Butchering Cull Cockerels Today

[3KillerBs]

I'm 2 weeks late because I was sick, but my day off and good weather have coincided so goodbye to the boys from the Easter hatch.

The water in the electric canner is almost up to boiling. I'm preparing a scalding bath in a well-scrubbed plastic trash can (one that only gets paper waste, not food), and have everything set up.

 

[Isadora]

Good luck! I hope everything goes smoothly.

 

[Backyardhomestead921]

I'm 2 weeks late because I was sick, but my day off and good weather have coincided so goodbye to the boys from the Easter hatch.

The water in the electric canner is almost up to boiling. I'm preparing a scalding bath in a well-scrubbed plastic trash can (one that only gets paper waste, not food), and have everything set up.

Good luck!

 

[Painted Calls]

Good luck and hope all goes well!

 

[Becks Chicks]

Good luck!

 

[WIchickMama]

Good luck, happy (and safe) culling

 

[agarnp]

we are new at keeping chickens- they are dual purpose but i am a bit ambivalent at the thought of culling them when the time comes. My husband will do it but Im feeling strange about it. Any advice or words of wisdom from the experienced?

 

[Becks Chicks]

we are new at keeping chickens- they are dual purpose but i am a bit ambivalent at the thought of culling them when the time comes. My husband will do it but Im feeling strange about it. Any advice or words of wisdom from the experienced?

Maybe learning more about the harvesting process will help. There’s much information here and on YouTube. When you grow and harvest your own chickens, you have much more control over the food you ingest.

I grew up with chickens so have a very matter of fact attitude about culling. My husband didn’t so it’s been harder for him to get comfortable with the idea of harvesting.

 

[3KillerBs]

4 birds done, but my scalding arrangements were inadequate and thus my carcasses are not properly clean and I will have a lot of work to do on them when I go to cook them.

The other 3 have a reprieve while I take a few days to figure out how better to provide the scalding water.

Before anyone mentions it, I HATE skinning. I like chicken skin and if I get a good scald the feathers just wipe off.

Besides, skinning cockerels of this age (Easter hatch), is not the "easy-peasy" thing that skinning is claimed to be. Other than the setup to scald, it takes me longer to skin than to pluck even though I'm not that experienced at plucking.

While I was inside getting the first 4 gutted and stuffed into ziplocks the other three managed to push out of their lightly-fastened coop door and are doing some unauthorized free-ranging. As long as they aren't invading the main coop and fighting with Rameses they can have a little freedom for one of their last afternoons.

 

[3KillerBs]

My husband will do it but Im feeling strange about it. Any advice or words of wisdom from the experienced?

It took me a little mental preparation for it.

For me, the main thing is knowing that they've lived a happy life and have just the one bad moment at the end. It's as swift and easy as I can make it.

The actually gutting isn't a problem for me because I'm neither squeamish nor sentimental.

Once I get them undressed they look like any other chicken from the grocery store.

Some people have tried the trick of putting some grocery store chickens into the freezer at the same time -- packaged alike and all mixed up so they can't tell which are which.