culling turkeys

[broomrider]

Is there a post on here describing how to cull a turkey? I have eight BBB ready to cull and I'm not sure how to go about it. I've done plenty of chickens and some wild turkeys. Of course the wild ones were shot and my husband skinned them. I don't want to skin these but not sure how to go about killing them and plucking.

 

[QueenMisha]

I've always done them the same way as chickens. Slit the throat. If they're too big to hang by the legs, then find a steep hill, and just hang them off the side of it after you cut their throat. Gravity works about the same on a steep incline as when they're totally upside down. To prevent them thrashing and damaging their wings, you can place them in an old t shirt during slaughter.

As for plucking... I scald by boiling three or four huge pots of water on the stove and pour them all into a metal trashcan. It's a little rednecky but it works.

 

[R2elk]

Is there a post on here describing how to cull a turkey? I have eight BBB ready to cull and I'm not sure how to go about it. I've done plenty of chickens and some wild turkeys. Of course the wild ones were shot and my husband skinned them. I don't want to skin these but not sure how to go about killing them and plucking.

There are many processing posts in the Meat Birds ETC forum.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/21/meat-birds-etc

For plucking, dunking the feathered carcass in sufficient hot water at 160°F in a large container (I use a 1 1/2 bushel galvanized container.) works good for loosening the feathers to be hand or machine removed. Boiling water (212°F) can cause the skin to tear easily while plucking the feathers.