Butchering in city limits?

[BigBlueHen53]

In the city you also have to be careful to know where sewer, water, gas and electric lines are before you dig, right?

 

[danceswithronin]

Just don’t advertise what your doing . (Out of site out of mind).

This is honestly how I would handle it too. As long as you aren't making a huge screaming racket with it and clean up after yourself and do it in a fairly private area that isn't visible from the street, there shouldn't be any problems. As long as you don't leave gallons of blood or offal or feathers everywhere, no harm no fowl.

My biggest concern is that my yard isn't large enough that I can't butcher chickens without being in sight of other chickens. I think it's rather cruel/callous to butcher animals in front of each other, regardless of how much of the process they actually understand. Just my personal feelings on it though, other people with more experience may feel differently.

I think if I did butcher I'd have to do it in the garage with the door closed where the other chickens couldn't see it. That would eliminate any curious neighbors as well.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I bury the offal in the garden. I just put it in places I won't be digging for a couple of months. That's not always feasible in suburbia though, a neighbor might call the cops and say you are burying something suspicious.

Agreed. We do the same here in Panama. A hole about five feet deep, and not too wide should cover your needs.

 

[Mosey2003]

My biggest concern is that my yard isn't large enough that I can't butcher chickens without being in sight of other chickens. I think it's rather cruel/callous to butcher animals in front of each other, regardless of how much of the process they actually understand. Just my personal feelings on it though, other people with more experience may feel differently.

Mine get excited about it, they know I throw them the kidneys and testicles as I go

 

[danceswithronin]

Mine get excited about it, they know I throw them the kidneys and testicles as I go

Lol, chickens are such savages

 

[Ebony Rose]

Mine get excited about it, they know I throw them the kidneys and testicles as I go

LOL! Several months back I had a rooster that was just awful, seriously. I called him a 'mal novio' because he was constantly bloodying up the girls, everything from torn combs to deep gashes under the wings, and he was a YOUNG rooster, his spurs hadn't really started to develop! He was simply overzealous, but it was hurting the morale in the flock, and causing me TONS of extra work in doctoring the hens. Butchered him and did as you said, fed the 'good parts' to the girls as I went along; I don't think I've ever seen the girls happier to be rid of their 'bad boyfriend'!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Should I still go ahead with putting meat in the freezer myself or give in & get the more expensive grocery store meat?

What do you think you gain by buying 25ish chickens ready for butcher and butchering them yourself? Even if you don't count your time as valuable, how much will chicken at the store cost you compared to the cost of buying live chickens? Do you really save that much by the time you go get them and buy materials to wrap them? I get the point of knowing where your meat comes from, but is there something about how those are raised that provides a bonus?

This is getting a bit off topic but I keep two buckets handy when I butcher. One bucket gets the stuff I'll bury, the other gets the stuff I feed to the remaining chickens. The OP can't do that.

 

[danceswithronin]

What do you think you gain by buying 25ish chickens ready for butcher and butchering them yourself?

I was just assuming if OP is getting them from a university that they're probably grown as expendable educational stock, and they may get a good deal on buying them. I'd be interested to know what they pay for seven week-old chicks.

 

[Anime2lover]

I dont live in the city, but when we butcher we always do it it in the most private place in our house. For the innards, you may be able to get a large mulcher, or ask our landlord (if in an apartment) if you could fence off an area for mulch, and just bury it in that area.

 

[cassie]

I'd want to look up the laws and regulations myself, not just trust what an official says. Your librarian could probably help with this.

Cassie brings up a good point too, disposing of the innards. Some garbage pick-up services have rules against disposing of dead animals or butcher byproducts in the trash. 25 birds would have a lot of innards. This could trip you up so have a plan.

I didn't mention that just about every town and city has a law library and anyone can use it. I have found that the reference librarians are very helpful. As for disposing of innards, I would dig a fairly deep hole. If you are worried about nosy neighbors have a bush or something sitting there you could plant. I would dump the bucket of innards in the hole, maybe add some lime, and fill it up. Put something on top so dogs and other animals won't be able to dig it up.