Hello from Rhode Island!

Date sort Score sort
ChickenLadyKate

ChickenLadyKate

Hatching
6 Years
Jun 13, 2013
3
0
7
Washington County, Rhode Island
I'm new here and live in Southern Rhode Island. My husband and I have had chickens for two years so we are new at this but are always looking to learn more as we go! We have a mixed flock of 14 heavies for eggs (plus an awful RIR rooster) and we are raising Cornish x Rocks for meat. Only a few days left before we harvest the flock. Looking for some tips to streamline the process and refresh my memory (Hubby and I butchered excess roosters from last years egg hatch). This site has been a fantastic resource so far! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
 
Greetings from Kansas, ChickenLadyKate, and
welcome-byc.gif
! Pleased you joined us! This is Cornish X processing week for me, too. Everyone has their own system and I think that's the key - have a system. I have a dispatching station, a hanging (to bleed them) station, scalding and picking station, and finally a gutting station. Finally, it's inside for the detail work. I have everything set up the night before - water is on the cooker ready to go, thermometer for the scald water (150 degrees), knives sharp and at the ready, a ladder (what I hang them on), ice in the freezer for the cooling after they are done, and an entrails and feather bucket. I make sure everything is ready and good to go so I get get right to it at daybreak. I don't feed the birds the night before so their digestive tracts are a little cleaner. That's what I can think of at the moment. Hope it goes smoothly for you. I do mine solo - 5 or 6 at a time over a few days til I'm done. It's a great feeling to have all those tasty birds in the freezer! Good luck to you!
 
ChickenLadyKate said:
Thanks! Do you use a killing cone? I'm contemplating just hanging them by the feet over a bucket to minimize mess. Last year we used a board with two nails to hold the head in place and used a hatchet.
Click to expand...

I don't - never invested in one. I use the same hatchet method as you. One word of caution...not sure how big your Cornish X are - I raise mine for roasting so I grow them larger. At the drop of the hatchet their strength is incredible. I have to hold them (with a lot of pressure) down because if I don't they flop so violently that they actually dislocate their own wings - not very attractive on the finished product.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom