Best way to go cheaply?

[Parront]

That's really helpful! Thank you so much!

I would second what @Ridgerunner said, I have never owned a plucker. I don't do enough to make it worth it to buy one. Sometimes, I sure would like to know someone who has one that I could borrow! I like plucked chicken, because I'm the cook and I like the skin, but my husband doesn't eat the skin. To scald them I just use a big canner pot that I already have, but those are pretty cheap to get at yard sales if you do not already have one. Cornish-X do not have all that many feathers, any way! Put a little dish soap in the scalding water to make it penetrate the feathers, and smell better.
I just heat the water on the stove in the kitchen. I have skinned a few of the ducks, they have lots of feathers, and if you do not time it right they have tons of pin feathers. I tie string around their feet and hang them from a hook on my patio. I use a favorite sharp knife I've had since the 80's, it is a boning knife and takes a good edge for long enough to do all the birds I would do at one time. The most I ever did in one day was 15, back in the 80's when I was younger and more ambitious. It goes faster if you have a partner, or maybe having some one to chat with makes it seem that way! Good luck with your project.

 

[Torinik]

The military survival instructor who taught me to kill chickens worked almost entirely with his hands.

Broomstick kill then skinned and gutted without even needing a knife. Impressive, but I used a knife myself.

Imagine being catapulted back to the stone age. Guess we'd have to learn to chip flint for utensils then. Haha.

A knife makes life so much easier. All in all, a good thing to have and a tool that definitely makes all the difference.

As Ridgerunner pointed out, it doesn't need to be all that sharp to process a chicken. Those sharpeners that you pull a knife through are good enough, not razor sharp but sufficient for chicken and kitchen.
As a metalworker, I had a bit of professional malformation (or whatever that's called in English) and for a while had all my tools razor sharp. From my drill bits and chisels all the way to the kitchen knifes. Now, a blunt drill bit doesn't do it just as a blunt knife doesn't, and you can split a stuck nut off a bolt with a proper sharp chisel, but there's degrees to sharpness. I learned, after cutting myself both in the kitchen and processing chickens, that a razor sharp knife goes way deeper than a sufficiently sharp one. Most things around here are no longer razor sharp, except for a way too big survival knife that I never use for anything practical besides showing off how easy I can shave my legs and arms with it when there's kids around that are into that stuff.

Do you have a dog? I throw the whole feet in my dehydrator and after a couple days, they are ready to go dog treats.

Unfortunately no. Everything just gets burried around the fruittrees here.

 

[Duckiiess]

Chicken feet make for great soup stock, just clean them well first. I wash, then bring to a boil, dump out that water, rinse, then they're ready for the stock pot.

 

[Torinik]

True, but I use the back/spine for that. It's the only part of the chicken that goes in the freezer here. When I have enough backs, or more likely lack of space in the freezer, the backs get turned into stock. I have more than I can use, just from the backs. I don't buy any chicken or eggs, and don't buy a lot of things I grow in the garden. In the sense of never ever buy that, I simply have it growing. So, I'm ok with throwing the feet away, though I understand it might be a waste to a lot of people.

I will get a dog when I'm in a more permanent spot and just compost the feathers then. Or maybe not, when I was a kid we had a dog that would just make a chicken disappear, feathers, head, feet and all. We'll have to see what kind of dog I befriend when the time is there.

In case anyone wonders, it's the back without the neck. The neck goes in with the giblets as the first pot to be cooked.

 

[DatCampG]

To me, as cheap as possible means using what you already have and get rid of the idea that there is only one way to do things. I don't know what you have. I do not use a killing cone or a rope. I use a hatchet and stump, but I already had the hatchet and stump. The stump was actually a section of tree trunk from a tree that fell down. No cost to me except time to cut it into a useable pie. Some people use an ax or a meat cleaver instead of a hatchet.

Others may use the broomstick method using something they have on hand. Could be a rake, axe handle, maybe even a tree limb. It doesn't have to be a broom and you don't have to buy anything special. Some may use pruning loppers. A killing cone can be made from many different containers or materials you night have on hand. Some people just break the neck using their bare hands. You should have something already on hand you can use to kill a chicken if you learn the technique.

My work table is two 2x8's set up on sawhorses I already had. I use a hose with a control head on it to control water. I already had that.

