Ok, never really intended on doing anything but egg layers....but we won 8 chicks from the county fair (thought maybe leghorns?) but a few weeks later, with their massive size and nasty habits, cornish rock cross! Yuck! Nasty creatures, smelly poop, aggressive feeders, lazy, non-roosting, no-personality freaks of nature! We raised them to 8.5 weeks, then harvested 6 this week. One turned out to be a bantam and one is a little smaller.
Have to say, the harvesting process is a lot easier than I thought. The hardest part is the plucking, but the most IMPORTANT part is definitely having the temperature right for blanching the birds! Too hot, cooks the skin off and you have a partially cooked skinless bird, or a yellow-skinned bird with ripped up skin. 130-150, you've got it!
I've attached some images to show my process. To set up, I first:
1. Put on a pot of water and brought it to around 140 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Moved my shepherd's staff next to the harvest table, put the hose on 'shower', turned on the water, and got out my filet knife
3. Made a home made 'killing cone'
4. Kept a knife sharpener handy
5. Placed buckets under each end of the shepherd's staff
6. Got twine an hung three feet off each end of the shepherd's staff
7. Proceed!
First, I placed each bird inside the killing cone- it was made of a gallon jug, just cut off the top big enough to fit the bird's head through and cut off the bottom. Perfect fit for Cornish rock cross, bigger chickens no way!
Second, I held the bird inside the cone while I 'did the deed' with my filet knife, taking care not to sever the spinal cord, just the jugular and throat.
Hung them over the 'blood bucket', then when the stopped twitching, hung them by the feet to let the 'bleed out' finish
Cut off the head and neck at the body
Placed the carcass in the hot water, taking care to submerge every part that has feathers
Pull up and check the largest wing feathers. The first time they come out easily, you're ready!
Pluck 90% of the bird
Gut it and cut off the feet
Have the family help you pluck the rest.
Wash and enjoy!
Make sure you dig a deep hole in the compost pile and bury the remains, taking care to wash the blood off the drain pans into the compost to keep the smell/biohazard in one place.
The first one was DELICIOUS!
Did I miss anything?
Blessings,
Steve N Tracee
Have to say, the harvesting process is a lot easier than I thought. The hardest part is the plucking, but the most IMPORTANT part is definitely having the temperature right for blanching the birds! Too hot, cooks the skin off and you have a partially cooked skinless bird, or a yellow-skinned bird with ripped up skin. 130-150, you've got it!
I've attached some images to show my process. To set up, I first:
1. Put on a pot of water and brought it to around 140 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Moved my shepherd's staff next to the harvest table, put the hose on 'shower', turned on the water, and got out my filet knife
3. Made a home made 'killing cone'
4. Kept a knife sharpener handy
5. Placed buckets under each end of the shepherd's staff
6. Got twine an hung three feet off each end of the shepherd's staff
7. Proceed!
First, I placed each bird inside the killing cone- it was made of a gallon jug, just cut off the top big enough to fit the bird's head through and cut off the bottom. Perfect fit for Cornish rock cross, bigger chickens no way!
Second, I held the bird inside the cone while I 'did the deed' with my filet knife, taking care not to sever the spinal cord, just the jugular and throat.
Hung them over the 'blood bucket', then when the stopped twitching, hung them by the feet to let the 'bleed out' finish
Cut off the head and neck at the body
Placed the carcass in the hot water, taking care to submerge every part that has feathers
Pull up and check the largest wing feathers. The first time they come out easily, you're ready!
Pluck 90% of the bird
Gut it and cut off the feet
Have the family help you pluck the rest.
Wash and enjoy!
Make sure you dig a deep hole in the compost pile and bury the remains, taking care to wash the blood off the drain pans into the compost to keep the smell/biohazard in one place.
The first one was DELICIOUS!
Did I miss anything?
Blessings,
Steve N Tracee
