From the suburbs and struggling internally with making the plunge into keeping (and slaughtering) meat birds. Need advice!

[Isadora]

Thanks! Do you think 4-5 in a chicken tractor will still kill all the grass in my small-ish backyard?

It depends how large the tractor is and how often you're able to move it.

 

[SheaLoner]

I gave up using tractors with the CX I just dont have enough flat ground. To not kill the grass you would need enough space for daily or 2x daily moves with no overlaps for 30-60 days before you repeat the same patch of ground.

 

[SheaLoner]

Granted this applys to 20+ birds in a tractor. You may get away with less moves with only 5 birdd.

 

[3KillerBs]

It's right for it to not be easy at first and it should never be done without respect, but I find that once I get them undressed they look just like a chicken from the grocery store (except skinnier since I've only done cull cockerels).

However the broomstick method is a steeper learning curve so I don't recommend it for first timers.

I found it perfectly simple BUT I had personal instruction. I recommend that any new person try to find someone to teach them in person if at all possible.

Whatever method is chosen there is bound to be a bit of trial and error and some mistakes. I've both failed to kill on the first pull and accidentally pulled the head clear off. But I know my level of skill with a hatchet and figure that I'd make worse mistakes that way.

Another option that many people like for it's ease and surety is to use a killing cone and branch loppers to remove the head completely. The key being to use BYPASS loppers, not the anvil sort.

To me the most unpleasant part is the flapping. But that got easier once I realized that a powerful flapping reaction was correlated to the swiftest and cleanest kill.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

There's an expression, "takes all kinds".

I can't help you with your dilemna, because I'm not wired to feel as most people do. Will eat animals I've named, without a second thought. Even discuss them at the table while eating them. They get good lives - I have too much respect for them, and too much respect for myself, to do a thing poorly. If its worth doing, its worth an honest effort. They get a swift, clean end. Its no courtesy to you - or the bird - to hesitate.

Educate yourself on methods. Set up your butchering station. Make sure everything is in reach. Do a "dry run". Now, actually DO IT. Like the first time you got behind the wheel of a car, the first day at the new job, etc - there is some natural hesitation, trepidation, concern of doing a thing poorly. Don't overthink it.

"Do, or do not. There is no try."

Then use all that you take. What you can't, or won't, eat should be burned and turned back into the soil - including the bones after they have been used for making stock. That too is a gesture of respect.

/edit DO IT enough and two things will happen. One, you will get very good at it. Two, a mistake WILL happen. Be shocked and all emotional later. Finish the job now. Don't prolong its suffering to coddle your emotional wants, or to worse, to demonstrate the emotion response society tells us to show. In the main, they don';t know what they are talking about - being far too detatched from the process, or relationship with the birds themselves - for their opinions to matter.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

It's right for it to not be easy at first and it should never be done without respect, but I find that once I get them undressed they look just like a chicken from the grocery store (except skinnier since I've only done cull cockerels).



I found it perfectly simple BUT I had personal instruction. I recommend that any new person try to find someone to teach them in person if at all possible.

Whatever method is chosen there is bound to be a bit of trial and error and some mistakes. I've both failed to kill on the first pull and accidentally pulled the head clear off. But I know my level of skill with a hatchet and figure that I'd make worse mistakes that way.

Another option that many people like for it's ease and surety is to use a killing cone and branch loppers to remove the head completely. The key being to use BYPASS loppers, not the anvil sort.

To me the most unpleasant part is the flapping. But that got easier once I realized that a powerful flapping reaction was correlated to the swiftest and cleanest kill.

Thank you! Do you think if I met a local farmer, I could ask them to "train" me on slaughtering the chickens?

I know there are guides on here, but I am certainly a more hands-on learner and your comment made me think about this.

 

[SheaLoner]

Thank you! Do you think if I met a local farmer, I could ask them to "train" me on slaughtering the chickens?

I know there are guides on here, but I am certainly a more hands-on learner and your comment made me think about this.

Ask at your local feed store. They should know someone who does their own meaties and might be willing to have an extra hand on butcher day.

 

[ArcticHorse]

I can certainly empathize with you. I have several chicks that are being raised for meat this year. While I grew up in a rural area, I didn’t live on a farm or have to go through with the process. And I adore all my animals, even those little guys.

One suggestion I would offer is that start using the work “harvesting” instead of “killing.” You are raising these animals for food, so we are essentially, harvesting them for their meat so their is a greater purpose behind just killing. No one I know looks forward to that part, only the healthy end product. But it’s no different that when people harvest crops for food. Both are living organisms, but we tend to associate more with animals because we are able to bond and interact with them. I mean, I get all weird about having to thin out seedlings in my garden!

But the way I look at it is that my birds are having the best life ever and I have complete control on how well they are taken care of. A constant supply of fresh water and food, a safe and protected area to sleep, lots of socialization with other birds, and the ability to sunbathe and pick around the yard for bugs and other goody bits. I’ve built them perching structures, provide enrichment, dust baths, etc. Now, compare that to the vast majority of the birds you in the store that people are more “OK” with eating. Many of them don’t see much sunlight, are in confinement conditions, no access to grass or bugs, grow so fast that it can injure or kill them, can be cramped conditions .. which sounds like the better life? (And FYI: a lot of these conditions are not necessarily imposed by the farmer. if they under contract with a large company, the company usually dictates, not the farmer. So blame those large entities, the farmers work as hard as they possibly can within those confines to care for their animals.) But there’s the disconnect. Because people don’t see it and ignorance is bliss.

Start seeing yourself as person capable of growing and providing for yourself, not as a “killer.” I feel it’s my responsibility, as their caretaker, to provide the best life possible because they are making the ultimate sacrifice. And a life with purpose is a purpose for life.

Picture is of my young Bresse and RI meat chicks checking out my kitty Bou. He loves just hanging and watching them. He just purrs the whole time.

 

[mccmeadows]

If you aren’t ready to jump in head first, you can try raising and take them to a local abattoir if that’s something that is available to you. I actually have been a vegetarian for well over half my life and we raise our own meat birds that my partner, family and friends enjoy. I am very attached to our chicks and adult birds, but I know I give them a better life than what they get when they end up at a grocery store, so it doesn’t bother me at all. Some we have butchered on farm have had names even, but I grew up with cattle so my views might be a little skewed. best of luck with whatever you choose to do!

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you! Do you think if I met a local farmer, I could ask them to "train" me on slaughtering the chickens?

Try asking on your state thread to see if there is anyone local who can help you.

Sometimes it's easier to learn on someone else's chickens first.