Help! 1st time butchering today and have questions.

[loneoakfarm]

Late this spring we wanted 8-10 chicks to raise as hens for eggs... of course there was a minimum order so we also got 16 barred rock roos to eat since it seemed sensible to raise our own meat chickens too over the summer. It was recommended to butcher at 8-10 weeks. As an experiment we butchered 4 today at 14 weeks old. (Yeah go ahead and laugh now... it took 2 1/2 hours to kill and dress 4 scrawny birds) This raised the following questions and I need some experienced people to help me out here:

1. We killed all 4 and hung them to drain but the last three then ended up hanging about an 45 min to hour and 45 min. Was that bad for them to hang that long before being scalded? Whats the right hanging time?

2. Plucking was a pain. Killing, gutting was not bad at all. We dunked and swished 2 times in 180 degree water in a stock pot. When plucking we encountered 3 problems.
a. First problem being that when feathers pulled from a large socket in fatty skin were sometimes followed by a small long glob of slippery gel substance that could be squished out of the hole. Is this normal or do my chickens have some maggotty creature under their skin making them unhealthy for us to now eat?
b. there were some black marks looking like the head of the feathers way up under the skin we could see but if we tried to scrape them out we were tearing the skin. We left these in? The skin was getting dry on us too? can we roast them still with these black marks (we dont eat the skin but I normally leave on when roasting for moistness and peel back to carve)
c. there were some super tiny feathers that just wouldnt come out, they were like little hairs like a guy would get on his arms or something but not that concentrated but unsightly nonetheless) again, can these be left on?
3. The 4 little guys are in a cooler wtih some ice and water... was going to let them sit in there for the evening before bagging. Then was going to leave in fridge overnight and transfer to freezer tomorrow. Is that a good plan or a bad plan.

This was a lot of work but we learned and know now to wait a while before butchering anymore so they get bigger. I hope we can eat these. Can anyone shed light on these slimy maggotty looking globs I saw, those skeeved me out the most of any part of it?

Thanks for your advice and experience!

 

[triplepurpose]

Late this spring we wanted 8-10 chicks to raise as hens for eggs... of course there was a minimum order so we also got 16 barred rock roos to eat since it seemed sensible to raise our own meat chickens too over the summer. It was recommended to butcher at 8-10 weeks. As an experiment we butchered 4 today at 14 weeks old. (Yeah go ahead and laugh now... it took 2 1/2 hours to kill and dress 4 scrawny birds) This raised the following questions and I need some experienced people to help me out here:

1. We killed all 4 and hung them to drain but the last three then ended up hanging about an 45 min to hour and 45 min. Was that bad for them to hang that long before being scalded? Whats the right hanging time?

2. Plucking was a pain. Killing, gutting was not bad at all. We dunked and swished 2 times in 180 degree water in a stock pot. When plucking we encountered 3 problems.
a. First problem being that when feathers pulled from a large socket in fatty skin were sometimes followed by a small long glob of slippery gel substance that could be squished out of the hole. Is this normal or do my chickens have some maggotty creature under their skin making them unhealthy for us to now eat?


b. there were some black marks looking like the head of the feathers way up under the skin we could see but if we tried to scrape them out we were tearing the skin. We left these in? The skin was getting dry on us too? can we roast them still with these black marks (we dont eat the skin but I normally leave on when roasting for moistness and peel back to carve)
c. there were some super tiny feathers that just wouldnt come out, they were like little hairs like a guy would get on his arms or something but not that concentrated but unsightly nonetheless) again, can these be left on?
3. The 4 little guys are in a cooler wtih some ice and water... was going to let them sit in there for the evening before bagging. Then was going to leave in fridge overnight and transfer to freezer tomorrow. Is that a good plan or a bad plan.

This was a lot of work but we learned and know now to wait a while before butchering anymore so they get bigger. I hope we can eat these. Can anyone shed light on these slimy maggotty looking globs I saw, those skeeved me out the most of any part of it?

Thanks for your advice and experience!

Hand plucking can be a little tedious, and it takes longer than any other part of the process. But you're also overthinking it a little. The "small long glob of slippery gel substance that could be squished out of the hole" is completely normal. I don't know exactly what it is. But every chicken (or duck) I've ever plucked has it especially in the wing feathers. And t rinses off when you're done.

The "black marks looking like the head of the feathers way up under the skin" are pinfeathers and it is impossible to get them all out if the carcass has them. THis is one reason why commercial interests and some finicky people prefer white-feathered birds--the pinfeathers are "invisible." Me, I don't care, I leave in what I can't get out easily. You get what you can--pinching them with your thumb and a dull knife and pulling them out can help, but it's not important, and doesn't affect edibility in any way whatsoever.

"The super tiny feathers that just wouldnt come out... like little hairs like a guy would get on his arms or something but not that concentrated but unsightly nonetheless" are called "filoplumes" and it's my understanding that some chickens have more than others (by breed) but almost all have them. They are, once again, totally harmless, though many people find them unsightly. I often leave them on, especially if it's just a soup chicken (since no one has to look at it), though usually I remove them for a roaster especially if I want it to look nicer for company. You can singe them off in a few seconds by moving the carcass quickly over a stovetop burner, use a torch, or use a flaming twist of newspaper--if they bother you. Then rinse, if you wish.

