First time to process unexpected Roosters

[Kfults]

Hi! Newbie here, I have 4 unexpected cockerels around 3-4 mo old. I will be processing them myself for the first time. I have read a lot of the forum advice and articles and also have watchef some you tube videos on humane processing. I like the process of skinning the chicken with feathers after letting it bleed out. We don’t eat chicken skin and the process seemed easier than plucking. Anyone here use this method? Any advice, Tips to share? Thanks

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi! Newbie here, I have 4 unexpected cockerels around 3-4 mo old. I will be processing them myself for the first time. I have read a lot of the forum advice and articles and also have watchef some you tube videos on humane processing. I like the process of skinning the chicken with feathers after letting it bleed out. We don’t eat chicken skin and the process seemed easier than plucking. Anyone here use this method? Any advice, Tips to share? Thanks

Hi, welcome to BYC!

That's how we did it our first times as well. I made a cone out of a vinegar jug. Let me see if I can find the video that we used to play and rewind during our first time since it was from a BYC'er, it might be helpful and it's kinda "safe"...https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/homemade-killing-cone.158398/page-3 Hopefully the video link is still working, didn't look like it.

I use a cone. My first time was terrible! There was some slow bleeding and sawing motion involved. Skin doesn't cut on a chicken like they show throat slicing in the movies. I was scared to cut myself, and to "hurt" the bird. Spread the feathers so you are touching the skin, plunge deep and hard like cutting a steak. I haven't yet cut through the neck bone during dispatch. I tip the head open to quickly drain then walk away before the death jerk starts.

You should get lot's of good input! It's a worthy cause, good for you.

 

[Maeschak]

Hi! Newbie here, I have 4 unexpected cockerels around 3-4 mo old. I will be processing them myself for the first time. I have read a lot of the forum advice and articles and also have watchef some you tube videos on humane processing. I like the process of skinning the chicken with feathers after letting it bleed out. We don’t eat chicken skin and the process seemed easier than plucking. Anyone here use this method? Any advice, Tips to share? Thanks

If you use a cone and cut the jugular my tip is to use an exacto knife (the old school kind that is a silver pen/barrel and you unscrew the end ring to put in the blade) to cut the jugular.
You can even get some chrome polish and dab it on newspaper or leather to hone the exacto blade like using a strop... So you can really use one blade for awhile. Or u can just easily get new blades. That way there will be no question in your mind as to whether the blade is 'sharp enough' for a quick clean cut.
My second tip is to have some good loppers nearby- if everything goes wrong and you are fearing that you are torturing the bird, use the loppers to cut the head off or at least break the neck quickly. A quick and lethal back-up to the delicate process of slicing the jugular at the right depth really alleviated a lot of my anxiety.
Good luck to you!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I skin my birds. So some tips. My first step after dispatching the bird is to cut off the feet, I suggest using poultry shears or something similar for this so you can keep your knife sharper, maybe loppers. Removing the feet makes it a lot easier to remove the skin off the legs. Try to find the joint so you are not really cutting bone. I cut the skin in a circle just enough to get through the skin and bend the leg to help find that joint. You'll get better with practice.

The wings are the hard part. I do not try to skin the wing top, just too hard for me for what I would get. There is a membrane in the fold that can be difficult. I use a sharp knife to cut that so it is easier to pull off. Often the part where the flight feathers are attached just doesn't want to come off. A knife to help start by slicing under the part that contains the feathers to give you a good grip is useful. I don't know how to describe this in a way that makes sense, just don;t be afraid to use a knife to help you get started if it gets really hard to pull the skin off.

I can't think of anything else relative to skinning versus plucking. Just try to keep a sharp knife, you will get better with practice.

 

[Mosey2003]

The first time I tried to skin, I just kind of thought it would be super easy, like taking off a jacket, and made a long slit down the back. Do NOT do that! lol I then searched for a video and saw the easy way to do it. You make a slit across the skin near the bottom point of the keel (breast) bone. Then stick your fingers of both hands in and rip up and down, toward the neck and legs. That part is easy peasy. The middle wing section is terrible, and I find so little meat there that I'm not going to bother with it again. You have to filet under the wing feathers with a knife, just a total pain. So I say cut the wing off with poultry shears at that first joint from the body. Then I pull down off the legs, work your fingers into the membranes between the thighs and body, not too hard. Then up over the neck and wings, pull/filet the crop away and cut that and the esophagus out, then take that section of skin and pull straight down the back. Then I wiggle my knife between two tail vertebrae and cut the tail off, carefully so as not to go too deep. Then you go ahead and cut around the vent and into the cavity and gut as usual. After a couple you really get the hang of it, and it is faster than plucking by hand.