Facts to convince hubby that processing ou own chickens is a good idea

[Bossroo]

Yesterday afternoon at 4:30 (since my wife was in town) I took out 2 thawed out -- 8 week old home grown Cornish X chicken breasts (butchered and cut up 3 months ago, each one weighed a pound). I cut them lengthwise into 3 (6 total) 1/4 inch thick pieces. I then made a marinade with just a little Soy Sauce, Worscestershire Sauce, lemon juice, and Mrs. Dash and put them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. My wife came home at 5:30 and then breaded them and fried them ( done in 9 minutes) smothered with white gravy, 2 huge golden browned onions and 9 good sized white mushrooms. Add some squash, mashed potatoes and home backed biscuits that we feasted on by 6:30. MMMmmmm so mouthwatering G O O D and ohhhh so T E N D E R !!!

 

[MareeZoCool]

Leave your hubby out of the "ladies's work" (food prep ~kill & dress)

What he don't see won't hurt his tender sensibilities.

 

[dancingbear]

It's funny how so many people think of the killing and dressing as being traditionally done by men. Especially when you consider all the circumstances in which men were absent, and mom was home alone with kids to feed. Almost all of us have a mom, a grandmother, or an aunt who used to (or still does) go out in the yard and snatch up a bird for dinner. It's less so these days, but in the past, mothers were the ones who usually killed the poultry for dinner.

Not saying either sex is more or less sensitive than the other, just an observation about common perceptions. In my experience, some people are just squeamish, and some of them are men, and some are women.

It took me a long time to start doing the actual slaughtering myself, though I'd done all the rest a lot of times. Now it's not a big deal, but it's not something I did easily, at first. The OP's DH might just need some time to get used to the idea, and tasty home grown chicken to eat a few times, without his participation in the processing, could help gradually change his attitude.

What changed mine was having a badly injured hen that needed to be put out of her misery when my DH wasn't here. So I did it. Not wanting to be wasteful, I dressed the carcass and we ate her. Then not long after, having some roosters to get rid of when he was too ill to do anything about it. I wasn't about to waste perfectly good chicken, and I didn't want to burden a sick spouse with the job. So I learned to do it myself.

 

[blueskylen]

I just ordered 60 meaties for delivery in march. My DH has told me twice so far that his cousin said that if we raised some for him, that he would come and help process them. I told DH that we had a wonderful processor less than half hour away that would do it for $1 per bird, and that I was not going to help them or even be home if they decided to do it themselves. I really have no desire or the stomach to process 60 birds, especially when I know who would be doing most of the clean up - me.

I could probably do 1 if I had too, but not 60 at a time.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
What's to stop you from just doing it? Get yourself a minimum order of 25 Cornish Xs, maybe even split that order with someone else so you have a small, manageable number. Even if Mister was on board with the idea I would recommend starting with a small number. Especially so if you're doing it solo. Cornish Xs are ripe & ready to eat in just 8 weeks so your experiment will be finished in just a couple of months. Not too long for Mister to avoid that pen of chickens, or to get too attatched to them as pets if he does.

We'll coach & support you when the time comes for butchering them. Plan to start with just a few for your first session, especially if you're doing it alone. It gets easier with practice, you won't want to overwhelm yourself right at the start. Plan to thoroughly enjoy eating every morsel of their home-grown goodness yourself. But if you're nice & want to share with Mister, he may change his mind at that time. Then you'll have his help for future meatbird projects.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

My husband freaked out when he saw the dvd package.....we didn't watch Food inc yet, but we have it. He asked me if I'm going to start supporting Al Gore. I will watch it and I trust ya'll judgement that it has truth to it, but does this mean that Al Gore has a chicken coop?

 

[the simple life]

What in the world does Al Gore have to do with this? If we watch Food Inc. we are Gore supporters? That is the first time I have ever heard anything like that! He just sounds uninformed.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

He was looking at the cover of the dvd and it proudly claims to be from the makers of 'the inconvient truth'. But....no. It doesn't make you a Gore supporter. I would need a day off to watch it. I got called in to work, unexpectedly and haven't had much time for anything. He didn't say the film was wrong. He was picking on me. And he is very political......I'm not. He is very informed; to the point that a lot of people wouldn't want to talk to him. I agree with him on most subjects because he is right. I just don't want to talk about politics all the time.
But getting to the subject, before it goes way off........Can we have an update on if you have discussed any of these measures with your husband? I've been there and the problem seems to have quite worked itself out for me. A lot of it could be that it is me primarily doing the slaughtering and cleaning.

 

[the simple life]

I am referring to his remark about the film and the commercial food industry, the fact that he associated it with being Gore supporters is where I feel he is uninformed.
Raising your own food and not supporting the commecial industry has nothing to do with politics unless you try and make it, this film is not political.

 

[dancingbear]

It annoys me when people associate things like healthy food, clean air, clean water, etc., so strongly with an individual (especially a celebrity or politician), that some people are put off of the subject because they dislike that individual. What the heck does raising your own healthy food have to do with Al Gore? People act against their own best interest, just to avoid having something in common with somebody they don't like. It makes no sense, if you think about it.

Suppose you dislike your neighbor, I mean the guy really irritates you to no end. You decide you'd like to have watermelon for dessert this evening, (pretend it's summertime) so while you're at the store you head for the produce. There's your annoying neighbor, picking out a watermelon! So what do you do? Skip the melon? Refuse to ever eat melon, ever again in your whole life, because this guy eats melons, and you don't like him? What does that accomplish? Does it hurt your neighbor? No, you just hurt yourself. See how silly that is?

Good grief.

Regardless of any of that, TennesseeTruly, yes, please let us know how it all works out, and I hope you can resolve whatever you DH's objections are, whether they are due to being squeamish, or overwhelmed by the work involved, or whatever. Failing that, if he doesn't object to you doing the chickens alone, maybe we can help you learn what you need to know to do that.