Have to butcher my first bird tomorrow.

[K.Riggs]

I know all the methods i will use and have watched a million tutorials. A she ended up a he and i cannot have any more he's. So looks like it is time. I plan on hatching meat birds in the future so will use this roo as a practice run, it is an older bird so noodle soup it is. I don't really know why i'm writing this but i guess just for a bit of no you are not a terrible person for not wanting your hens getting ganged up on by three roosters

 

[21hens-incharge]

You can do this. For the sake of your flock you need to have fewer males.

All I can give is emotional support. It has been decades since I helped with processing.

Hang tough it won't be easy especially since this is the first one. Have everything ready so it goes smoother. Make sure your scalding pot is the right temp, sharp knives and determination to see this through.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[K.Riggs]

You can do this. For the sake of your flock you need to have fewer males.

All I can give is emotional support. It has been decades since I helped with processing.

Hang tough it won't be easy especially since this is the first one. Have everything ready so it goes smoother. Make sure your scalding pot is the right temp, sharp knives and determination to see this through.

Best wishes

Barbara

Thankyou,

That is very kind.

My husband is obsessive about sharp knives so that will not be an issue My family own a chainsaw shop so my little axe is also razor sharp. I will be very well prepared. Thanks so much for the support

 

[Janet Jordan]

Yes here is a bucket of emotional support for you!! the first time that I had to put a chicken down I was nauseated after and then I cried!!! And I am a RN who is used to lots of blood and guts but this was soooo different. Be gentle with yourself. Know that you can do this. All the best.

 

[MotherHen2017]

Not easy but you can do it! Definitely best for the flock.

 

[K.Riggs]

Yes here is a bucket of emotional support for you!! the first time that I had to put a chicken down I was nauseated after and then I cried!!! And I am a RN who is used to lots of blood and guts but this was soooo different. Be gentle with yourself. Know that you can do this. All the best.

I am not worried about blood usually at all, in fact i am freakily interested in watching surgeries and things. But it isn't the same. I have raised animals for food and put them on the stock trailer. But never ended a life. I'm sure it gets easier eventuallly if you make it a way of life to provide your own meat for your family.
Thanks so much for the kind words. This forum is so brilliant.

 

[FlyWheel]

Seeing blood and spilling it yourself are two entirely different things. It may help if you start with your meanest, least trainable rooster. The one you would mind the least seeing come to a timely end.

 

[K.Riggs]

Seeing blood and spilling it yourself are two entirely different things. It may help if you start with your meanest, least trainable rooster. The one you would mind the least seeing come to a timely end.

Unfortunately i don't have one. The two i already had are beautiful birds. Very pretty and get along well. They guard the flock well and have sorted the pecking order. They are not aggressive to me, the hens or each other. The one i didn't know was a rooster doesn't even crow. Isn't aggressive either but the others were here first, are younger and much nicer to look at. The one i am culling i have seen grabbing the hens by a wing and picking on them, keeping them from food. More like a bossy old hen i thought. Where the other boys sing out to the hens when they find a grub and let the girls have it. So that's my reasons for him having to go. Not exactly a mean boy at all but still the best choice if i have to cull one.

 

[FrankHomestead]

Unfortunately i don't have one. The two i already had are beautiful birds. Very pretty and get along well. They guard the flock well and have sorted the pecking order. They are not aggressive to me, the hens or each other. The one i didn't know was a rooster doesn't even crow. Isn't aggressive either but the others were here first, are younger and much nicer to look at. The one i am culling i have seen grabbing the hens by a wing and picking on them, keeping them from food. More like a bossy old hen i thought. Where the other boys sing out to the hens when they find a grub and let the girls have it. So that's my reasons for him having to go. Not exactly a mean boy at all but still the best choice if i have to cull one.

You gave the bird a good life and you will give him an honorable death, he will not die in vain, he will be nourishing your family.
imo much better than buying chicken breasts from the store who lived maybe 8 miserable weeks and possibly scalded alive, and who knows what else.
Not to mention what kind of diet and antibiotics they we're fed.
if I were a chicken destined to feed a family, I'd much rather die at your hands.

 

[bobbi-j]

Good for you. It's a tough decision to make. There is nothing wrong with butchering an extra rooster. (When I had several hens go broody this spring, I was hoping for more cockerels than pullets for that very reason. Freezer fillers! I know you can eat pullets, too, but I'd rather not.) As a matter of fact, I see this as good, responsible flock management. It's hard to find a home for extra cockerels/roosters. At least one that is willing to be a "permanent home". And around here you can hardly give them away, let alone sell them. I figure, why would I put the time, effort and money into raising a bird just to give it away to someone else to eat? I'd rather eat it myself.

Do you have a pressure cooker? That's one way to tenderize an older chicken. If he's less than 6 months old, I don't think you'd even have to do that. A crock pot is a handy tool, too. The carcass can be used for broth after all the meat is picked off it. That can be frozen or pressure canned. So many good uses for chicken and broth!

Let us know how it goes. We've been butchering chickens for years, and it's always kind of a sad thing for me until we get started. Then it's just something I know has to be done, and I deal with it. I'll admit - I have never actually killed one of my chickens myself. We use the hatchet and stump method to decapitate them, and I'm so uncoordinated, I figure I'd amputate my leg if I tried it. If I were doing it myself, I think I'd use the cone method, even though I don't think it kills as quickly and humanely as decapitation. Wishing you all the best. And again, kudos to you for making a hard decision.