Hope that helps! Don't overthink it or get too finicky. You have to decide how much is actually worth fussing over. It's all good eating in the end. Enjoy!

 

[loneoakfarm]

Thank you for the response! I just needed to know these things were "normal" and ok. Neither of us had ever seen a chicken killed and processed before and have no bird experience, deer and rabbits are what we know more about, so that's why the plucking was so different than anything we have ever done before.

 

[triplepurpose]

Your welcome, no worries! There's a first time for every thing. At least having done other animals before you have something to build upon, however different the anatomy may be.

Cheers!

 

[chicken pickin]

Ive only just did my first processing a few days ago(sun) 26CX. I too was curious about the hanging time because we accidentally had one left hanging for between 45mins -and hour. The scalding water should be at 145. 180 may have been a bit too high and that is probably why the skin was tearing. My father let the scalder get too high a few times and didnt check the temp and those birds dont look as nice. I also let my chickens sit in the ice water all day then they went into the fridge that night. I let them sit in the fridge for 3 days and just this afternoon transfer them to the freezer(minus 3 Im cooking for tomorrow big family dinner).As for the rest of your questions sky the chicken man seemed to have covered it all and seems accurate(I had the same slimy globs coming out of the wing feather holes

). Congrats on your first process.

 

[triplepurpose]

Hmmm, I don't know anything about this "hanging time." You wouldn't ruin the meat by letting it hang that long (after all, game meat gets dragged around through the woods for longer than that sometimes), so I wouldn't worry about it. But I know plucking is supposed to be easier the sooner after death you start. I wouldn't want to be working on a stiff carcass either, particularly. I always start scalding and plucking just as soon as the post mortem convulsions have stopped. I don't have a thermometer to measure the water temp, so I just bring the pot to a simmer and then carry it outside to scald, or if I'm keeping it warm for multiple batches of birds I take care to keep it somewhat below the simmer point. I scald the birds for only a few seconds, just until the wing feathers come out easy. So I dip for just a couple of seconds, test pull, and then back in again if needed.

But hey, whatever works for you!

I also leave them in the fridge usually 48 hours, sometimes a bit longer, before cooking or freezing. It does improve the texture of the meat, I have found, though proper cooking makes a much bigger difference.

 

[bobbi-j]

Late this spring we wanted 8-10 chicks to raise as hens for eggs... of course there was a minimum order so we also got 16 barred rock roos to eat since it seemed sensible to raise our own meat chickens too over the summer. It was recommended to butcher at 8-10 weeks. As an experiment we butchered 4 today at 14 weeks old. (Yeah go ahead and laugh now... it took 2 1/2 hours to kill and dress 4 scrawny birds) This raised the following questions and I need some experienced people to help me out here:

1. We killed all 4 and hung them to drain but the last three then ended up hanging about an 45 min to hour and 45 min. Was that bad for them to hang that long before being scalded? Whats the right hanging time? I don't know if there is a "right" hanging time. The sooner you can pick them the better. We kill them all, then pick them all, then start gutting. We don't do one bird at a time. We also never check the temp of the scalding water. If it's too hot with the first one, we add a little cool water. If it's too cold, we heat it up some more. You can also re-dip them in the water if they cool down too much during the picking process.

2. Plucking was a pain. Killing, gutting was not bad at all. We dunked and swished 2 times in 180 degree water in a stock pot. When plucking we encountered 3 problems.
a. First problem being that when feathers pulled from a large socket in fatty skin were sometimes followed by a small long glob of slippery gel substance that could be squished out of the hole. Is this normal or do my chickens have some maggotty creature under their skin making them unhealthy for us to now eat? Normal, and they are perfectly safe.
b. there were some black marks looking like the head of the feathers way up under the skin we could see but if we tried to scrape them out we were tearing the skin. We left these in? The skin was getting dry on us too? can we roast them still with these black marks (we dont eat the skin but I normally leave on when roasting for moistness and peel back to carve) You can still roast them with those black marks. They won't hurt a thing.
c. there were some super tiny feathers that just wouldnt come out, they were like little hairs like a guy would get on his arms or something but not that concentrated but unsightly nonetheless) again, can these be left on? It's OK to leave these on. You can singe the bird with a small propane torch after picking if they bother you and you want them gone.
3. The 4 little guys are in a cooler wtih some ice and water... was going to let them sit in there for the evening before bagging. Then was going to leave in fridge overnight and transfer to freezer tomorrow. Is that a good plan or a bad plan. Good plan

This was a lot of work but we learned and know now to wait a while before butchering anymore so they get bigger. I hope we can eat these. Can anyone shed light on these slimy maggotty looking globs I saw, those skeeved me out the most of any part of it?

It's a good feeling, isn't it, to be able to raise and process your own meat.


Thanks for your advice and experience!

 

[booker81]

Pretty much everyone has it covered. I scald at 150, and dip/swish until I can pull a wing feather out easily. That way, the skin stays intact - the tearing was most likely due to the high temp at scalding.

Also, for the pins (the black bits), I like to leave a pinny bird in the fridge for 2-3 days, and then pull it out for cleanup. I find the pins release MUCH easier at this time. I use a butter knife and scrape like I'm shaving the bird. The pins (and the hairs) come out much nicer at that time.

I've left birds in the fridge for 3 days to a week before freezing, there is no rush. I think the longer you can stand to have them take up room, the better.