Arizona Chickens

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MagicChicken said:
The first few times you butcher it is best to focus on the basic process of killing the bird, plucking it and cutting it up. Don't worry about saving any of the organs until you get proficient at the rest of it.


Withhold feed overnight so there isn't much stuff in the intestinal tract. Make sure the birds have plenty of water so they bleed out quickly. (Dehydration prolongs the bleed-out process, which is traumatic for all parties involved.)

If you rupture the intestines it is not a disaster, because the poop washes off easily. Not so for the bile in the gall bladder.

The gall bladder is the little green thing attached to the liver. You will recognize the liver because it looks like liver. You will recognize the gall bladder after it breaks and gets green bile all over everything. It takes a LOT of washing to remove bile. You don't want to leave any traces of bile on the meat because it tastes nasty. Plus it may start to emulsify the fatty bits if you don't get it off right away. The gall bladder is the only internal organ you have to pay real attention to. And you only need to pay attention to it if you are trying to save the liver. Otherwise, just dump all the guts into the trash until you have more confidence in the process.

Seriously, in-person teachers for this stuff are hard to come by. If you don't have a teacher readily available, the best way to get started is to watch a bunch of videos, read a bunch of articles, and then DO it. You will make mistakes. You will learn from them. And you will eat well while you learn.
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Great advice and well said. You hit on most all the fears for first time butchering.

One of my concerns before my first butchering was cleaning/scrapings the inside of the carcass properly. All the entrails pull out relatively easy and are connected in my experience. I don't pull hard because I worry about rupturing the bile sac. If you do you will know it. It has a distinctive green color you can't miss. I've only had it happen once out of 24 birds I've done. I don't eat organ meat, but save what I can identify for the dogs. Thanks to the envelope from inside the Thanksgiving turkey that helps me identify what's what.

That leaves the lungs that take a little effort to remove usually. If you dont get every speck out it's fine. Some birds you buy from the store will have some left. So it's not a disaster if you leave some. The first birds I butchered I spatchcocked them. That way with them butterflied open I could see if there was anything I missed. This also is a great way to grill them. Boy they were mighty tasty too.

As MagicChicken said withholding food helps so much. I have done it both ways. Definitely less mess and easier if you withhold food.

With learning only by watching videos I made some mistakes along the way, but learned from them. I'm still new to butching and I keep learning how to be more efficient every time I do it.
 
cavemanrich said:
In Chicago, and Cook County, you can keep chickens, but not allowed to slaughter them. These stores are certified to be able to do that for you. There are about 5 stores like this in the metro area.
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Not allowed to butcher your own chickens at home? Seriously? That is about the weirdest thing I've ever heard.. and very Agenda 21 if you ask me.. :hmm
 
azurbanclucker said:
I've definitely noticed roos don't believe in buying a girl dinner first.
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That's because they know that I bring the dinner, and they never have to pay. :gig Seriously though, I have noticed that the roos' normally sneak up on the hen's while they are busy trying to eat, and not paying attention to them.
 
I haven’t had an opportunity to butcher a chicken yet... I was secretly hoping for a rooster or two so that I could, but we ended up 13 for 13 hens.

That said, my advice (and this is from quartering up deer and elk) is to use a small knife if you end up doing the butchering yourself. And sharp! A 2-inch blade is what I use for most of my skinning and quartering. It’s much easier to control. A smaller animal like a chicken will make that even more important.

Either way Bobby, let’s see some pics of the roosters!
 

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