I processed my first roo in years....not so well :(

[Mrs. Glassman]

Ok...I knew I needed to cull some roos, and I found this thread here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=109583

It's a very informative post, and I have read it over like a million times, and re-read it once more before I began.

First problem....I don't have a killing cone, even though I have asked DH many times, who works with metal on a daily basis, to make me one. So I opted for the old "chop the head off with an ax" method.

Maybe if I had not tried to hold it still after the deed was done...

No, I held it tight as I could, and let me tell you, there is not good way to hold a spasmic chicken missing a head. I lost my grip several times, and I swear, once it swung itself over my head and flew in a circle. I ended up SPLATTERED head to toe with blood. In the end, I lost my grip and the dang thing ran across the yard and managed to pile up in the dirt & leaves.

I caught it, and I finally was able to wrap a cable around it's legs and hang it to bleed out.

Ok, now the scalding to facilitate removal of the feathers....

I wasn't sure how long was long enough, so I dunked & swirled & dunked & swirled, so on. Ok, That should do it.

Now the ice bath. Dunk, Swirl, Dunk, Swirl.

By the time I got done, the bird was STIFF as a board....great...that's not good.

So onto the plucking.

Most of the feathers came out like a dream. But did you know there are somewhere near 10 BILLION feathers on a chicken??? Well, not really...I think....But it seemed like it. And the funnest part was under the FROZEN STIFF arm pits. I decided to tackle the bird in sections, and take my time & do a good job. Back first, legs, wings, breast.....BLAH! I couldn't get them all out! Sure the feathers came out, but these nasty looking things that were all black and questionable stayed in. Nothing like the birds at the store looked like. The skin was all drawn & yellow with these black dots everywhere...OH, Gross. I removed the skin altogether.

Much better.

So I begin to slice in....

But what is this? The meat is nice & white, not pink? Crap. I cooked the dang bird in the scalding bath. Oh well, going to cook him sometime...

On to removing the innards...

I slice, I cut, and I keep running into bone. Am I doing it wrong? Reposition the knife..cut & slice some more.

Then I try to pull out the innards. They are hung! I pull, I twist, nothing happens. What's the deal? Dang, I forgot to cut all that stuff off the neck first.

So I go towards the neck. It's a dirt caked boiled mess, so I cut the whole thing off. No Good. The innards still don't come out.

Forget it then. I'll just lop off parts I know I can use.

I start with the wings. I keep repeating to myself that "If you are cutting bone, your knife is in the wrong position". I try to find a place that I don't hit bone with my knife. I cut in here..bone. I cut in there, Bone. I cut, & I cut...ALL BONE. Finally, I just wrench the dang wings off with my hands.

Ok, Legs...this should be easy...

EVERY TIME BONE. I wrench those off as well.

Then I go to seperate the back from the breast. The innards are still intact. I flip it over, breast side down, and begin to cut like in the pics I saw. BONE BONE BONE. I give up and cut it apart with kitchen shears.

Now I can get the innards out. That went way easier. Except the lungs. That mess takes up every crevase in the place. I didn't have a tool, so I ended up scraping it out with my fingernails. I got it all though.

I managed to find & prepare the gizzard, the heart, and the liver....although I did bust the bile duct and the liver has a green tint on one lobe. I tried to peel the feet, but it wouldn't come off all the way.

I'm guessing it takes PRACTICE, and a lot of it.

Thank goodness that I planned on making him into Chicken Alfredo, because If I planned to fry him, that would have been a disaster.

I clean rabbits all the time, but this dang chicken whipped me.

I've got three more waiting to be culled...they just need to grow more. Geeze, I hope it goes better.

 

[cw]

ok lets start from the top,
when i kill em with the stump and axe i do it next to a nice patch of grass and dont try to hold em (got pinned by the spike thing on the wing ) and when i cut the vain not nessicarly the head clean off i toss it in the grass, then if you have to clean the head off, (we use a butcher knife not an axe and slice instead of chop)
after all that commotion then dip them, remember you can redip them , count to 45 real slow and go from there, if you have to redip them but go by the feet skin if they peel off, your good
now to cutting bones sometimes the cartridge is just as tough
when opening the inside barly the bottom and above the vent and dont be afraid to pull the guts out, you will have to stick your hand in there
you sound like you got a grasp on the rest of it and keep up the good work
(by the way why dont hubby clean em?)

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Mrs. Glassman, you're a hoot!
I remember reading that lady's post with all the pictures, and she looked so pretty, and the yard was all nice, and the playground was so nice....

I wish you had pictures of your escapade! That would be one for the sticky board!!!

