ducks we have killed too this way, but the skin doesn't peel off as easy as a fattened chicken does. I'll try to take pics the next butcher time and post them. I cannot think of any faster way to do this...Oh and BTW my dad worked at Tyson Meat when he was younger..this is how they used to do it on the skinless line, and the rest of the carcass was sent to be ground up into dog food..

 

[hennyjenn]

I don't know how close these guys are to you, but I've heard good things. http://www.thisoldfarminc.com/processing/

There is also a DIY place in Delphi if that is close and something you are interested in.