First Freezer Camp

[cattleman999]

Well we just put our first seven meaties in ice. Overall it wasn't a bad experience. My six year old son and four year old daughter each helped harvest the meaties. We were 2 hours from start to finishing the cleanup with me and one aother person primarily. It's obvious to me that having the right tools for the job could speed things up quite a bit. The lungs and things stuck to the back are hard to get with the fingers. We hand plucked 3 and skinned four of them. I won't pluck again without some sort of mechanical plucker. We have pictures and I'll try to post those later. I am tech. challenged. LOL I was dissappointed in our weights. I weighed a couple of the biggest and they only dressed 4.5 pounds at 56 days of age. It has been very hot and humid this summer and I am sure we lost some efficiency due to the weather. I can't wait to put one the grill and sample our effort. I would love to hear your feedback. Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Yay for you! That is an impressive rate of work, to have done 7 plus cleanup in just 2 hours, that's great for a first time effort. And congratulations to the little kiddos for helping too! You all can enjoy some well-earned and TASTY chicken dinners.

Some folks use grapefruit spoons or tomato hullers to scrape out the lungs & things, I manage to move them out with just my fingers. Or use a hacksaw to cut down the breastbone and open up the carcass for easier cleaning.

There are simple attatchments you can make from PVC caps & bungee straps and put on an electric drill to use for a mechanical plucker. But I find that hand-plucking can be quick & easy if you get a good scald on the bird and have a place to hang them by their feet so you have the use of both hands for plucking.

 

[nifty50chick]

Good job!
Looking forward to hearing how great it tastes!

 

[mstricer]

congrates. I will be doing my first 11 meaties on monday

 

[sonew123]

Congrats! I know you are dissapoointed in your weights but I have all girl meaties and I hope I reach thsoe weights. They are processing in 4 weeks at 8 weeks-or at least the biggest ones are