First time processing a white broiler...It was heartbreak!

[Beckycs]

I am so with Tam'ra on all of this. I was raised on multiple farms growing up. We almost always processed our own birds and pigs and beef, but I still get a bit sensitive when the day comes to dispatch them. I will say the reason I still do it is that when I buy meat at the store there is a lower degree of gratitude in what I see on my plate at dinner time. I don't know why that is, but it is, non the less. When I eat a bird I raised and processed I know first hand what it is I should be grateful for when I consume my meal. I would rather that I have known the animal for some reason, even if it causes me a bit of discomfort to dispatch them. It is part of the circle of life for me. Like you, I make sure that very little goes to waste.

My eight year old grandson loves chickens. He plays with ours in the pasture everyday, and he helps me raise all of our babies. He just helped us process fifteen broilers for the first time this last weekend, he was a champ through it all. We have always taught him to say thanks for every meal he eats. Not just for the person who prepares it, but also for the sacrifice of the life be it plant or animal that will go into his nourishment. The first bird we did, he got green at the gills and had to leave, but when he came back, he pitched in with all of us and helped with every step in the process right down to the dispatching. Now when we sit down to eat our meal, he will absolutely understand what we have been teaching him all along.

 

[Denninmi]

Well, I don't know what it says about me, but I didn't have nearly as hard of a time emotionally with this as I thought I would. I killed/processed 15 over the weekend.

Part of it is KNOWING that they had this sole purpose. Being Cornish Cross, they had no other destiny in the universe. That made me feel like it wasn't a choice -- process them or let them die of CHF.

I also made sure that each one was done very quickly, very quietly, and with an absolute minimum of stress. I held it for a moment, talked to it first, and then did the deed. The way I did it, the eyes closed instantly and there was only the flapping of the body. The spinal cord was instantly severed from the skull, so hopefully no pain impulses to the brain as it went into the darkness or the beyond, whatever/wherever.

There are pets, and there are food animals. I'm having issues with the little bronze turks, because they have such sweet personalities. We'll see where that heads in a few months. And, I'm eyeing those darned quail, all of those extra, noisy little roos. Thinking about it -- thinning the flock isn't always a bad thing by any means.

 

[Beckycs]

Quote:
Yes, yes. We have 24 roos purchased to be processed as fryers waiting for their turn in four more weeks. They are driving us nuts. Too much noise and jousting going on to get any peace on the farm.

 

[hhong3138]

Updates:

I just received Barbara Kingsman's book, Animal, Vegetable Miracle and will start to read it soon.
I really started to dislike these--white broilers(Cornish cross?). They are so messy and crazy! I will never get them again!
I have one more question: which way is the best way to process them humanely and less traumatic for me as the flapping part is unbearable?

I truly appreciate all your suggestions.

 

[Denninmi]

If the flapping bothers you, just use a cone. It secures the wings so that there is very little movement of the body during the bleed out phase.

Not much to a cone -- some people use the orange rubber/plastic traffic cones with a little larger hole at the top - you can buy them at Home Depot for around $10 if memory serves me.

Personally, the flapping didn't bother me a bit, so I didn't use a cone.

 

[Beckycs]

some people use the orange rubber/plastic traffic cones with a little larger hole at the top - you can buy them at Home Depot for around $10 if memory serves me.

I found 2.5 gal plastic bottles, like the ones bleach comes, in to work awesome. I just cut the bottom off and cut the top off to form a whole just large enough to fit the head through. Hang if upside down and your set to go.​

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I want to thank everyone on this thread for the compassion and kindness your are sharing with other readers. Not one taunt about "suck it up" or teasing folks about being squeamish or tenderhearted. I am just starting my chicken journey with 8, four-week-old chicks that we're hoping to raise for eggs. The tipping point for the decision was because my 15-year-old daughter has become educated about the horrific conditions that most meat animals live their lives and doesn't want to be a part of anything's suffering. If this experiment is a success (we have some pretty major predators where I live including bears and mountain lions, not to mention foxes, coyotes and raccoons) we might try raising some meat birds next year (something dual-purpose because I don't like the idea of anything that has been engineered like the Cornish X).

Anyway, you give me hope that if it we make that move, I'll have someone to turn to for support and advice. You fowl folks rock!

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
I think that's a pretty good reason for wanting to raise your own. That and also wanting to know what's in your food and where it comes from. I've seen the horror story exposes on tv about the grocery stores where they soak the rotten chicken and fish in bleach to take away the stench, then put it back out for sale. That is another motivational factor for me.

Someday, I want to try my hand at some home aqua culture. My season in Michigan is too short for tilapia and our weather is too up and down on temps, but I know that I could get channel cats up to good size in a basic May through September season, and are a lot of sources for them. I might look for a clearance on a cheap small portable backyard pool kit this fall -- I could have bought one last year at a local big box for $20, marked down for around $300 just to be rid of it, and I've kicked myself since.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Quote:
We started a vegetable garden last year for the same reasons, know where it comes from, organic and the knowledge that it was grown locally and wasn't shipped for hundreds of miles, burning fossil fuels and whatever. We're looking into sources of locally range fed, humanely slaughtered beef and lamb and perhaps getting a big chest freezer to store it in...again supporting the local rancher and having a better sense of what we're eating. If anyone knows of any good sources in Colorado, please let me know.

 

[hhong3138]

Denninmi and Beckycs, Thanks for your suggestions.

I just made a cone using a big plastic bottle as you advised and I watched some youtube videos too. I will do it again on next Monday. Guess what is my husband's comment on this? "sigh... this is all my Latin honor graduated wife could think of now--killing chickens, find free 5 gallon buckets on the street" :-D

Nothing is wrong with recycling buckets, right? They are great for growing tomatoes and other things as I don't have a backyard, only a roof-top garden.