We processed our first chicken (a 17-month-old Ameraucana who'd stopped laying) a week ago Friday. That first slaughter was a little willy-nilly: she was dispatched with a hatchet on a stump, hanged on a garden t-post to bleed out, and cleaned by me on a cutting board on our air conditioner.
Kind of redneck, but it worked.
I set out this past Monday to build myself some sort of killing station, since we'll be pulling chickens from our flock instead of the store from now on. What I ended up with works better than I thought it would.
The basic design is that of a sawhorse. I made it short so I could lift it into a wagon and pull it wherever I wanted. On the top, I put some 2x4s to create holders for kill cones on one side and a base for a "table" top on the other. On one end, I built a T with hooks, to hang the chickens while I'm plucking them.
Here's what it looks like:
On Friday, I decided to test out the station on our oldest rooster, because the younger roosters (his offspring) are starting to get randy with the girls and there have been some dustups. Here are a few pictures from the processing:
Using the advice I got on a previous thread, I cut his jugular with a sharp knife. He bled out very quickly, with no squawking and no real flailing. Much less harrowing (for me!) than the hatchet was.
After swirling him in the hot water, I hung him on a hook using a bungie. Plucking him was difficult because of his age, but it wasn't THAT bad.
The pigs were quite interested in the smells blowing toward them. They make fine disposal units when I'm done with a chicken. The surface above that the cutting board is on is 1x4s laid across the 2x4 pieces.
I still need to decide what I'm going to do to protect the wood. Either seal it or poly it, I suppose.
I'm very pleased with how well it worked. Usually I screw things up the first time.
Kind of redneck, but it worked.
I set out this past Monday to build myself some sort of killing station, since we'll be pulling chickens from our flock instead of the store from now on. What I ended up with works better than I thought it would.
The basic design is that of a sawhorse. I made it short so I could lift it into a wagon and pull it wherever I wanted. On the top, I put some 2x4s to create holders for kill cones on one side and a base for a "table" top on the other. On one end, I built a T with hooks, to hang the chickens while I'm plucking them.
Here's what it looks like:
On Friday, I decided to test out the station on our oldest rooster, because the younger roosters (his offspring) are starting to get randy with the girls and there have been some dustups. Here are a few pictures from the processing:
Using the advice I got on a previous thread, I cut his jugular with a sharp knife. He bled out very quickly, with no squawking and no real flailing. Much less harrowing (for me!) than the hatchet was.
After swirling him in the hot water, I hung him on a hook using a bungie. Plucking him was difficult because of his age, but it wasn't THAT bad.
The pigs were quite interested in the smells blowing toward them. They make fine disposal units when I'm done with a chicken. The surface above that the cutting board is on is 1x4s laid across the 2x4 pieces.
I still need to decide what I'm going to do to protect the wood. Either seal it or poly it, I suppose.
I'm very pleased with how well it worked. Usually I screw things up the first time.
