I processed my first chicken today!

[mtnhomechick]

How much space did you need to keep them outside in the pen.

How long does it take per bird to butcher?

Tia

 

[carress]

Again, they're not MY birds - the man had about a dozen left in a pen that was maybe 8*16...

I was slow - of course, but we did two birds in an hour and a half - that included lots of slow motion for instructing me.

I think with a some practice I could do a bird from start to finish (or pen to kitchen ) in 20 minutes or so.

With an assembly line of 3 people, I'd guess you could process 10 or more in an hour

 

[mtnhomechick]

Thanks. I am thinking about having meat chickens and the space available is 6x16 and I am trying to figure out how many to order.

Congrats on the processing

 

[Daycare Mom]

Sounds like you did great!! Hope I do as well!

 

[FunnyFarmer]

Quote:
You don't need a killing cone to slaughter this way. I just did my first chickens today (I know just how you feel!) and we tied the feet together, hung them up, and cut their throats just like you described. I did let mine flop around on the rope but it still wasn't much of a mess and most of the blood went into the big bowl under them.

We didn't pluck them either--we skinned them. We don't eat the skin anyway, and my Mom said that's how she always did hers way back when, so we just pulled off the skin and feathers at the same time. Not a big deal at all and much easier than plucking.

Erika

 

[TimG]

There is a good step-by-step description of the chicken butchering process at:

http://butcherachicken.blogspot.com/2007/09/introduction.html

I followed these steps for my first time a few weeks ago. (I used a hatchet and chopped off the head rather than slit its throat.) The water I used was probably not quite hot enough -- it took a long time to pluck. The whole process took me about two hours from catching the chicken to putting him the fridge, but a LOT of that was spent plucking. I expect that with experience the time could be reduced to the point where an individual set up with the proper equipment could process 5-6 in an hour.

This fall, I intend to send my chickens to the meat processing facilities. But, it was an experience that I am glad to have gone through.

Tim