➡I accidentally bought Balut eggs: 2 live ducks! Now a Chat Thread!

[Glitterchicks]

Someone wrote this to me when I was starting out on the process for the first time. It was really helpful.

"This is a good thread with photos not video. I do almost everything with a good pari of scissors and my hands. Scalpels for joints, etc. I never wear gloves - harder to get it done right for me.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ating-cutting-up-your-chicken-graphic.109583/

Important points:

Give him water only starting in the afternoon/evening before the day you will process - no food. It'll keep everything cleaner.

Get everything ready before hand. You'll need a hose with a sprayer handy to you. Go as slow as you need to.

I loosen up the esophagus and crop on the neck and then when I pull everything out, they come through,. This guy just cuts them off. I think either will work.

Once I get the cavity open, I run my hands around the edges to break connections to the walls, and then usually get my hand around the gizzard, and then gently but firmly, slowly pull down/out, and most everything will release and come out (don't pull too hard), and then only be connected at the vent. Then I use scissors to VERY CAREFULLY cut the vent out, around the end of the GI tract that I can see inside, so I don't inadvertently nick it.

DO NOT rupture the gall bladder (green thing on the liver) - can taint the taste of the whole carcass. (You can rinse a LOT of times and brine if you do, but best to avoid.) Your first job is to separate that from the rest of everything, and then try to cut it away from the liver (but AWAY from the rest, so no contamination if you rupture it). Then save the liver and spleen (big deep red thing and small red thing) to give to your chickens as a treat.

Cut the gut tube in both places right up against the gizzard, and then throw out the intestines. If there's poop that got out, clean your board or move to a clean work area.

Open the gizzard with stout scissors or knife - there will be stones and icky stuff in it. Dump the inside bitss, rinse, then peel away the yellow lining (fingernail should be fine, tweezers if not) - once you get it started it'll peel away. Save for yummies (for you or chickens) later.

OK, the heart, lungs, and testicles are still in there. Reach in, and grab the two pale things against the back inner cavity and toss them (those are the testicles). Reach in higher and pull out heart - keep to give to chickens as a chopped up yummy.

The lungs are up against the back of the inner chest - you'll need to use your fingers to ease them out (run along the ribs toward backbone) - they will be a light pink. (I use a lung scraper, actually, but Dax does it with her hands I think - you may want to ask her). If there's a stiff tube in there, that's the windpipe, pull that out as well. Then rinse, put in a bag or other container, and rest ing the fridge for several days. Then eat or freeze.



OK, here's what I posted on the Processing day support thread when I first culled. It's a mix of emotional and practical. I composed it in Word before posting it, so I have it saved:


Hello everyone - popping back in here to report on how it all went last weekend (I already posted some of this over on the Breeding for Production thread). I did the first 5 on last Saturday (five New Hampshire cockerels that didn't have names and were destined for the freezer since they were a day old), and then on Sunday 4 Naked Necks (cockerels with names that didn't make the cut) and one abnormal NH pullet (whom I should have culled earlier). Logistically, as expected there was a learning curve. Emotionally, the most difficult thing was the actual dispatch, the rest was just, well, processing. The hardest thing was that I was not expert at it yet, and I really wished I was - on Saturday, my very sharp knife still wasn't quite sharp enough. On Sunday, I had a scalpel, but they were bigger birds and I had had a few big boys flip themselves out of the cone (both before and after throat cutting) - one twice, and so I was trying to hold the head and cut and then get one hand back up to hold the feet. I finally figured out toward the end that I needed to gently restrain their legs, and then I could get a much better angle and cut more calmly and cleanly. I wanted them to have a quick death - that didn't always happen like I wanted, but at least I'm confident it will next time.


I won't go through a blow-by-blow. I did this alone, and used a killing cone. Things I learned:


- Mentally prepare yourself by reminding yourself that this HAS to happen. (Whether it's squabbling cockerels, or meaties that are having heart attacks/leg issues, or a bird that is sick and needs to go for the good of the flock or to ease its suffering.) It helps in getting through the tough parts, before, during, and after, to remind yourself of this.


- Wear a long sleeved red or black shirt, and same for pants. If you're having a hard time emotionally, it's easier if you can't see blood stains on your clothes while you're working.


- If it's a cold day, start the scalder very early and cover it. It's tough being nervous about your first cull, being all ready, having the birds set aside, and then having to wait a long time for the scalder to come to temperature.


- Organize everything very well. Really overthink it. Have everything available right there (including things you MIGHT need).


- Be prepared for your site to be very soggy from the water/rinsing. Best to do on a solid surface with good drainage if possible.


- Put your chickens in a pen or cage sized so that you won't have to catch them. (Last two on Saturday were caught with a fishing net, which was upsetting for them and me.)


- Don't name or get close to chickens you will cull, as mentioned before. (While this is not always possible, you can often predict, such as when you have 7 cockerels for only 6 pullets.) But if you do, you can still do it. It's just a lot harder on you.