You need a knife. You read a lot on here about how it has to be sharp. It really doesn't "have" to be that sharp but sharp makes it a lot easier. Sometimes if you are looking for "cheap" you have to work harder. When I was a kid I'd use one of Mom's kitchen knives which wasn't always that sharp but then I was only butchering one at a time. When I grew up and started butchering several of my own for the freezer I got a knife with replaceable blades so I could keep a sharp knife. Sharp makes it a lot easier. If you learn how to sharpen a knife you should have a knife in your kitchen you can use. I use poultry shears for some cuts so I don't dull my knife. My wife already had those.

My wife wants then skinless so I skin when I butcher, no need to heat water. When I was a kid mom wanted the skin on. She was feeding five kids plus the adults so she wanted all she could get. She wasn't worried about how pretty it was, but she wanted the skin. She did not use the feet but some serving pieces were liver, gizzard, neck, and back. Instead of boiling a pot of water to a certain temperature and dunking she'd bring a sauce pan of water to a boil on the kitchen stove and I'd pour that over the bird, then pluck it. That was probably pretty close to dry plucking but I had young hands.

To hold the meat and cool it down after cleaning I use an ice chest I already had and filled it with ice water. I typically do about 5 to 7 at a time. I make extra ice in the freezer ahead of time and use that so I don't buy ice. After I finish I wash everything down and sterilize everything non-metal with a bleach solution.

I dispose of the offal by digging a hole in the garden in an area that won't be disturbed for a couple of months at least. I don't know what kinds of costs you may have in getting rid of the offal.

I don't know how you plan to store them in your freezer. If you use a zip-loc bag you have limited storage time before you get freezer burn. Some people use heat-shrink bags or vacuum bags. I use freezer paper and freezer tape and double wrap them, they last a long time. I freeze mine in parts, not a whole carcass. I don't know how you avoid spending some money on this.

There are trade-offs in everything. You may need to balance cost, schedule, or quality. I bought the knife to make my life easier. I buy the bleach to sterilize things, and the wrapping paper and freezer tape. I can't think of anything else I bought or buy to butcher chickens, I use what I have on hand.

I enjoyed reading.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

@Ridgerunner is a treasure. Agree with the theme.

I happen to use a SHARP! knife and do a complete, single stroke decapitation from back to front while the bird hangs from my scale. Do I need the scale? Nope. Any stout limb would do. I currently use a folding plastic table (easy to bleach clean later) most of the time, but I have butchered with no horizontal work surface at all - just the bird hanging from the scale. Eventually, I'll build a fire pit, and mount poles in it with a crossbar, so I can hang my bird, decapitate, bleed it out, defeather or disrobe, and part out as desired all over the pit - so I can then burn the remains when I'm done.

But I'm not there yet.

Why a SHARP! knife? One, because I'm doing a complete decapitation, and two, because when I nick mself, the wound (while deep) has clean crisp edges and heals quickly with little care. Less sharp knives, or worst of all, sHArP knives leave jagged cuts, which scar (on me) and tend to get more secondary infections.

 

[3KillerBs]

because when I nick mself, the wound (while deep) has clean crisp edges and heals quickly with little care. Less sharp knives, or worst of all, sHArP knives leave jagged cuts, which scar (on me) and tend to get more secondary infections.

May I suggest a cut glove?

After using them at work (I'm a deli clerk), I went on Amazon and bought some for at home, along with some gloves to go over them.

I've noticed that with my arthritis I can't always trust my hands to obey me the way they once did so the cut glove adds a layer of security.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I've considered a chainmail butchers glove, but I don't have the knife control with it. To date, I've poked a finger and broken the skin across the top of a knuckle (don't ask, still trying to figure out how I did it) - evidence of both had disappeared in days, no bandage required

 

[Torinik]

because when I nick mself, the wound (while deep) has clean crisp edges and heals quickly with little care. Less sharp knives, or worst of all, sHArP knives leave jagged cuts, which scar (on me) and tend to get more secondary infections.

Not to start an argument, but I find this very interesting because you say “on me”. I seem to be the exact opposite.
When I cut myself cleanly with a razorsharp blade, I have to tape it to stop the bleeding, and then it still oozes blood for days before finally closing.
If I cut myself shaving, I have to stop it with a cigarette paper or a piece of tissue, and one usually doesn't do it. Those, I have to leave on the whole day because if I take them off any earlier (mindfully slow and careful, with plenty of water) it will bleed again like before. Actually leaving a bloodtrail, that's how bad I bleed. I can tell you I became very mindful when shaving and hardly ever cut myself because it's such a nuisance.
A rough cut rarely bleeds for longer than a couple of minutes on me and forms a hard crust that seals it off until completely healed. Very rare that this crust breaks before complete healing, even if I bang it somewhere because of not paying attention.

