Is it really that bad... home processing...

[mamaboyd]

I never thought of dust masks, thanks Brian. hmm, I think we have some left over from my hubby doing some drywalling work! And yes, I plan to buy a box of latex gloves, I don't think I could stand the feel of squishy chicken organs on my bare hands

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Oh yeah. If I am doing birds for my own consumption, I always skin them. Much less messy and no yucky wet smelly feathers. I suggest that if you are just going after the meat!

Edit: Chicken fat will break down latex, go with nitrile for innards and use the latex for plucking. Else you'll have to change gloves often,

 

[boilerjoe_96]

The smell!!!

I have changed many a diaper and stomach held firm. I can handle 7 foot waves on Lake Erie or Michigan on a 20 foot boat(dumb, won't do it again, but I was fine).

However, I processed 13 and 1, just one was so stinky I had a dry heave or two.

I clean fish, turtles, up to elbows in blood from a deer, and various other small game, even butchered a cow once. There is something about the wet feathers and the time you get to think about it(while plucking....).

I agree with a prior post, several days later I was enjoying my favorite of favorites(BW3's chicken wings). I look down at the wing and saw all the dimples. I almost had to quit eating my favorite meal.

Once a week or so went by I was fine....

I always wondered what weenie or how weak stomached some people are by complaining how bad cleaning a chicken is. I can see it now...It's not the cleaning, it the wet feathers....

 

[Kerr]

Hi Mamaboyd!
How is everything?
Now that my son lives and breathes facebook
seems I don't get Kerri time for the computer
(unless I'm at work)

We only had one white rock - he lasted longer than most but today was his day
His fat pudgey blueberry and oatmeal fed body was just too much for his legs so he stopped walking

Luckily one of my friends used to clean chickens part-time (8 years intotal). So she came over today and showed us how to do it.
Well..... I watched once his head was off.
Interesting but you won't catch me ever doing it.

And on top of that my 15 yr old son won't talk to me cuz he thinks I should have had the Vet put him down instead of wanting to eat him...

 

[mamaboyd]

Hi Kerr, all is good here, how bout you?

We're deciding on whether or not to do this ourselves. I guess we'll try 1 and see how it goes. My kids aren't happy about it though, they have a few of them named. I'm tired of being bitten when I go in the coop to feed them, and the roos are getting much bigger than the hens, so the roos go first.

I know what you mean about the kids taking over the computer, my 12 yr old daughter is the same.

Sorry to hear about your White Rock, that's why we didn't get WR's, it's sad when they get so fat they can't walk. Getting anymore chickens??

Ever find out who you're friendly ghost is?
I can't believe school is just around the corner,

Trish

 

[Kerr]

I couldn't help getting "meat" our white rock
someone just gave him to me
but I won't get them again unless hubby wants to
do the deed before they get too fat

Once gutted and plucked he actually looks really juicy
He's about 4-5 lbs
I made Kevin cut its legs off and neck before going into the freezer thou
Frozen feet would have freaked me out I think


But I still can't eat him - I used to pet him (my mistake I guess)

My others are all egg layers with the exception of my two weird Roosters
Well my girls should be laying in Sept sometime I hope
I have 4 ducks but have no clue what kind they are
I was hoping for eggs but learning as I go.....

Ya my son is giving me the silent treatment and my 3 year old daughter wants to eat him tomorrow -- ugh
I think I'll go to Mcdonalds!

 

[Kerr]

Oh and school!!!!!
Thank goodness

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Just a tip from the EMS service about gawd awfull smells. (drunk vomitt at 3am in the back of a tiny box can test anyones "gag reflex"

We used to keep some Vic's Vapor Rub in the rig. If you have some nasty smells, just dab some on your upper lip and keep going.

I can not stand the smell of vomitt myself...

 

[shaveudogg]

I have not been on in awhile.We processed about 160 chicken at four different times this summer and we had 4 to 6 people helping.One would hold the chicken the other would cut off the head and hold it in the bucketa few minutes then hang it on the fence.we had a couple other people dunk the chicken in the bioling water ans pluck feathers and one cleaning the insides and scraping out the lungs.We watched a dvd and read about the whole thing.It was not as hard as I thought or smelly as I thought the whole thing would be.We could get 60 done in 6hrs.including lunch.If you do not care about the inside cut your meat off the bone,if you do not want to pluck skin your chickens.Our first batch did better then the second because of the heat. The first weighing in at 6 to 7 pounds the second were 5lbs.We also did cornish hens.

 

[frankenchick]

I second the Vicks advice; if you DO pierce the intestines, it stinks!!

DH and I did 36 chickens this summer [our first]. We agree that we're glad we know how to do this, but we really don't ever want to do it again. I was fine at the time, but had these strange crying spells a couple days after. Took a while to make the connection.