I did it! (barred rock 'after' pic included)

[Bossroo]

3 1/2 lb live weight at 1 year old ?

... that is bantom size !

 

[LindsayB]

hang on, I'll weight her right now lol

 

[LindsayB]

i must of been in a hurry and not read the scale right. shes 3 1/2 lbs right now. thats not bad I guess. the ones in the store are around 4-5 lbs

 

[michelle43]

You don't need to keep her in a bowl of water. As a matter of fact, it's better to rinse her well, (making sure you got all the offal out of the cavity) then pat her dry with a paper towel and put her in the fridge. If you plan to freeze her, then put her in a freezer ziplock bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. I would let her 'rest' in the fridge a day or 2 before cooking her up. Then, cook her nice and slow and she'll taste great. I remember eating my first 'kill' chicken. It was strange, but I eventually got over it.

Oh....I eventually built a tub chicken plucker because plucking was too much work for me.....I can be lazy at times and I love to build things.

 

[mxpres]

Good job,,Now you can say,,hey,I can put food on my table.It gives you a good feeling knowing you can do that

 

[averytds]

WTG!

She looks great. Haven't tried it, but wonder.....what about using a kill cone and a hatchet? Then they can hang restrained and bleed out and you still get to use the method you like best.

 

[LindsayB]

Quote:
I sort of did that with her. After I dispatched her with the hatchet on a flat rock I used a rope and hung the bird by her legs on our shed door. I just used a bowl below to catch the blood. I did hang her up after she stop flopping though...but alot of blood still poured out. I might try something different with the meaties, since they will be bigger. I just can't bring myself to cut somethings throat...

 

[Minniechickmama]

Quote:
Yes, she can sit in cold water.
IN FACT, brining brings out great flavor and helps hold the juices in while cooking.
Use about 1/4 c. of salt and dissolve it in hot water. Once it is dissolved, add it the cold water in the bowl and leave the chicken in for 24-hours. You can add other things like a little lime juice, soy sauce, herbs and seasonings to the water as well, but you will drain it off to cook it. Put her on a rack in the oven and you should have a lovely dinner. I do this with all of our poultry now since I heard about it and I never have a dry bird, turkeys included.

 

[Kim_NC]

Nice job!

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

For a hatchery BR, she was NOT lightweight. I too have a hatchery BR who is closing in on around 2 years old and she probably only weighs 3 pounds now with free choice food all day. (18% protein feed)