Butchering chickens?

There are a lot of youtube videos on everything from killing to cutting up for cooking. What is it exactly you need to know?


There is also the meat bird section on this forum which has lots of info

 

I work at a butcher. Just use the youtube vids. They work OK.

 

The Meat Bird section here on byc

 

Yes, several good threads on the topic...videos are linked here, too. Good luck!

 

As everyone else said - go to the Raising Backyard Chickens and click on Meat Birds ETC. at the very top of the forum is a Stickies section. Those are some of the best and cover just about every question you could have. Great pictorials - most are very graphic - showing the entire process.

 

I can sympathize with you! I have butchered about 10-15 chickens so far in my chicken keeping days. I find myself feeling "chicken" every time I do it. I think because I don't do it very often, so I forget the best way to do process it and stuff like that. I would recommend that you keep notes on the process until you have it down pat- plus you can always refer back to it when you forget something. My husband and I are planning on having a butcher day once a month, once our chicken population is up enough to make it actually work out. While there are probably some good videos on Youtube, I would highly suggest that you find someone who has either butchered chickens before, or at least has gone bird hunting (and field dressed their kills). We learned from our brother in law who goes duck hunting very regularly. He was very willing to help us start out. He taught us how to skin them and gave advice on how he would lop heads off and feet off. I don't know how we would have done it if it wasn't for him showing us! Now I haven't ever plucked before, but I may learn how to. We don't care too much for skin, so skinning has been working out for us quite well. But from personal experience, every time I turn chicken because I mostly worry about the actual butchering out. I always want it to be fast and humane. I have horrible aim, so I usually have the hubby do the actual butcher while I assist. I can skin and clean them on my own.