butchering roosters

[cybrchick]

We have never done this but recently found out that out of the 10 birds we have 7 are roos. Yay. Ive watched youtube videos on the butcher technique. Now, how many can realistically be killed in one day? Ive heard they need to be refrigerated for a few days before cooking or preparing for freezing. Is this true? We dont have a spare fridge so space is limited. So I'm guessing about 2 roos a week to kill until we are down to 1 roo. Is that realistic? (Hubby has to do that and so it has to take place on weekends)

What is the realistic time frame from capturing to killing and defeathering or skinning? How long does the bird drain? (Wasnt clear on the videos)

Any first timer tips?

 

[wsmith]

Here's how we do it. We raise American Dominiques, and usually butcher the extra cockerels at between 22-26 weeks. They usually end up being 4-5 pounds dressed weight.

We are a family of 6, but my wife doesn't help with the processing.... Our kids who are all somewhat still living at home Living at home while going to school is cheap and convinient for them) range from 26-17. They also recruit their friends, so we sometimes have 6-8 people on butchering day. We can easily do 20 cockerels in 3 hours, start to finish. With that many people, this becomes almost an assembly line process.

1. On the day before, we select the ones to be processed and put them into smaller pens or cages with water, but no food. This makes it easier to clean them and the crops and guts are mostly empty.
2. Early that morning we put a large kettle of water on the fire pit to heat. We like it to be between 140-160 F. Adding a tiny bit of dishwashing detergent to the water helps cut the oils in the feathers, assisting in the plucking process.
3. We use cut down traffic cones, and place the bird head down, beak forward into the cone, then slit the throat. It usually takes about 5 minutes for him to drain.
4. When the bird is drained, he is taken to the scalding station, where the scalder submerges the chicken in the water for a minimum of 30 seconds, moving it around to get the scalding water to all parts of the skin. As was stated previously, be careful of the temperature and how long it scalds. You don't want to cook the skin, as it will tear.
5. When scalded, we take it to the plucker. We built our own using a drum and fingers we purchased. It is in a wood box cabinet that is mounted uner a work bench in the chicken area. It's driven by a 3/4 hp electric motor. We turn the plucker on and carefully hold the chicken so that the fingers grab the feathers and pull them off. The fingers should pluck against the lay of the feathers. If properly scalded, this will remove 90% of the feathers in about a minute or even less. We don't try to get all the feathers off with the plucker.
6. At this point we move to the finishing station. This is where we have a wood closet rod mounted on some shelf hangers. From the rod are some twine loops which we place over one or both feet of the chicken, suspending it upside down. At this point we finish getting any remaining feathers. The twine loop cinches down tightly so we have both hans free to do the job. This takes about 5 minutes or less. any stubborn feather areas can be re-scalded and finished up.
7. When completely plucked, we rinse the bird from the hose and move to the gutting table. This is a folding plastic / steel table we got from a popular bulk store. Each peerson gutting has one or two favorite knives and a large cutting board. I won't go into the gutting process here. My daughter who is 5' tall and weighs 110 is great at this station, as she can get her hands into the cavity for quicj cleanout. She can do this in less than 3 minutes.
8. The bird is rinsed again, and placed into a cooler until all are done.
9. We now move the operation inside the house. We do a final pin feather picking and make sure each bird is ready. At this time we also dunk the whole bird into a very mild bleach solution to kill any germs that may have been introduced.
10. Now the birds which are going to be frozen whole are placed into freezer bags, and plut into the fridge. The others are cut up into pieces and sorted. Some are deboned, while others are left bone in. Wings are placed into bags for hot wings. legs and thighs are bagged. Breasts are bagged separately as well. The backs and necks we also bag for use in making broth.
11. Clean up everything and you are done.
12. We refridgerate for at least 24-48 hours before freezing or cooking.

 

[bobbi-j]

So do you just freeze the whole bird? (Minus bird parts removed during the butcher process - lol) Or once its butchered, you slice it up as breasts, legs, wings? I have no clue on this step. All the videos seem to stop here. Lol! Ive only bought chicken from the store so its all new. And we will probably try de feathering and skinning. I prefer skinless meat so I like that it can happen and not have the feather removal part. But things like fried chicken are best w the skin. I'm so nervous. I cried watching the videos. I'm hoping it gets easier. Dh, son and daughter are all excited. Daughter wants to use her .22 to kill the birds. Lol! (Thats not happening btw) I also have a bit of a weak stomach so I'm nervous about storing the fresh meat and then pulling it out to cook. Cuz it will look diff than the store. Even tho logically I know its way healthier. Its my emotional mentality I guess. Gotta get used to this farm life I wanted so much. Sigh

