how do you prosses your birds without getting blood and guts all over

[spartacus_63]

Quote:
Not really garbage I want in the house and, if I put it out in the garage animals, like raccons, will get at it and make a mess. I really like burning, but if you can't bury it deep so the dogs don't dig it back up.

Or just let the dogs eat it...

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

We hang our cone inside a 50 gallon drum. All the blod goes in there. Then they go into the plucker.
When removing guts, they go right into a bag lined bucket.
All the feathers are gathered at the end and placed in the manure pile. They add a huge amount of nitrogen.

 

[averytds]

I have access to trash pickup 4 x's per week or secure storage until then. Usually I just process the day before, like cleaning out the fridge. I'm in town and burning isn't an option, composting and burial aren't good ones, DH won't let me feed the dogs the heads or feet and I didn't think the intestines would be good for them. If I did more than a couple of birds I think it would be too much for 2 dogs anyways. A small bag out with the regular trash seems easiest for me. I just didn't know if there was some huge reason not to.

 

[spartacus_63]

Dogs have been eating animal heads feet and entrails far longer than they have been eating Dog Chow.

 

[Keara]

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My "modern" dog would get very sick from eating one chickens guts, god forbid he ate several, plus feet and heads...... There would be much puking and maybe a vet visit, I don't want to risk it.

As for composte, if I put chicken parts in there I would get rats..... I don't mind rats but would hate it if they decided to move in the house come winter. Good composting protocol says no animal protein. But that is how I run my compost; for what it is worth.

 

[Hillsvale]

We have a composter in the back yard... no protien and a community pickup compost... thats where the feathers, guts et el go...

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Most of the blood comes out when the bird is first killed, by removing the head or just slitting the throat. You can keep it from going everywhere by restraining their wings, in a cone or with a few wraps of duct tape. I made a frame for my cones from a porch-swing frame, and put a lined garbage can under the cone when I slice their necks. I also hold the head to direct the blood into the can, to keep it from getting all over if the bird thrashes his head around.

There are hooks on this frame so I can hang the scalded birds by their legs and pluck their feathers into the can. This is the EASIEST part for me, it takes about 5 minutes to get most of the feathers off, it's like swabbing the lint from the dryer's trap.

Once the bird has been bled out, there isn't much more blood that comes out on the table. And all the insides can be pulled out in a neat handful or two, and go right into the garbage can.

I try to process the day before garbage pickup, and put the finished bag in the can on the curb. If you have a lot of trouble with animals getting into your garbage, you could keep the bag in a cooler and take it out right before the garbage collectors come by.

 

[Dawggy Stile]

Quote:
Where would I find plans on this plucker?...like pulley sizes and how is the pvc attached to the rod?
I have one I made thats mounted in a drill. Processing 6 birds the thing loosened up 3 times...plus getting the speed right was hard. Its only about 8" long and rows of two fingers.
The left over piece of pvc would be perfect for this type of plucker!
Thanks!

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

We use a cone and the birds bleed out into a bucket that DH has put a layer of sawdust in. Not many guts left after we take the organs to cook up for our cats (unfortunately we haven`t been able to develop a taste for organs and don`t want to waste them...keeps in the freezer for kitty food)...we bury the remaining guts and feathers.
Last processing we didn`t dig a deep enough hole and learner our lesson the hard way when we attracted a racoon who killed my favorite hen before we discovered his presence. Needless to say he was gone pretty quick.
This works for us but we are pretty small scale processing 10-12 birds two or three times a year.