Today's the day...... Where are my nerves of steel

[Sami]

Well today is the day that I will start my processing. I'm going to only do two just so I am not stressed plus I have to leave at 2 for a birthday dinner
I set up everything last night and walked thru the process..... Now I just have to wait for the septic man to come at 8am do his thing and then I can get going. Funny how weekends have been clear all spring and now two events are crowding my day

I am using the cone method and hope that it will be a swift dispatch to chicken heaven. My hubby would prefer the axe method but I read this is better for bleeding out. Might not be as fast but I comfort myself on the fact that they have had a wonderful 9 weeks of life. Plenty of food, water, sunshine blue skies( when the rains finally stopped) and lots of room to wander should they suddenly have a surge of energy to explore beyond the feeder. Sorry for the ramble. Wish me luck. I want to thank everyone on this forum for having wonderful information posted . Cheers from Canada

 

[Shellz]

That's great! Best of luck to you!
We use the cone method here as well. Works well for us.

 

[jewels621]

Good luck, Sami! We're all cheering for you from wherever we are. Let us know how it goes!

 

[Xovan]

We did our first 2 yesterday. I think ti went quite well. I followed a combination of instructions I found in here and you tube. I tied ours to a cord by the feet and was surprised how fast they went into a "trance" The first one I cut deep enough to get the blood flowing but not quite deep enough to get the artery and the vein so it took almost 5 minutes. the second one I was a bit more confident and got both. That one lasted less than 2 minutes. I also used a teaspoon to get in there and scrape the lungs. worked great. Here is a link to that you tube vid.

This is part one

and part two

Oh yea good luck!!!!

 

[Sami]

Ahhhhh..., I think I deserve a glass or two of wine to celebrate. I got all set up around 10 and had both birds done by 11:30. Then I had to clean up. My hand was shaking when I went to make the first cut but I was happy at how peaceful she went. I covered her over so she could be in a dark quiet place. Scalding went fine, plucking was not that bad but boy are there lots of feather or quills to get. Getting the inners out was quite interesting. Everything is packed in nice and tidy. Second hen dispatching took longer. I think she was more fiesty. I know I didn't get a good cut on her before she pulled her neck back up but blood was dripping so I left her alone. Went to lift the cover and she was blinking at me...OMG...why wasn't she dead! Had to make a few more cuts before it was finally over but lesson learned. Also have to shorten the cone. They don't have long necks. Finished tidying them up inside and weight them again. They are in the high 6lb range dressed. They are now covered in Saran Wrap in a casserole dish in the fridge for the next three days.

 

[Shellz]

Good job! Sounds like how our first time went. You'll get better & better with more practice! Yes, definitely grab some wine & relax. You earned it!