You can do it either way. I freeze the whole bird, skin on. That way if I want skinless meat for something, I can take it off before I cook it. But if I want to roast the chicken like I do a turkey, I can. I like to leave the skin on for grilling. I just pull out the whole bird, let it thaw, and then cut it up for frying or grilling, or roast it whole and de-bone the meat to use for soup, stew, or other things. As time goes on, it will get easier. I can't say it's exactly "easy" for me, but it's a decision we've made and I have made up my mind to just do it. I grew up a city girl in a Mpls. suburb, married a farmer and haven't looked back. Where I grew up, the attitude was, "animals are our friends". Not a food source. So, when we started raising our own meat, I had to just tell myself that this is what we do. I will admit, it's only been within the last few years I've agreed to let DH butcher the "pretty" chickens. Until then, we would get the Cornish cross meaties. It was much easier to butcher the "ugly white ones". I've been on the farm for 31 years. You may cry with the first several times you butcher, but you'll do fine. It's OK. It just shows that you care about your birds but are also being good, responsible flock managers.

 

[3 NH reds]

I just butchered a year old rooster. He was not good for breeding and he was always sounding the alarm for nothing and had all the other birds on edge, he even would start crowing in the middle of the night. I scald at 165* because that is the temp whizbang plucker recommends. Electric tub plucker made it easier. When you scald add a drop or 2 of dish detergent, this helps get the bird wet. Plunge the bird up and down vigorously to get water down to the skin. Once the feathers and head and feet are gone it just becomes another chicken. As far as why to age the bird is a matter of choice. rigamortis sets in and the legs get stiff soon but if you age it this goes away. I recommend using a killing cone. They relax when they are upside down and it restrains them. get a good sharp knife and get the jugular vain. I recommend buying a knife like a havalon, it is razor sharp and has changeable blades. Your first time may be hard but you will get over it. It is a good thing for kids to learn whee food comes from, gives them more respect for things. If you get the roosters young they should be ok, older roosters take longer cooking because they are tough. This year old rooster I just processed became coq au vin, very tasty.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Can't add much to what Wsmith gave you--what a great response. Just wanted to add that this is your chicken--cut it up and package it however you will use it best. We package ours in meal-sized portions of skinless breasts, thighs, and drumsticks and use the backs and necks and wings for stock. I only keep a few whole roasters. I do this because, for me personally, the meat will be used more often and with less grumbling if I package it the way I want it from the get-go. Also, I do a lot of skinned chicken, since it's really easy to do (no plucking) and I don't like chicken skin in the first place. To skin a chicken, you just pull the skin (with feathers attached) off kind of like a shirt.

We also let the meat rest in the refrigerator for three days before freezing.

 

[bobbi-j]

My husband and I have been butchering our chickens for years, and it takes 15-20 minutes per bird from start to finish. We lop off the heads, I hold them by the legs until they quit flopping, we scald, pick and gut them. We don't drain them, and I've never had a problem with the meat. I guess they "drain" after we chop the heads off, come to think of it... It will probably take you and your hubby longer if you've never done it before. Mine grew up butchering chickens, and I grew up hunting pheasant and ducks and learned how to clean them when I was about 12.

They do not necessarily have to be refrigerated before cooking or freezing. It can help tenderize them, I guess. Tried that last year when we butchered - I can't honestly say if it made any difference or not. If you don't have the extra space to do that, just plan on cooking them a little longer at a lower temp.

First timer tips.... Don't get your scalding water too hot. If it is, it will tear the skin. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what is "too hot". That's DH's department. I know you don't want it boiling. Maybe steaming? Just barely steaming.... You'll know when it's right. Like I said - if it's too hot, the skin will tear. If it's not warm enough, the feathers won't come out as easily. When it's just right, they come out with no effort at all. DH can pick a bird in a minute or less. (Again, the man has had years of practice.)

Keep us posted on how it all works out for you!

 

[CircleT]

Water temp at about 140 degrees if you are going to pluck them. I usually just skin mine, and somtimes I just cut off the leg quarters, wings and take the breast off of the bone, dont have to bother gutting them that way.

 

[bobbi-j]

If I'm going to can them, that's what I do. I don't bother with plucking or gutting. But, I do like to freeze a few, too. Glad you were able to provide an actual water temp. DH just guesstimates.

 

[cybrchick]

So do you just freeze the whole bird? (Minus bird parts removed during the butcher process - lol) Or once its butchered, you slice it up as breasts, legs, wings? I have no clue on this step. All the videos seem to stop here. Lol! Ive only bought chicken from the store so its all new. And we will probably try de feathering and skinning. I prefer skinless meat so I like that it can happen and not have the feather removal part. But things like fried chicken are best w the skin. I'm so nervous. I cried watching the videos. I'm hoping it gets easier. Dh, son and daughter are all excited. Daughter wants to use her .22 to kill the birds. Lol! (Thats not happening btw) I also have a bit of a weak stomach so I'm nervous about storing the fresh meat and then pulling it out to cook. Cuz it will look diff than the store. Even tho logically I know its way healthier. Its my emotional mentality I guess. Gotta get used to this farm life I wanted so much. Sigh

 

[CircleT]

Freezing it either way is ok.