Butchering- Prep and how to?

[Mylied]

I labeled a pic I found online. That pink fleshy stuff is always stuck to the back when I try to take it out. Never comes out easy for me.

 

[junebuggena]

The dark red fleshy stuff attached to the back are testicles? I thought the oval shaped pale yellow things were the testicles.

The dark fleshy stuff is the lungs. The kidneys look sort of like offshoots of the intestines. They come right out.

 

[Mylied]

The dark fleshy stuff is the lungs. The kidneys look sort of like offshoots of the intestines. They come right out.

I couldn't find a far out picture, but that is not lungs. These are down by the vent.

 

[Mylied]

Here, maybe this is clearer. They are pointing at them, pressed up against the back, and have them labeled as kidneys.

 

[junebuggena]

I couldn't find a far out picture, but that is not lungs. These are down by the vent.

The tubes that carry sperm to the vent.

 

[Mylied]

The tubes that carry sperm to the vent.

Nope, sorry. Next time I butcher a chicken, I will take my own pictures. I am sure I am talking about the kidneys. I'm pretty good at chicken anatomy.

 

[Mylied]

@Brahma Chicken5000 Here's the chicken I was talking about. It was skinless so seasoned it, oiled it, put some onion in the cavity and wrapped it in foil. Cooked for 2 hrs. It was tender and had juices. I don't eat meat so had my son taste test it and he really liked it. The plate has one side of the breast on it. You can see it's not a lot. And this is even a little more than I get from what I usually raise. The legs are good sized.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

@Mylied that looks delicious! You must be a great cook. I can’t wait to have my own property and raise my own meat, only problem is it won’t be for another 5-10 years. Oh well at least I can still have fresh eggs

 

[Ms Biddy]

Here are a Polish hen and rooster that we culled and butchered. They must have been at least 20 weeks old. I think aging them in the fridge for 3 days makes a difference. They weren't plump like a meat bird but both were tasty. Neither one was tough, though they did have texture.

I prefer to remove feed from the pen the night before. I leave their water. We hang them by their feet and cut their neck without severing the spine. My understanding is that they almost instantly lose consciousness from blood loss but by not severing the spine the heart keeps beating longer which helps with thorough bleed out.

Whether you skin them or pluck dry or with scalding is a matter of preference. We scalded these. I'm interested in trying pithing and dry plucking next time. Good luck!

ETA: that's half of the hen on a platter, not a dinner plate. She was small but not like a cornish game hen, lol.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Here are a Polish hen and rooster that we culled and butchered. They must have been at least 20 weeks old. I think aging them in the fridge for 3 days makes a difference.
I prefer to remove feed from the pen the night before. I leave their water. We hang them by their feet and cut their neck without severing the spine. My understanding is that they almost instantly lose consciousness from blood loss but by not severing the spine the heart keeps beating longer which helps with thorough bleed out.

I’ve heard that aging them in the fridge for a few days before eating is to let the rigor mortis pass.
I’m an Orthodox Jew and I will have to have a shochet (ritual slaughterer) slaughter my birds for me. As a side note: when I will have my chickens slaughtered I have to make sure that they don’t see each other getting dispatched as it will cause them pain seeing their brethren getting slaughtered.