I did it...I butchered a chicken...and I feel mixed emotions

[SandraMort]

Back in college, I felt that anyone who ate meat ought to learn to kill it themselves, at least once, to be really aware of what it involved. I even considered learning to hunt, but my depth perception and a gun make for a scary combination.

Then I stopped eating meat for over a decade.

And now... I'm planning to process a hundred or so chickens. It'll be okay but I'm still scratching my head wondering how I got here. I mean, most kids from Manhattan don't end up doing that sort of thing,

 

[leasmom]

I grew up in Detroit...but I was exposed to the farms when I was very young, because my uncle had a farm and I remember he went to kill his hog but my mom had us go horse backriding to keep us away from there. And for us though all of our meat came from the store...eggs, everything. The only thing that didnt' was our garden. I've always felt like a country girl forced to be in the city and when we moved to Tennessee I wanted chickens then but I didn't get them then.

We are living in a suburban area with 7 eleven down the street, ya know...very few people have chickens in my community, we're not far from farms but all of my friends/family are all city folks, so for me to have chickens is odd to them. I am meeting more and more people though who are like me living in urban areas who raise chickens for meat/eggs too and I think the next go round will be better, I may even raise some just for meat. I feel better today than I did yesterday and I felt proud to give that chicken to my second mom for her family. I think I'm definately going to invest in a much sharper knife just in case...why give the processor $2.50 when I can do it myself now. I am proud of myself now.

 

[Beekissed]

And you should be!

 

[dancingbear]

Leasmom, good for you. I have helped butcher meat for years, but have generally left the actual killing part to my DH.

I'd read about the pithing method, (knife into the brain) and thought it might be less traumatic than other methods I'd watched. I was planning to try it the next time we butchered.

During the time I was pondering this, to psych myself up for the actual deed, a neighbor dropped by and presented us with a roo that had just died in a skirmish with another roo. He didn't want it, and thought we might want to dress it out, which we did. I took yon bird into the kitchen, and just to see how hard it would be, I decided to try the pithing, to see how hard it was to get through the skull. Since the bird was already dead, I wasn't going to cause it to suffer if I couldn't find the right spot. The roof of the bird's mouth has kind of a natural "slot" in it, a deep, narrow groove that runs front to back, that's where you stick the knife in. I used a sharp paring knife with a good point, and it went in with only a little resistance. I thought, "Well, that seems easy enough." Decided I'd try it when the occasion called for it.

A few days later, one of my hens was badly injured, and was not going to live no matter what, and was suffering. DH was going to cut her throat, but I stopped him, and tried the pithing instead. It worked beautifully. The hen just went limp, no struggle, just one second alive and in pain, the next second, gone and at peace.

Then I removed the head, and proceeded to finish dressing her out. I'm not one to waste meat.

I did a search for this method, and found this site,
[http://www.rogueturtle.com/articles/chicken.php] which tells not only how to pith, but several other methods, and has a bit about how to hypnotize a chicken. I've never tried that, but I intend to, next time I need to butcher some birds, which is coming up soon, as we have some extra juvenile roos, who will soon become a problem. Problem roo=meat in the freezer, for us.

One of the things I like about the pithing method, is that it would enable me to do the entire process in the kitchen, if I need to work in cold weather. Last time we butchered in cold weather, I thought we were gonna freeze to death before we got done. I could confine just 2 or 3 birds the night before, separate from the others, and just go get one at a time and not have to spend an entire day on it. DH wouldn't even have to be home, I could handle the whole thing myself. (Thus allowing him a bit more relaxation, which he doesn't get much of, on his days off, instead of spending the day covered in blood and feathers)

Anyway, I though you or others may find at least some of the info helpful. I agree with what the others have said, it's good to take responsibility for providing your own meat, you can control the quality, make sure the bird had a good life and an easy death (at least after some practice, it will get better) and it does make you appreciate the meat more. I am always grateful to the creatures who's laves are taken to sustain us, whether we raised it, hunted it, or bought it at the store. I'm always aware that a life was taken for this meal.

I'm glad to read that you're already planning to do more in the future. Again, good for you!
I'm having trouble getting this link to post, here's another try at it:
http://www.rogueturtle.com/articles/chicken.php

 

[leasmom]

That method sounds pretty good. I like that because it isn't so gruesome. Thanks!

 

[EliteTempleton]

A similar method as dancingbear posted with some variation can be found here: http://www.gatewaytovermont.com/thefarm/slaughter.htm

*More pics of the step by step process too.

I have only culled one of my birds and never went hunting for them either(was always deer or small game), the folks I knew pretty much all agreed I had to dip it in boiling water(post-mortem). I wish I had known about this/these methods prior, but I will certainly try this next time. It appears to be significantly faster, easier, and cleaner.

 

[dancingbear]

I may have missed a part of that link, but it looked like they were doing throat-cutting, I didn't see anything about pithing, or brain piercing.

We've done that, in the past, (rather my DH has) and it takes a little bit for the birds to actually die. Meanwhile, they're hanging upside down looking at you. I have no idea how much pain or fear they experience with this. Maybe a lot. Maybe none. They're fairly quiet, unless you slip or don't cut deep enough, or some other mishap, but I don't know if quiet=less trauma or not. With birds and animals, you can't always tell.

Maybe I'm overly sensitive about what the birds feel, I don't know. So far, I like the pithing, because there's no doubt the bird's just instantly dead, therefor feeling nothing.

I can understand why a person may be hesitant to try it, it seems like it might be more difficult than it really is. You can always try what I did, and practice on a dead bird, first. Then you know what it feels like, how much pressure to use, etc.

Not saying you shouldn't use other methods, this is just what seems best to me. Everybody has to just do what seems best, to them.

 

[ChelC]

You will be sure not to waste the meat, since you know how hard it was to take it's life. That's how I feel... so much more respectful of the meat because I know what it was once. I was much more wasteful with store-bought meat.

We always tell our son not to waste meat because an animal had to die for it. We've been trying to really get him to understand that for a long time. Last night we took some of our chickens, our first slaughter, and they were animals we'd raised from chicks. As they were bleeding out we reminded him again of this and I think finally it really sunk in for him. I too am glad to have the connection and appreciation for where we get our meat. Pithing does sound like a better alternative than what we did, maybe we'll try that for comparison next time.​

 

[EliteTempleton]

Quote:
I was sharing more for the rest of the process, the pithing does sound like a good way to start, next time I need to do it I will read them both and choose the parts I like best and go from there. Sorta divide and conquer I guess?

Having done it yourself, do you think an ice pick would work well?

For example they go into some details about the time of day and temperatures they prefer. Which when you have the luxury to choose is good info to consider.

Personally I chose the old hatchet and block of wood method for my first cull, and it was getting dark so he was fairly calm anyway.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Congratulations & welcome to the club! It looks like you did a great job there, even more impressive since it was your first!

I can't tell from your post, did you butcher this bird on the same day you decided he should go? I usually keep my birds in a cage with water but no food for 12-24 hours before butchering, so their crops and especially their intestines are nice & empty. It makes it less nauseating when you get inside them.

Also, keep in mind how long chickens flap & flop around after they're killed. Certainly you want to do the job efficiently & eliminate any unnecessary suffering for the birds, but perhaps your guy didn't really suffer as much as you think. I think there's a learning curve for most of us, and each time we figure how we will do the job even better the next time.

Make sure to let the chicken rest in the refrigerator for 1-3 days so he'll be more tender when he's cooked. I wish you continued success with your future chicken processing!