Advice for a vegetarian who want to process her birds??

[jwg423]

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[EncinoMan]

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Wow, that was very beautifully stated. I'm not planning to raise any birds for meat (I've only got three hens, and live in the suburbs!) but if I ever do, I'm going to keep your very well chosen words in mind.

 

[welasharon]

Could I ask someone here to explain a killing cone to me without pics? I want to know what it is, how it is used but have avoided threads where there may be pics...I just want words.
sharon

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

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I just wanted to add; we just started butchering our birds this year and after trying 3 or 4 different ways of actually killing them I've found the VERY best and fastest way was to buy a pair of long-handled lopers from home depot for $20 bucks, then hang them (I use bungee cords tied around the feet) and snip- the heads come off cleanly and it is INSTANT. I've tried "pithing" and slicing the jugular and to me they took way too long, minutes. Also with the nail and log thing I found it was awkward on the ground trying to hold them and aim, with the lopers hang them at a comfortable level and its just an easy SNIP and done.

 

[Denninmi]

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Well, I just got the chicks last week, so I won't be killing any of them for a while yet. I still have the random moments of doubt, like today when I picked one up and it chirped at me as if to say "hello". But, I think for me, just making the decision to TRY to do some meat birds was a big psychological turning point. I was really, really debating this. When I finally picked up the phone and placed the order for the birds, it was a big load off my mind. Now, I mostly think about "how big will they be? Will the breast meat be plump? Will they be tender? Will they be nice and moist when I cook them?"

I think I'm transitioning from guilt and anxiety and beginning to develop a sense of "pride of ownership" in raising my own.

 

[homesteadmomma]

I grew up in town my whole entire life. My dad hunted for the food for us, but I was never allowed to go. I always wanted to but I was 16 before I went the first time. It took a lot of years before I could actually stomach the idea of killing an animal. But in those years, I met my husband, the taxidermist's son. I couldn't even bear to go in there. Just to morbid I suppose. So jump ahead 5 years and at 21 finally took my first deer. Very ethical shot, through the heart, took two steps, fell, and never got back up. I went over to see the deer. I was excited for a few minutes and the tears began to flow. But I realized that since this meat would not go to waste and would feed myself and my husband, as well as our newest addition, the guilt was gone, and I was glad to see an animal that lived a happy life, being free, that was killed in the most humane manner that most live animals will not get the chance to experience. Since then, I have killed and butchered a variety of animals, it's a little rough when you do the first one, but like everyone says, you will get more comfortable and it will get easier.

Do you live in town or in the country? If in the country, I'm sure there are neighbors that would be more than happy to show you how to do it, or would do a few for you until you could get the hang of it or felt comfortable.

 

[rivers2011]

Maybe watching Food Inc. (the documentary) will help. They have a whole scene dedicated to processing chickens on an organic farm.
I became very attached to my chickens and didn't want to process them, but then I remembered the time I saw a hawk hunt, kill and eat and animal and it got me in a better mindset...though I have yet to actually kill a chicken

 

[donrae]

The best two best pieces of advice I can offer are use a killing cone and don't try to eat the meat right away. Wait a few weeks, it'll go down much easier.

 

[crossgirl]

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It's literally a cone, like an ice cream cone with an open end. It's hung with the point side down and the chicken goes in head first. This exposes it's neck for slitting and is supposed to keep the birds calm. I may be wrong but I think you leave it there til it drains. I've never culled or butchered anything but the more I read, the more I think I'm capable of doing it but only with a cone. The thing that gets me, and I don't understand why because I am a very kind hearted person, but the killing I think I could do but the gutting there's no way. Blechgagblech!

 

[welasharon]

Okay, thanks. That makes sense. I had to help with killing and cleaning 400 plus chickens once when I was eight or ten or so. I still can see the headless and broken neck chickens flapping around...the stench of singed pin feathers and the sick smell of the scalded carcass. I know that I could do it if I had to but just now I prefer not to.