When it comes to scarring, though, I seem to heal very well. I once cut through my skin with a grinding disk all the way to the bone which was partly burned according to the the doctor. I have to point it out now and then people will say, after some investigation, that indeed they see a small scar.

When I was a kid, I had a bad fall with a motorcycle and was caught underneath it with the hot exhaust on my leg. By the time people got that thing off me, it had literally burned a small hole in my leg. It took ages to heal up and I walked around with the weirdest purple spot on my leg for years and years. Over time it developed little white spots on that bigger purple spot. Those converged into weird white skin (scar?) tissue. This was visible and that spot was very, very sensitive to sunlight. Until, with passing years, even that disappeared and people who knew me when that hole or purple spot was there can't believe they can't find any scar where that spot once was.

Working in construction and with metal all my life, I've cut myself many times but have remarkably few and very little scars in comparison to most of my co-workers. Some of them have huge scars where they once had a minor cut or tear. This must be your situation from what I gather from your post.

Like I said, wildly interesting to me, these differences in people (and chickens of course).
No infections either on any of my wounds my whole adult life. In fact, only one I can recall when I was a small child, a mosquito sting of all things, go imagine, and that actually got badly infected.
On the other hand, when it comes to tendinitis, tendinosis and such, I stood in the unlucky corner when they were handing those out. I've had more than my fair share of trouble there, but it seems to have settled down the last few years. Hopefully, I can hang on to that.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Not to start an argument, but I find this very interesting because you say “on me”. I seem to be the exact opposite.
When I cut myself cleanly with a razorsharp blade, I have to tape it to stop the bleeding, and then it still oozes blood for days before finally closing.
If I cut myself shaving, I have to stop it with a cigarette paper or a piece of tissue, and one usually doesn't do it. Those, I have to leave on the whole day because if I take them off any earlier (mindfully slow and careful, with plenty of water) it will bleed again like before. Actually leaving a bloodtrail, that's how bad I bleed. I can tell you I became very mindful when shaving and hardly ever cut myself because it's such a nuisance.
A rough cut rarely bleeds for longer than a couple of minutes on me and forms a hard crust that seals it off until completely healed. Very rare that this crust breaks before complete healing, even if I bang it somewhere because of not paying attention.

When it comes to scarring, though, I seem to heal very well. I once cut through my skin with a grinding disk all the way to the bone which was partly burned according to the the doctor. I have to point it out now and then people will say, after some investigation, that indeed they see a small scar.

When I was a kid, I had a bad fall with a motorcycle and was caught underneath it with the hot exhaust on my leg. By the time people got that thing off me, it had literally burned a small hole in my leg. It took ages to heal up and I walked around with the weirdest purple spot on my leg for years and years. Over time it developed little white spots on that bigger purple spot. Those converged into weird white skin (scar?) tissue. This was visible and that spot was very, very sensitive to sunlight. Until, with passing years, even that disappeared and people who knew me when that hole or purple spot was there can't believe they can't find any scar where that spot once was.

Working in construction and with metal all my life, I've cut myself many times but have remarkably few and very little scars in comparison to most of my co-workers. Some of them have huge scars where they once had a minor cut or tear. This must be your situation from what I gather from your post.

Like I said, wildly interesting to me, these differences in people (and chickens of course).
No infections either on any of my wounds my whole adult life. In fact, only one I can recall when I was a small child, a mosquito sting of all things, go imagine, and that actually got badly infected.
On the other hand, when it comes to tendinitis, tendinosis and such, I stood in the unlucky corner when they were handing those out. I've had more than my fair share of trouble there, but it seems to have settled down the last few years. Hopefully, I can hang on to that.

We are similar in burns - only it was the exhaust mainfold of my VW beetle (I was checking plug wires weren it wouldn't restart after fueling up - DUMB!) and the side/top of my hand, and on another occasion huge blisters from kneecap to upper thighs on both legs, similar on my stomach (a metal slide into a pool). Hair started growing again on the tops of my legs (sparsely) in the last decade. The burns were more than 30 years ago.

and I bleed like a stuck pig - low factor IX count (but not, thankfully, hemophilia) - but once it slows enough and begins to clot, I can usually use the "stickiness" of the clotting blood to hold a clean wound together. One scar on mu pinky where a razor blade broke in a craft knife and I opened it to the bone as my hand slide across it - three decades later, its not going away - that took tape. No stitches though.

What can I say? Bodies are wierd.