- Sometimes holding the chicken upside down will make them drowsy, sometimes not. It's worth trying (be patient, give it a minute or two), but be prepared for it not to work all the time.


- RESTRAIN THE LEGS - to keep them from working their way out of the cone. I figured out to use a large gear tie to gently hold the legs together in while in the cone (I also used it to hold in the scalder and to hang to pluck). If you don't, you may have to rush the cut while trying to hold them in the cone, and they may still leverage and flip themselves out, even after your cut, which is beyond horrible. This is particularly important for big/strong birds. Ask me how I know (times 3). Also, this allows you to take any thick scratch-and-peck-resistant gloves you are wearing off before trying to make the cut.


- Use a scalpel (can be obtained at Tractor Supply or a feed store)


- If you use a bucket to catch the blood, put an inch or so of water in the bottom to dilute the blood when it falls in - it will keep the blood from coagulating (and then it's easier to clean up/pour on plants).


- A fish cleaning table (with a hose hooked up to the faucet) is very useful if you can get one.


- Except the neck skin, two cuts over the pelvic bones and opening the gizzard, all of the evisceration can be done with a good pair of scissors/poultry shears and your fingers (with less risk of contaminating the meat). But a lung scraper tool is very useful if you've got one.


- Small hands are always an advantage


- Non-chicken people are not that helpful, and it may be best not to talk about it to them about it (even if they support you - they don't really understand, and they may not want to hear about it, though my mother was pretty good). BYC is honestly the best.


- Though I was tired, the most calming thing for me to do after culling was not to go take a hot bath and have a glass of wine - it was to do chores to take care of the rest of the flock (bedding cleaning, roost scrubbing, poop scooping, etc.). I spent the entire rest of both days doing this. By the end of the day I was tired, but very much at peace about it.


I cooked the first of the birds a couple nights ago. He was delicious, and I was more grateful for my food than I had ever been before. I believe I am a better person for this. This thread was very helpful to me in preparing, and I want to thank everyone who posted anything here.
-Ant Farm"

Hope that helps you as much as it did me.

This is VERY helpful.
Especially the part about the emotion attached to it. This will be the hardest.
The cutting, slicing and dicing is going to be the most interesting and i'm kind of looking forward to it...

 

[Glitterchicks]

Um.....that person you work with...that was in a dream, right? .

Kinda sounds like we have a serial killer on our forum!

 

[BantyChooks]

Did he die?

Oh, no, I just meant he wasn't on the forum any longer.

He doesn't think I WOULD. hahaha

I got about the same reaction, lol.

This is VERY helpful.
Especially the part about the emotion attached to it. This will be the hardest.
The cutting, slicing and dicing is going to be the most interesting and i'm kind of looking forward to it...

Once the bird is dead, it is kind of fun to see how everything works. Once when I was eviscerating a particularly skinny cockerel, my hand blocked off some air in just the right manner to force it through the vocal cords and make a moaning sound. That was creepy.

 

[casportpony]

Oh, no, I just meant he wasn't on the forum any longer.

You scared me. I sure do miss him.

 

[casportpony]

Once the bird is dead, it is kind of fun to see how everything works. Once when I was eviscerating a particularly skinny cockerel, my hand blocked off some air in just the right manner to force it through the vocal cords and make a moaning sound. That was creepy.

That reminds me of this:
Part one - http://theoatmeal.com/comics/grump
Part two - http://theoatmeal.com/comics/grump2

I found that to be really funny!

 

[Glitterchicks]

I have no idea what I do, I’m asleep lol. I’m not sure if I actually eat it, I’ve just woken up several times and the Ginger says “you made your special dish again” and I go dump it out.

This is awesome!
My husband has eaten an entire cake in his sleep and blamed me for it later... but the cheese cereal is much more hysterical!

 

[dpenning]

Yes it was just a dream.



Are you playing with the little bitties a lot?

More than I usually do but nowhere to Kiki level. My French mastiff has a huge prey drive and wonders why I keep petting his Scooby snacks.

Sounds like it might be time to move them outside where they'll have more room.

. This, saw later where you are going to move them out tomorrow. How many did you wind up with and how big is your outdoor cage?

Thanks! It’s got grey on its back like Kiki’s does! Maybe mine is a bit darker.
View attachment 1513673

. Cute!

 

[BantyChooks]

That reminds me of this:
Part one - http://theoatmeal.com/comics/grump
Part two - http://theoatmeal.com/comics/grump2

I found that to be really funny!

Love it!

 

[Kiki]

Did he die?

What? Did he?

 

[Kiki]

Oh, no, I just meant he wasn't on the forum any longer.


I got about the same reaction, lol.


Once the bird is dead, it is kind of fun to see how everything works. Once when I was eviscerating a particularly skinny cockerel, my hand blocked off some air in just the right manner to force it through the vocal cords and make a moaning sound. That was creepy.