About to start butchering my first batch - Any advice?

[Judy]

Quote:
Not feeding them for the last twenty-four hours was going to be my suggestion. It definitely helps keep the carcass clean.

Next time I'm going to pen them at night off the roost, so they will be without food for 12 hours or so. Maybe not as clean, but it will be a lot better than the grandkids chasing them down with a fishing net!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Yes, that's another benefit to caging them the night before. It's easier for me to just reach in the cage & pick one out, and much less traumatic for the birds too.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
I believe I've read here that the adrenalin involved in the chase scene we went through can make them tougher, too. We did hold each one, pet it and all that, got them calm, though, before doing the deed. We knew the first round with the kids would be a learning experience.

BTW, the family ate two tonight, they were not tough, they were tender and tasty, even though deep fried.

 

[Oceanseve]

It hadn't eaten in about 20 hours, so it was empty, I had a hard time finding the crop it was that empty. We figured the temp wasn't right seeing as we made three or four trips to scald, next time I will shoot for 150. Also I think we are going to get it more than hot enough and just take it to the bird rather than the opposite. Thanks for the help.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Having a good scald is essential for easy plucking. And having the hot water right by where you pluck is essential for the job. We've done it by keeping the pot steaming on the BBQ, or over a fire, or an extra pot boiling on the stove inside. But I bring or have someone bring the hot water out to the big pot I keep by my plucking frame. I use a meat thermometer to gauge the temperature. Usually I'll have to add some hose water to the boiling water to bring the temp down to 150. I can get most of the feathers off after a 10-second plunge in that water, then sometimes have to re-dunk to open the pores for the remainder.

Remember to agitate the bird, swishing & plunging it up & down to get the water beneath the feathers down to the skin.

 

[C-Dub]

We're planning on raising layers. (First delivery comes June 8th.)

I plan raising and butchering some meat birds next year, if the first batch of layers works out.

I would never consider this without the helpful advice I have seen here and in other topics here.

BYC people rock!

 

[Cason]

I scald mine in my fishcooker.. if you have one.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Yeah, we borrowed a fish cooker and hooked it up to our own propane. Also discussed simply building a fire and using an old oven rack, some bricks/blocks, and an old canning kettle (holds 5 or 6 quart jars, for water processing.) Having the heat outdoors by the processing table was perfect, no dangerous hauling hot water. Used our deep fry thermometer.

My son built a processing table out of scrap 2x4's or 2x6's, some scrounged countertop scraps from a local cabinet shop, and a discarded kitchen sink of ours, from when I updated my kitchen. Just used a garden hose. FREE. Punch some holes in a 5 gal bucket and put it under the drain; no chicken scraps on the ground.

 

[Oceanseve]

We used a cut up milk jug as a killing cone and an old tall trash can w/ bag to catch all the blood, which is also where we discarded the feathers and unusable parts. No mess at all, I just stuck the entire body/jug in the trash can while it bled out. I was really happy with that part. I had read don't go over 130, so needless to say it was way too cool. We swished and all, it was just too cold. The plucking went really well on the body it was the wings that took FOREVER! They just didn't want to come out and at that point our girls (2yo and 1yo) were back in the house and we didn't want to make another trip in just in case it scar them. So we just pulled and yanked. Now that we've done the gutting I feel comfortable that will go much faster next time. DH won't be asking me over and over again "where's the gizzard? I don't feel anything hard? where is it?" for 5 minutes. And it won't take me 10 minutes fingering around for the crop, now I know where it is even when empty.

 

[acheeknmanbestfren]

We added 1/2 block of parafin to the scald water. The parafin made plucking much quicker. Also, I didn't see anywhere that you plunged the bird in ice water following the scald?