First butchering day; Actually quick and easy!

[ninjapoodles]

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Yep, we love the standards and minis. They're awesome.

We haven't processed a turkey yet, but I'd imagine it's the same.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

I found the same with my meat birds - they didn't look all that big but the breasts were so deep! Glad to know they were decent sized and good eating at such a young age. I have 12 9 week old BO's and if they get a little overcrowded, I'll give it a try.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Here's a shot of one of the chickens on the grill--this made me laugh. I spatchcocked the birds, like I said, but on this one, I forgot to "open" it before I put it on the grill, so it cooked in this shape. The whole time I was grilling it, I felt like I'd walked in on someone in a dressing room!

 

[farm_mom]

Great pic! I'm glad you found a method that works well for you and that you feel comfortable with. Will you be processing any of your turkjeys? We will in a couple of months....but I have to tell you I'm a bit nervous about it. Those birds are just too sweet, friendly and....aware.

 

[ninjapoodles]

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Yes, we'll be processing at least 4 Toms in a couple of months, too. I think any time you move up in size with food animals, it gets tougher. The turkeys are really very engaging, aren't they? I expect it to be fairly difficult, but those toms have to go somewhere, and we DID get them to raise for food, so hopefully I'll buck up a bit between now and then. My husband, as a hunter of this particular species, is having nooooo trouble with the concept whatsoever.

 

[farm_mom]

Wow! Now THAT is a big beautiful tom! What a proud looking hubby too!

Yes, you're right. We got them with the idea of food in mind. I'm just a bit more trepidatious than with the chickens. We ended up with 9 toms and two hens, so yes......some of those toms gotta go!

 

[ninjapoodles]

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NINE toms? Wow. Hope you're hungry!

We have six hens and seven toms, and hope to keep two of the toms, if they get along well enough with each other. I'm guessing we'll keep all six hens through next year, though we haven't really discussed it yet.

 

[dancingbear]

We didn't raise turkeys this year, but I hope to next year. When we dressed them out, I found it's pretty much the same as the chickens except:

DH walked up and shot them in the head, then carried them up to a tree where we hung them up, and removed what was left of the head.

They were LOTS easier to dry pluck than the chickens were. We got them hung up (one at a time) and both of us were yanking out feathers, one on each side. I usually keep a bucket or something close to throw in any feathers I want to save for crafts. We were able to mostly denude a good-sized turkey in less than 10 minutes. The only feathers we had trouble with were the bigger wing and tail feathers, we poured hot water from the kettle on those and finished plucking.

By the time we got them plucked, they were well-bled, and we hauled them inside to finish up in the kitchen, where it was warm, it being November at the time, and we were getting pretty cold. Brrr.

They're so much bigger and heavier, you need more space to work than with a chicken.

Heritage breeds (we had Bourbon Red and Narragansett) tasted better, but aren't as big, and they take longer in the oven before they get tender. As far as just good eating goes, I really favor these.

Broad Breasted Bronze got a lot bigger, I think they must've been around 60 lbs, live weight, probably a good 40 lb dressed, were easier to raise, because they get too big to fly off into the trees. They were also very nosy and more curious, following us around when ever we were working outside. As far as ease of raising, and huge meat production, I favor these. They are hard for me to lift, however, at least before dressing. Those birds get BIG. We butchered ours at about 8-9 months old.

So as you can see, I'm completely undecided on turkeys. I've been told that there is a heritage BBB, still capable of mating naturally, but I haven't found them. If anybody knows where to get them, I'd love to know!

 

[carress]

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This is pretty interesting - is there a video or diagram out there that shows this method??
Also, when you poke into the brain, the bird doesn't have the 'flapping episode', like when you bleed em out...right?

 

[ninjapoodles]

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This is pretty interesting - is there a video or diagram out there that shows this method??
Also, when you poke into the brain, the bird doesn't have the 'flapping episode', like when you bleed em out...right?

Ours didn't. They just went limp. They were in a cone, and there was some twitching, but only for a few seconds. Nothing like the beheading.