how to butcher well?

[laura877]

I too hang my birds upside down with binder twine. Then when its time, I use a scapel but you can also use an xtro knife with a new blade. I like to be able to pull the head and neck out, poke them with the point of the blade and cut away from me.

 

[triplepurpose]

I really recommend the "English Method." http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Butchering-Killing.html It's not messy or gruesome, it's certainly humane, and they always bleed out well (despite what some people may say). And it requires no special equipment, just a little bit of technique. I've never cared much for all the cone paraphernalia, chopping blocks, special knives, and whatnot. Just more stuff to pull together, and more stuff to clean afterwards. I personally like to keep it simple, but maybe that's just me...

 

[BackyardCoop]

I too hang my birds upside down with binder twine. Then when its time, I use a scapel but you can also use an xtro knife with a new blade. I like to be able to pull the head and neck out, poke them with the point of the blade and cut away from me.

We hang our upside down with a zip strip around the feet and a sharp knife. My husband find the artery and slices one time very fast away from him. This seemed to work best for us as well.

And then we also skin them and don't have to mess with plucking feathers and such. Much easier!

 

[qball53]

Thanks to all this was good reading. I have not done this for years now but come Sat I have 8 roos to get in the freezer. I used to havea chopping block and hatchet. I made a tri-pod of 2x2's, looped a thin rope around the feet of the chicken. Then I chopped off the head and hung the bird on the tri-pod. I usually walked away and let the bird flap till it bled out. Then in a minute or two returned to start the plucking cleaning task. I think I may give the cone a try and see if I like it better. Thanks, Mike

 

[cliffs_coop]

The game taste may be from the oil gland at the tip of the tail you need to remove it.

 

[Beekissed]

I really recommend the "English Method." http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Butchering-Killing.html It's not messy or gruesome, it's certainly humane, and they always bleed out well (despite what some people may say). And it requires no special equipment, just a little bit of technique. I've never cared much for all the cone paraphernalia, chopping blocks, special knives, and whatnot. Just more stuff to pull together, and more stuff to clean afterwards. I personally like to keep it simple, but maybe that's just me...

As stated in the article, it works really well for young birds but not so much for full grown, older birds. A killing cone isn't that complicated...a bleach jug nailed to a tree and left there for years, available when one needs it, is hardly "more stuff". No need to clean it or any need for special knives either...one can use a sharp paring knife to kill a chicken.

Don't know why they call that the English method...folks have been using that method in these hills since they were first settled, I've been using it since I was 10 and I'm sure that method has been around since the beginning of time. Just like the English to put a claim on something that isn't really theirs!

 

[Sunflower]

I am having trouble figuring out how to maneuver the chicken using the stump and ax method. We have a really, really big cornish x rooster that needs to be processed tomorrow. It will just be my hubby handling it all. How does one person hold the chicken still while aiming for a quick kill? We have never done it this way and not sure where to start.

 

[TXchickenchick]

I really recommend the "English Method." http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Butchering-Killing.html It's not messy or gruesome, it's certainly humane, and they always bleed out well (despite what some people may say). And it requires no special equipment, just a little bit of technique. I've never cared much for all the cone paraphernalia, chopping blocks, special knives, and whatnot. Just more stuff to pull together, and more stuff to clean afterwards. I personally like to keep it simple, but maybe that's just me...

I have butchered a total of one chicken so I am miles from experienced. However, the one I did I used the broomstick method. Different from this since you aren't just using your hands, but same end result. It was so incredibly non messy! I also could tell this bird was gone instantly which was my biggest concern. I then slid him into a cone to go inside and calm down (it was hard for me) and let him bleed out. Every drop of blood was contained in the neck skin which I cleanly chopped into a bucket. It was the most perfect butchering experience I could have envisioned and if I can force myself to do it again I will definitely use the same method!

 

[Beekissed]

I am having trouble figuring out how to maneuver the chicken using the stump and ax method. We have a really, really big cornish x rooster that needs to be processed tomorrow. It will just be my hubby handling it all. How does one person hold the chicken still while aiming for a quick kill? We have never done it this way and not sure where to start.

When using that method, some folks drive a couple of nails in the stump and lay the chicken's neck in that to keep the head stable, but with an active bird I can't see where that would be at all helpful.

The very easiest way to do a chicken is the cone and cut method and you can fashion a cone out any sturdy jug(not a milk jug as they will not hold a large CX bird). I use 2 gal. bleach jugs for large birds but you can use a gal. vinegar jug or even a detergent jug. Some folks even use a feed sack. If you don't have any of those you can string the bird up by his feet and do it the old fashioned way. My granny used to tie hers to her clothesline and cut their heads off.

All of those things are soooooooo much easier than trying to hold a squirming bird down on a stump and try to be accurate when axing the neck. That's how we did it all the time I was growing up and it's a huge pain in the patootle.

 

[chicknmom]

So I've just been forced to kill my first chicken who was suffering badly with ascites (chopped its head off). Because of how traumatic it was for me, I have researched other methods of killing that might be more manageable for me, and think CO2 might be my choice.

(I am fine with the concept of the circle of life, and I want to be able to slaughter and use the meat of my lovely layers once they're aging, and I am fine with the theory of killing the birds, just not with the doing. Yes - I know I am a wimp!)

I couldn't find my answer elsewhere in the forums, so thought I would ask here:

1) If you kill a chicken using CO2, and then hang it up and cut its throat, does it adequately beat out? The heart would have stopped beating by then, so I am not sure.
2) Or is there a way to use CO2 to make the bird unconscious before hanging and slitting the throat?

Thanks.