Butchering process help?

[thinkyesi]

Hello! This year is my first time butchering our meat chickens.
We have the set up ready and everything, the only thing I'm confused about is the resting process.
I've seen people leave their birds in their fridge and others just put them in a cooler with ice. My fridge is kinda small, but I have a large enough deep freezer and a cooler.
Could I just let the chicken meat rest in the cooler with ice? Or would that be too cold?
Any advice is helpful! Thanks!

 

[3KillerBs]

A slushy mix of ice and water will always be 32 degrees -- excellent for quick chilling to ensure food safety.

 

[Molpet]

I rest in the cooler

 

[thinkyesi]

I rest in the cooler

How long do you rest it in the cooler for?

 

[Molpet]

How long do you rest it in the cooler for?

Until rigamortis passes...until the joints move freely. CX might be 24 hrs... an older bird might be 3 days. I had a old big turkey in for 5 days.
If you freeze while still in rigor, just let still in fridge after thawed until they loosen up

 

[Parront]

Depending on how many birds, and their size, you may want to keep them on ice and only freeze what your freezer can handle. Depending on the freezer you have, some have a special "quick freeze" shelf with an extra coil in that shelf, others might have instructions to only add certain percentage of the capacity.

 

[thinkyesi]

So I put them all in a cooler with water and ice. Is that fine?

 

[Parront]

So I put them all in a cooler with water and ice. Is that fine?

As simple as that! I just start with ice, they melt it fast at first, then add more ice to them = water and ice. Cools them as fast as anything.

 

[thinkyesi]

We were able to butcher 12, it took us all day haha. Though it was our first time ever butchering chickens.
They are about 3-4 lbs and were 3 months old.

 

[Parront]

We were able to butcher 12, it took us all day haha. Though it was our first time ever butchering chickens.
They are about 3-4 lbs and were 3 months old.

Good job!