Best education resource?

[MrsMeanGreen]

I am sure there are multiple resources out there, but is there one that you feel is best at showing the entire culling and processing of the bird, and would recommend for a beginner?
Now I am certain my husband has wrung a chicken neck or two since he was raised in the country with chickens as a part of life, but I was raised 110% city and all meat came out of a package from the grocery store. Now that I am living a more rural lifestyle in my older wiser years, I would like to prepare myself as much as possible. While I would love to depend on my husband to always handle these matters, it would be irresponsible of me and naive to think there may never come a day that I may have to take on the duties of culling our flock. It's part of responsible chicken parenting, right?

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

This is my favorite resource for the evisceration process (he also links to his chicken stock recipe in that article, which I also made and totally recommend). It also covers the killing cone method. We use the axe/stump method instead, and there is also the broomstick and a few others. I'd recommend choosing the method you feel most comfortable with, and then looking it up on Youtube. Better yet, if you know someone who processes, having them show you in person is invaluable. I didn't have that so I used the above article and Youtube.

And, BYC in general is a great resource. We're here to help! I'm a newbie to meat processing but I've learned a lot processing two batches of Cornish X and can offer some advice. But there are also others on here with years and years of experience who are always willing to share their knowledge.

 

[MrsMeanGreen]

Thank you I also found this step by step with photos post right here on BYC and it is very good in my opinion.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-process-a-chicken-at-home.63089/

 

[Ridgerunner]

There is no one right way to kill the bird or to butcher it where every other way is wrong. Just many different ways to get there. One suggestion for your first unless you are lucky enough to get an experienced tutor is to start slow. Just do a very few. There is a learning curve and you don't need to be under pressure to get a lot done in a hurry. You are playing with sharp objects.

Whatever method you choose I also suggest you have a sharp knife. In that article they used a scalpel, I use a deer skinning knife with razor sharp replaceable blades. And I use poultry shears for any cuts where there is bone or cartilage to keep my knife sharp.

 

[FunClucks]

Check out the Sticky for this Forum. I read everything on there, and it helped immensely. Also I looked up how folks skin and process game birds. That was helpful too.

 

[ol lady]

I'm having the same experience with one of my young roos.

Joel Salatin/Homesteaders of America, has one of the best instructional videos out there. Found on YT. ( also on HoA website) The Information is empowering and after watching several times, you'll see the process is very straightforward.

I know you can do it, Best of luck

 

[Smokerbill]

This is a really long video and he uses some specialized equipment, but it's very educational.

Which I see you already mentioned, @ol lady .