So I’m planning on this Saturday to butcher. The birds will be 7 weeks old. The weather is supposed to be nice, but the following weekend is supposed to snow. I’d rather not butcher in the snow.
What is your preference for the method of slaughter? I was considering a makeshift kill cone out of empty milk jugs & cutting their throat. My dad offered to help us, & said that in the old days they’d just lay them across a stump & take their head off with an ax, then turn them loose to flop around.
My concern with the stump & ax method is the blood. I don’t want to attract predators, as it puts our laying flock in danger. A potential solution is to throw them in an old kiddie pool while they flop to contain the mess. My husband pointed out that the downside to that would be very bloody birds to deal with.
My concern with the milk jug kill cones is the size. Will the birds actually fit into them? If they do, I planned on putting a bucket under each bird to catch the blood.
Im planning on plucking half & skinning half. We have a large pot we used for boiling crab that I’m going to put on the grill for scalding. I have a couple old folding tables to use for processing, & a couple buckets for innards to keep & to discard. Discarded innards will be taken far away from the house & dumped in the timber, again, to avoid attracting predators to the house.
We have a good supply of sharp hunting knives, & plenty of storage bags for the vacuum sealer before freezing them.
I do still need to get ice to fill the cooler, but will do that in the next day or so.
Am I missing anything? Any helpful suggestions?
