well, we got our first rooster processed yesterday. was not as bad as i expected, not saying it was pleasant, but by not getting attatched to the roosters, it was a much easier thing to do. i actually liked plucking-it was relaxing in a way. we learned a lot about scalding too and will need to improve our technique next time. and i guess we should have started doing this a month ago (hatched 3-10-09) for better meat, but from what i've read on this site i might just have an ok not delectable but not too horrible bird to eat. at least i know how he was raised, what he was fed, and pretty much a lot more than what i ever known about a grocery store bird. my dad thinks he will pretty much taste horrible because he is a rooster-apparantly all my grandfather raised to eat were hens and capons(is this a common practice? i'm new to this-the using for meat part- and thought people got rid of extra roosters mostly by raising them for meat birds?) and i don't know how to caponize either so i just let them grow up as regular roos. (again my dad fusses about this-i don't know anyone local who caponizes either my boss who is a vet wasn't interested in doing it either-apparantly whatever roosters grand pop used to raise they did an injection of some sort in their necks-don't know what this or would be- i thought caponizing was pretty much a surgical procedure) so we got it done, we have more to do, and i am sure the next one will be better on our first, at least hopefully we'll have more skin left due to the lesson in scalding. hope i'm able to make him nice and tasty too.
