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Alright, I'll have to try the feet in stock in a few weeks. I haven't been able to do it yet. It is so wasteful to NOT use them.

I skinned mine (a tiny polish/silkie mix) too. It just seemed easier--he was too small to deal with plucking. His meat was black/greyish too, so as far as the skin being unappealing...it didn't really matter!

Wow, that poulard bird totally does look like a roo. I can make an educated guess on why the female takes on male characteristics, but why the short legs?

How horrible, he won't even eat the bird you raised? Just cook the bird--sounds like he's never in the kitchen and wouldn't be any wiser as to which chicken you used (store-bought versus yours). Well, my husband does complain greatly about the chickens, the expenses, and the time I spend...

The man can hold a grudge. In the spring, he stopped saying "no" to chickens, but didn't actually say "yes." Apparently he's still butt-hurt about that. Well, dude...I work full-time, bring in 50% of the income, have 50% of say in the house, and the wishy-washy stuff doesn't fly with me. I...

haha, a hemorrhoid. It's so weird, he's usually a decent guy but he's got issues with the chickens. Eh, not worth ditching him over (yet).

I'm definitely not a hard-core chicken owner, but the thought of having an indoor chicken turns my stomach, to each his/her own. I feel the same way about cats, and those are socially 'acceptable' indoor animals, haha. Although my 4-year old could have retrieved the birds for me, at 4, I'm...

Yes, the so-called Cornish game hens are just young CXs of either sex. I did my 6 this weekend. It wasn't a problem. My friend was a good gutter, but was really slow at plucking, even though the drill plucker got the breasts and backs. Because I had to show her the ropes, it worked out that...

Oh yeah, forgot about rigor mortis. Thanks! Little Rainbow, hahahaha. My kid would be so happy if I had named her Little Rainbow. I'm surprised she hasn't suggesting something like Purple Sparkle Rainbow Pink Wings.

I asked my kid if she wanted to watch and/or help. She said she didn't. Before we ate her favorite rooster, she declared she didn't want to eat chicken anymore and has stuck to it. And now, sigh, she won't even eat eggs, no matter what I say, she's convinced she's eating a baby chick (we...

I'm going to be processing 8 broilers as Cornish game hens on Saturday. I need a little hand-holding. They are still chirping like chicks! Because they are chicks! 5 weeks, I think. It's gonna be hard. I keep thinking about how good they are going to taste, and then one comes over and sits...

So the thought is that slitting the neck first bleeds out better than the head chop in the cone? Presumably, the heart is beating longer in the neck slit scenario than the head off scenario? In my vast, vast experience (have only butchered 2 birds), the bleed out seemed to be fine with the...

Thanks--

Are there any physical reasons throat slitting is better for the meat/bird/health than instant head lopping?

I butchered my 20-week old RIR roo yesterday. He seemed big, but only dressed out at just over 3lbs. The last bird I killed (a silkie roo) was really young but crowing his head off (literally, I guess), so he was butchered at only 13 weeks. I skinned him because plucking such a tiny thing...

aoxa (or anyone else that can answer), do you do anything to the chicken feet before you feed them to the dog(s)? I'm not yet at the point to where I can use the feet even in stock, but I sure would like for my dogs to enjoy them.

In 2009, a Polyface farms apprentice wrote about the knives: http://polyfaceapprentice.blogspot.com/ I don't know if the knives have changed or not (below is blog entry, the links are old and don't work)... Polyface Knives I have had a lot of inquiries about the kind of knives Polyface...

jajean, your silkies have much more meat on them than the tiny roo I processed a few weeks ago! He was a silkie/Polish cross, and the little bugger started to crow at only 12 weeks. Tiny, beautiful little thing, but I live in a suburban neighborhood and can't have crowing... and I told myself...