I know if I tried it, I would have the same luck you had..

I'm still chuckling! You could turn that into a magazine article there!

 

[Mrs. Glassman]

Thanks...I really wonder if anyone messed up their first as badly as I seemed to...Or at least had as much trouble.

DH will not kill or clean any rabbits or chickens.

He says they are mine, and my job. Oh, he'll eat them once I cook them! (Like the little red hen book)

Sure, he will shoot a deer, but I usually do most of the cleaning on that too. I'm really good on deer & rabbit, but the chickens, I've not had much experience with.

 

[cw]

you probably did just fine, you probably have that lack of self confidince that everyone has when they do something for the first time, at least you make an honest attempt thats more then a lo of folks would do

 

[Eggs4Sale]

"No, I held it tight as I could, and let me tell you, there is not good way to hold a spasmic chicken missing a head. I lost my grip several times, and I swear, once it swung itself over my head and flew in a circle. I ended up SPLATTERED head to toe with blood. In the end, I lost my grip and the dang thing ran across the yard and managed to pile up in the dirt & leaves.

"

 

[Bossroo]

Great novel Mrs. Glassman. Wee tiptaught to me by my grandfather that I find very helpful for the next time. Tie the legs together, then hold the bird up by it's legs, with it's head down, while holding the legs with one hand , with the other gather one wing ( the outside one first) by it's first outer long feathers and streatch it down untill you can grasp those feathers in the hand holding the legs, next do the same with the other wing. Now you can lay the bird down onto the stump or board and wield the axe, continue to hold the now flailing bird. It will not be too hard as you have all of it's extremeties under control so... little flapping. Your next roo awaits. Have fun !!!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Yay for you for a successful first attempt! Every time you process you'll learn something to make the next session even easier. The main thing is you've got some well-earned chicken for your table. Enjoy every bite of it & tell Mister to open himself a can of something else instead. After all, they're your chickens and your job, including your job to eat them. You wouldn't want to trouble him by making him chew & swallow your chickens.

In addition to Frugal's photographic thread, I also like the video on YouTube titled "Chicken Processing on Custer Family Farm". I don't know how to insert the direct link here, sorry. They show an easy way to both skin the chickens and clean them out. Even if you decide to pluck again, you can use their method of gutting.

When I used to chop heads, I would keep a metal washtub handy to toss the chicken under while he thrashed his last. It would keep the mess contained, and the bird in one place. Now instead I zip-tie the legs, duct-tape the wings (wrap the tape 2-3 times around the whole body) and hang them to slit their throats. I can stand there & hold their heads while they bleed out into a lined garbage can and nothing gets splatted around.

When I pluck I dunk the birds for about 10 seconds in water that's about 140-150 degrees. I skip the ice water dunk. I can tell when it's enough when I can start to easily remove the feathers. I can always re-dunk to loosen any really stuck feathers, but 10 seconds is enough to get off most.

It takes practice to find the sweet spots to cut between the bones of the legs & wings. If your knife isn't sharp enough the tendons & ligaments can feel tough as bone to cut through. I bend the limb & feel for the springy gap between the bones.

Check out that Custer family video to see how they gut their birds. You put the bird on his back, cut along the top of the cavity, and scoop everything out towards the vent, using a knife to free things up. Then flip the bird over, cut carefully along the pubic bones, then up through the back bone, and everything should come out in one clump. You could then pick through it to get the organs you want to save. I usually have to pick the lungs out separately, using a gloved finger to pry between the ribs.

Enjoy your home-grown Chicken Alfredo, & I wish you more success with your next 3 birds!

 

[katkat92]

You can slip a rope around their feet, with one end tossed over a tree limb. Hang them upside down by the feet, grab the comb to pull the neck tight and slice the throat. Then just step back and let them hang in the air and flop and bleed out. Keeps the dirt off of them, and eliminates broken wing accidents or bruises.

I scald and pluck, skip the ice water in between. The quills that don't freely pull loose can be popped out like pimples. With a good scald the feathers pretty much rub completely off.

I scald in 140-150 degree water, dunk and swirl a few seconds then test a wing or tail feather. When it pulls freely out the scald is done. Can take maybe 30 seconds?

Love your post.

You kind-of have to have a sense of humor to raise chickens.

 

[janjan1]

I'm just a few miles north of you.....and have a few roo's that need to be processed. If you need more practice, just come into Rome and I'll be glad to provide what you need. TeeHee
Glad to see some of the locals are posting. I really do have a few that need to make their way into my freezer. It seems that this last batch of chicks are all male. Don't know what has gotten into my flock, mostly roos, only a very very few hens hatching lately.
Jan