Arizona Chickens

[MagicChicken]

Well, I have a rooster over here that I do not want for breeding, but I don't know how to butcher. Might just have to cull him and throw him in the garbage? Anybody want a rooster let me know?

Butchering isn't hard. YouTube is your friend. Plus there are several good threads on BYC on butchering birds. If you're only butchering one bird you don't need a bunch of fancy equipment. A sharp knife, a big pot of hot water (around 165 degrees) for scalding the bird (makes it easier to pluck) and a good pair of poultry shears are all you need. And you don't even need the hot water and the poultry shears. They just make the process a lot easier.

Edited to add link to BYC thread. It is a good place to start: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ating-cutting-up-your-chicken-graphic.109583/

Edited again to say please don't cull him and throw him in the garbage. If you can't eat him, at least bury him in the garden and let him fertilize some plants.

 

[MagicChicken]

It's hatching day. One chick is almost unzipped. No one else has even pipped, which is weird because usually my hatches run early. Had humidity issues with the incubator this time. Fingers crossed.

Update: It took him most of the day but he finally got himself out of the egg. One of his siblings also hatched. Six eggs sired by a different rooster are pipping. Which leaves 10 eggs with no visible action yet. Fingers still crossed.

Now I have to go make another hardware cloth top for the indoor brooder, because I apparently converted last year's brooder lid into a plant cage. Sigh.

 

[BlueBaby]

Butchering isn't hard. YouTube is your friend. Plus there are several good threads on BYC on butchering birds. If you're only butchering one bird you don't need a bunch of fancy equipment. A sharp knife, a big pot of hot water (around 165 degrees) for scalding the bird (makes it easier to pluck) and a good pair of poultry shears are all you need. And you don't even need the hot water and the poultry shears. They just make the process a lot easier.

Edited to add link to BYC thread. It is a good place to start: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ating-cutting-up-your-chicken-graphic.109583/

Edited again to say please don't cull him and throw him in the garbage. If you can't eat him, at least bury him in the garden and let him fertilize some plants.

Thanks for the link! I have been waiting for 3 years for someone to teach me how to do this, but it look's like that's never going to happen. I have wasted a few roosters. I bookmarked it and will look at it later when I am not so tired.

 

[igorsMistress]

Maybe just shred it and make a small pot of dumplings. I would only be cooking for one person.

The beauty of it is you can make enough for several meals and freeze.

 

[igorsMistress]

Just an opinion: I like the fact that some of you choose to hatch during the cooler months. It gives the chicks time to grow a little, then get weaned off the artificial heat just in time to get gradually acclimated to the coming warmer months. Just speculating...do they fare better than chicks hatched in the middle of summer of 100-plus degrees?

I preferred the chicks in fall. It's warm enough at night they don't get cold and without a broody mama it was easier because I didn't brood in the house.

 

[Bobby Basham]

Butchering isn't hard. YouTube is your friend. Plus there are several good threads on BYC on butchering birds. If you're only butchering one bird you don't need a bunch of fancy equipment. A sharp knife, a big pot of hot water (around 165 degrees) for scalding the bird (makes it easier to pluck) and a good pair of poultry shears are all you need. And you don't even need the hot water and the poultry shears. They just make the process a lot easier.

Edited to add link to BYC thread. It is a good place to start: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ating-cutting-up-your-chicken-graphic.109583/

Edited again to say please don't cull him and throw him in the garbage. If you can't eat him, at least bury him in the garden and let him fertilize some plants.

I used to watch my mom do this many times, I was probably 5-7 years at the time (we always seemed to be buddies ) She passed away at the ripe old age of 96 about a year and a half ago.

Anyhoo, she would be out in the yard wringing those chickens' necks for that evening's meal, and when they got to flapping around, us little kids were terrified and shot up the nearest trees..LOL.

I was the only kid that would sit at the table and watch her do all the steps that you described and would ask a lot of questions. That did peak my interest enough to watch her cook and eventually learn to cook for myself as I got older. Anyhow, she saved the gizzards and neck for herself because no one else would eat them.

If push came to shove, I could actually do it myself maybe sometime down the road.

 

[meetthebubus]

Do you guys feed fresh herbs to your chickens? What kind? And does it affect egg taste? We have loads of mint, cilantro, dill, thyme and oregano that I really want to toss in the run, but I don't want mint flavored eggs

@MagicChicken good luck on that hatch, I hope all goes well!

my girls love cilantro, i purposefully buy them that every once in a while as a snack

 

[DesertChic]

Do you guys feed fresh herbs to your chickens? What kind? And does it affect egg taste? We have loads of mint, cilantro, dill, thyme and oregano that I really want to toss in the run, but I don't want mint flavored eggs

@MagicChicken good luck on that hatch, I hope all goes well!

I feed my birds herbs all the time, especially oregano, and have never had any problems with the eggs. Mine won't eat mint or basil though. That said, NEVER feed your chickens goldfish. I guarantee the eggs will taste like fish, and not in a good way.

 

[DesertChic]

Well, I have a rooster over here that I do not want for breeding, but I don't know how to butcher. Might just have to cull him and throw him in the garbage? Anybody want a rooster let me know?

Do you want to learn how to butcher?

 

[BlueBaby]

I feed my birds herbs all the time, especially oregano, and have never had any problems with the eggs. Mine won't eat mint or basil though. That said, NEVER feed your chickens goldfish. I guarantee the eggs will taste like fish, and not in a good way.

Never feed your chickens goldfish??? Don't tell me that you tried that already!