Is there anyone who does NOT process their own meat birds?

[theoldchick]

I don't process my own birds. Too messy and attracts predators. I'm lucky in that I have a man down the road who will process birds and will take birds as payment. He also does deer during hunting time, so I don't usually bother him during that time, but I know he processes wild geese.

 

[Salt and Light]

Isn't it neat how people can be so different. I can't imagine NOT butchering my own birds. Good gosh, it's a pain in the butt and after 6 hours of standing, stooping and butchering, I'm always beat, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

I'm glad you guys have some place to take your birds!!

God Bless!!

 

[Cedarknob]

I do one or two at a time for myself, but the Amish near here pluck, leave whole or cut up at the same price, bag and cool for $1.50 @ with 20 chickens as a minimum. If you have them left whole, the skin is slit to tie the wings and legs down for roasting in the traditional style. They said they don't like doing ducks, but will for $3.50 @ in small groups; though they reserve the right to skin instead of pluck if the duck isn't plucking clean. I'm getting too stove up to do it myself when I can have it done for those prices, and they save the livers and clean the gizzards at that price. [They don't save the fries [testes] though and I have not asked why, figuring it might be a religious thing with them.]

pictured added of the traditional way of dressing for roasting whole, though I smoked this bird.

 

[Wax Myrtle]

[They don't save the fries [testes] though and I have not asked why, figuring it might be a religious thing with them.]

I doubt it's a religious thing - it's probably the same reason the testes aren't in the giblet bag in most birds sold - most people don't eat them. If you want them, I'd ask them to save them for you. With 20 non CX, I imagine that adds up to a fair bit of protein. I have to ask: How do you prepare them and what sort of flavor and texture do they have?

 

[Cedarknob]

My own mother [women did the chickens when I was a kid] never saved them, and I don't because until recently I was butchering my own and no more than three at a time, so the dogs get a lot that I would like to eat if I had enough to make a meal of. My experience eating them has always been at benefit meals. Fries and mountain oysters have a flavor and texture that reminds me a lot of pork tenderloin, sometimes chewier, and the last place I know of that is still serving them is an annual dinner put on by an American Legion post.

Next time I will ask if they will save them, and bag them and the giblets separate from the birds. My dogs get the giblets raw [plus the neck] now because I either want a whole mess of them to eat or none. LOL

 

[Wax Myrtle]

Fries and mountain oysters have a flavor and texture that reminds me a lot of pork tenderloin, sometimes chewier

Hmm! Okay, so now I'm really curious. 'Course, I've got CX at the moment, and I'm not interested in bothering to save pea sized, but maybe next time I have some DPs to process. How do you cook them - fast like liver or brains, I'd guess?

 

[Cedarknob]

Never tried brain, but yes they're breaded and fried like liver, gizzard, or heart. You may be surprised at the size of them. I slow-grow my CX on restricted diets for better flavor though. They can live a much healthier life on limited commercial feed and forcing them to browse on natural foods, and they taste better IMO.

ETA that I'm probably done with growing CX; I'm breeding quality Cornish as a sustainable meat breed [a WC is my avatar] and working on a large blue/green egg layer [a mix of CX, Ameraucana, and true Cornish] as a small flock of dual purpose chickens. Show quality Cornish have a beautiful shape and great flavor as a table bird, but poor layers of small eggs; my crosses will serve as egg layers plus the culls are very meaty and faster growing than Cornish.

 

[Wax Myrtle]

Hehe, I actually made my husband come look at the ones that came out of the very nasty 26 week EE cockerel I sent to Camp Kenmore last month. They would have given any 75 pound dog a run for their money. To be quite honest, I think the phrase "rooster oysters" crossed my mind...But they went with the other offal.

 

[Looking4ewes]

Since I don't have a plucker, I take mine in to be processed for $2.00 each. If I was only doing a couple at a time, I would do them myself. Pluckers are expensive and used ones are hard to find.

 

[AVintageLife]

Out the ten chicks we raised this summer, five were roosters. We're keeping two (one quiet, handsome Barred Rock and an EE that does such a good job protecting the flock) so long as they stay friendly and don't injure each other or the hens. Today we'll be taking the other three to a poultry processor. The only one I could find is thirty-three miles from my home and we have to drop off this afternoon and pick up tomorrow @ $5/bird. I wish there were more processors in NH or a mobile poultry processor, it would be a very viable business now that so many people are keeping chickens. I contemplated doing it myself and watched several tutorials and decided I'm not ready yet.