Bye-bye boys, enjoy Freezer Camp!

[AlbionWood]

Last of our surplus roos are tucked into the freezer. Total of 5 Delawares, 2 Speckled Sussex - tough to slaughter such gorgeous birds - and one each New Hampshire and Buff Orp. The Dels made the best-looking carcasses: a little shorter and wider in the breast, not quite so leggy. At just about 18 weeks, the carcasses (minus neck, tail, and giblets) weighed about 4.2 to 4.5 pounds going into the freezer, except one bird that was 5 lbs even. Sussexes were a little smaller, one was less than 4 lbs, and much narrower - in fact gutting was a real chore because they are very narrow in the hips as well as the breast.

Roasted one Del to share with the neighbors, who not only had to put up with the racket but looked after the flocks while we were gone. (Best neighbors in the whole world!) It was delicious, even though we overcooked it a little.

Have LOTS of stock-makings now: gizzards, hearts, feet, necks, and the backs of 5 that were parted out.

It was a chore and we definitely will do some things differently next time. A plucker would sure help, and I definitely need to get faster at gutting. I hate spilling intestinal goo inside a carcass, so I went real slow cutting around the vent before pulling the innards out; and with these narrow-hipped birds, that wasn't easy. Also cutting/pulling the crop loose was slow work; and getting the lungs out was really frustrating. Any tips to make evisceration faster?

 

[silkiechicken]

To make eviceration easy, even on small birds, withold feed overnight or at least 12 hours. Crop and most of the guts are empty that way.

 

[AlbionWood]

We did that. Crops were empty, but they still stick to the skin, neck and breast and have to be carefully cut & pulled away. And "most" of the guts were empty, but there's still enough in there to make a nasty mess... especially when you squeeze them while pulling them out... even a little of that goo inside the carcass is too much for me. That's why I cut around the vent, so it would all pull out at once and not squirt goo inside.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Skin them!! Worked great!!

 

[duckking]

I could not slaughter my delaware

 

[donrae]

Quote:
You DO realize this is the meat bird thread, right?

 

[AlbionWood]

Quote:
I'm guessing you don't have a dozen roosters... that makes it easier to kill a few! Still, I hear ya, Dels are pretty nice birds. But this is what we had in mind when we got all those cockerel chicks in the first place. As I said in another thread: Sometimes you have to do hard things in this life.

We kept one Del roo and he is a happy boY!

 

[averytds]

I gave up trying to get my hand into a Silkie. Pried away an area with my fingers and just cut straight up with the shears to open it up and finish eviscerating. Worth a try if you don't care about keeping it whole for appearance.

 

[Rhody Reds]

Quote:
I haven't processed a lot of birds, in fact, I just started, but I found it easier if the crop was full rather than empty. When full, it is so easy to find, and much easier to deal with.

 

[terri9630]

Quote:
I haven't processed a lot of birds, in fact, I just started, but I found it easier if the crop was full rather than empty. When full, it is so easy to find, and much easier to deal with.

It makes it easier to get hold of too. The empty ones just keep slipping through my fingers.