Dead Cornish Rock - my 1st fatality....sad!! I need to download..

[flowerchic]

I woke up this morning and let the chickens out (6). My only cornish (3 mos) was breathing a little funny, but she has done that before - I'm in Texas and it is hot already. She had shade, water and feed. I figured to she'd be fine. About 1 hour later I went back out to check on them and she was face down with the others all around her looking at her.

Now I am new at this and did not realize that cornish chickens need special feeding, so she has been eating like crazy. I have been talking to my husband about eating her - she'd be my first home grown chicken to eat. We just needed to get the supplies to do - all my knifes are dull standard kitchen type knifes...etc.

Well that did not happen, I was unprepared to process her at 7 am this morning. She has now gone to the compost pile. I tried calling around to see if anyone (butcher) could process her for me. I live out of the city so I thought - butcher - no problem, this town in filled with Taxidermy guys, so I know there is a butcher, but NO!! The taxidermy guy giggled at me, and asked "you've never processed a chicken before?" Being from a small town originally, I never felt so city slicker in my life!!!

The weird thing for me, I am more upset over not being able to process and eat her then over the fact that she is dead. My husband says that I am just transitioning from grocery store chicken purchaser to a homestead frame of mind. Only because of this site and the reading I have done about it being more human and healthy and an honorable thing to honor the chicken by eating it, since that is what they are fore, that I could think this way...so Thank you! I feel more grown up.

Still sad over losing her, but I have tried to put my emotions in the proper place to be a chicken caregiver. I do wonder if it was the heat or a hear-attack?? I will definitely be keeping a close eye on my others (non are cornish).

My next problem is "chicken math" I went to TSC bought 6 chicks - 4 are roos, 1 is now dead (pearl) and 1 pullet (piper). So now, to go about straightening out the herd so to speak. I planned on keeping everyone and just processing them as it comes. Before Pearl died I was going to just split the cockerels from Pearl and Piper. Now Piper will be alone....so do I get to go to my husband and explain the "chicken math" and get a few more pullets??? We'll see! I found a guy about an hour from here and I can get whatever I want and age I want. Doesn't Piper need some girlfriends to hang with since I have to split the cockerels out???

I know I am just rambling, this is all new to me and I just needed to air out my brain a bit, so Thank you. Been wrangling chickens for 3 months and I am not just green but NEON green.
Just still kinda in shock a bit!!

What are the proper tools that I would need to process a chicken?? I saw how to process meat on here - that was awesome - too bad I was caught off guard.
Will there be a disturbance in the force as far as my other chickens go, now that one is missing?? I figure they have to know, they were all standing over her when I found her. So sad!!

Thank you in advance for letting me download!! Sheesh this month has been h e double toothpicks - dog sick, chicken dead - unrelated to each other.
Anyone wanna share any tips, words of wisdom, etc. I am listening!! :0)

 

[kizanne]

In a pinch you only need a clean surface and a knife.

There are many ways to process and before you do any large number you'll need to read some of those threads or go to youtube and watch a few videos.

But in a pinch you can use a knife to slit their throat and hold upside down to drain. Yours being dead I'd cut the whole head off and hang or hold upside down for at least 10 min. Then pluck the feathers off the belly. Carefully cut around the vent. Pull out the innards reaching all the way up with your hand and make sure to get the crop. You can reach more than once. You want to make sure not to rupture the intestines and release poop everywhere. Cut off the feet. Then start peeling the skin off the bird (there are youtube videos for that too). When we get to the very tip of wing we just cut that off too.

Rinse well. Put in plastic bag and place in fridge.

 

[erinchelsea]

That's too bad! Well, 12 weeks is pretty old for a Cornish Rock on full feed and they are sensitive to the heat.

Last year I was caught off guard with hubby out of town and one of our 6-week old CX went lame and couldn't get up to eat. I wasn't about to waste the meat considering how much feed those little hogs ate!!! I was due to have my baby any day so I had my mom come help, I quick made a killing cone out of a bleach bottle, and she lopped off his head with a garden shears. Worked like a charm! Then we scalded the feathers and finished gutting it on the kitchen table. Not perfect circumstances, but he sure was tasty!

Hopefully if I had to do it again I could do it alone. I watched one of the processing explanation threads that's a sticky in this forum and a couple YouTube videos. Mom had processed a couple chickens before, but like 20 years ago so we needed a reminder.