First Chicken Slaughtered!

[halo]

I still have to shake my head when people just cant believe you process and eat your own chickens, and then run to Walmart and buy their plastic wrapped chicken. If people actually had to see how that store bought chicken got to their counter, from hatch to store, they might feel differently.

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

I keep this coffee-table-sized book visible to guests:

http://www.amazon.com/CAFO-Tragedy-Industrial-Animal-Factories/dp/1601090587

Just sayin'....

 

[Ibicella]

Congratulations! I'm glad it went so smoothly. Your chicken looks very yummy, and I hope you enjoy every finger-licking bit!

 

[crenees]

I still have to shake my head when people just cant believe you process and eat your own chickens, and then run to Walmart and buy their plastic wrapped chicken. If people actually had to see how that store bought chicken got to their counter, from hatch to store, they might feel differently.

Too true, too true...knowing the process was the main reason I decided to do my own...at least I know they've lived a healthy, happy, clean life and knowing their diet was also a plus! I was just talking to my mom today about how much more respect people would have for the food they eat if they were responsible for actually producing it (not just meat either)...we've just let ourselves get so disconnected from what food production actually entails (and people wonder why there's about 1/3 of food being wasted every year).

 

[paridisefarm2009]

I still have to shake my head when people just cant believe you process and eat your own chickens, and then run to Walmart and buy their plastic wrapped chicken. If people actually had to see how that store bought chicken got to their counter, from hatch to store, they might feel differently.

True so true ..

 

[VkyVky]

Congrats! I'm impressed. I've never processed a chicken and I was wondering how long it takes a beginner to do that. I was also wondering what one does with the blood. I just have a backyard and I am concerned about smells and attracting unwanted animals and pests.

 

[crenees]

Congrats! I'm impressed. I've never processed a chicken and I was wondering how long it takes a beginner to do that. I was also wondering what one does with the blood. I just have a backyard and I am concerned about smells and attracting unwanted animals and pests.

Hey VkyVky!

The whole process was relatively short (the longest part was getting my giant 40 gallon stock pot up to 140 deg since I did it in the backyard over my firepit on top of four cinder blocks)...once my water/soap mix was hot enough to scald it took me about 40 min to go through the whole process (I plucked the old-fashioned way which took up a bit of time)...once the chicken's plucked everything else went extremely fast...I think moving forward, and having an idea about what I'm faced with, the process will definitely go faster and faster until I can process the chickens with the best of 'em

As for what to do with the blood, I have a garden plot in my backyard that's "resting" right now so I just set up the killing cone over that soil and drained him there...afterwards I tilled the area where the blood had collected and, to date, there arent even any flies collecting (the guts & feathers I buried in a hole about 3 ft deep...havent had any issues there either). I suppose if you didnt have a garden plot such as mine though you could dispose of the blood with the guts and "extras" (i.e. put it in the same hole you bury them in)...

Thanks!

Courtney

 

[SherrieT]

Brava!!