California - Northern

[capayvalleychick]

Tomorrow I will have a pen available for my 3 cockerels. How do you finish a boy for processing? I have heard that you pen them. My boys are used to ranging but I want to do this right. Thanks

Yes, it's a good idea to pen them. Some people feed them a finishing diet of corn, milk etc. It is important to withhold feed for 8-12 hours before butchering, or at least 18 hours.

Here is some information that I have saved:

"The events observed in broiler chickens during feed withdrawal are part of a natural cycle that occurs every night in chickens in the wild. In nature, chickens eat during the day and rest at night. Their intestines empty and the intestinal lining begins to slough. The sloughing occurs because birds do not maintain the flow of blood to an intestinal lining that is not absorbing food.
Two windows of opportunity exist to successfully process chickens. Between these windows, is a "wall" where potential for contamination is high and line speeds may need to be reduced significantly. The first window occurs at eight to 12 hours after a bird stops eating. At this time, the gut is almost completely empty but still strong and unlikely to break during processing. Any individual bird that is without feed or "off-feed" for 15 to 16 hours poses a potential problem at the plant. The intestine will be weakened by the extended hours off-feed and filled with gas and released intestinal lining. The probability of carcass contamination increases dramatically during this period. The second window normally starts at 18 hours off-feed. By this time, the bird has flushed out the released intestinal lining and has started to produce new villi. A bird processed in this second window of opportunity will have a weaker intestine than a bird processed in the first window, but the intestine will contain very little material that could contaminate the carcass if the intestine is damaged during processing."

 

[sewandgrow]

We dont have a sharp enough hatchet so any other ideas?
the process of cleaning doesnt bother me i just cant do the killing
ive seen videos of people slitting the vein in their neck and letting them bleed out. it doesnt seem humane though

I use a street cone converted to a killing cone by cutting the top couple of inches off. I mount it upside down elevated & I lift the bird by his shanks & lower him into it , head first. Pull the head through the bottom until it is exposes the neck & cut his juggler vein, He is very calm being held by the cone & dies very quickly & peacefully. Don't be timid. Make a good cut so he bleeds freely & quickly.

 

[PetRock]

I have two hatches due March 8th and March 11th

Wheaten/Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas, Golden Cuckoo Marans, Olive Eggers and Khaki Quail/Khaki x Dun Cuckoo d'Anvers. All of them are spoken for except for some of the d'Anvers.

I will have eggs available for the Easter Hatch-a-long

I have a hatch due March 9 so we can be hatch buddies!

 

[PetRock]

I use a street cone converted to a killing cone by cutting the top couple of inches off. I mount it upside down elevated & I lift the bird by his shanks & lower him into it , head first. Pull the head through the bottom until it is exposes the neck & cut his juggler vein, He is very calm being held by the cone & dies very quickly & peacefully. Don't be timid. Make a good cut so he bleeds freely & quickly.

That's what we do at the farm. I haven't had to do the killing part. My friend's husband and 18 yr old son do it for us.

 

[chickee]

I have a hatch due March 9 so we can be hatch buddies!

Cool!

So many hatches around the same time!

Must be this great weather we are having tricked us into thinking it is spring already!

 

[EZFarms]

I think im gonna try the broomstick method and see how it works

 

[sewandgrow]

That's what we do at the farm. I haven't had to do the killing part. My friend's husband and 18 yr old son do it for us.

I haven't done a lot but am okay with the whole process. Raymond built a 2 by 2 frame for the cone for me & I bought a friends turkey fryer set up for the water. The turkey pot is plenty big & I use the turkey thermometer for the water & add dishwashing liquid to help wet the feathers. I ordered a folding knife made by Havalon that takes surgical blades to make the cuts. I have never skinned, only plucked & I use the chicken whole after processed to make soup. A local "chicken lovin'" friend wants to learn how so I will have to dust all the equipment off pretty soon.

 

[liz9910]

@sewandgrow

Were u the one who mentioned that you knew someone who wants cockerels for meat birds?

 

[tommysgirl]

@capayvalleychick ..Thanks! That was informative. I wish @debs_flock was here I want her recipe for braised chicken. I think my boy will be 19 weeks.

 

[chrissyr]

Regarding King Feed Freedom Feeds: The fact that this product contains Peanut Meal concerned me because of my son's peanut allergy. So I contacted their customer service and this is what I got in case anyone else has the same questions:

Dear Chrissy,

We ran a test early on to look for potential peanut allergen transfer to eggs. Laying flock was fed Freedom GMO-Free Layer Pellets (containing 12.5% Peanut Meal) for 45 days. At the end of feeding period, we sent 10 eggs back to the Food Allergy Research & Resource Program at Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln for testing for presence of peanut allergens.

The results indicated that any peanut allergens in the eggs were below the limit of quantitation which = 2.5 mg/kg (parts per million). I contacted the Directorof the program and he stated "peanut residues below 2.5 parts per million would present no conceivable health risk to peanut-allergic consumers".

Hope this is helpful!

Sincerely,
Dr. John Throckmorton, Ph.D.
KING Feeds Nutritionist