it's time to kill a rooster

[Pinky]

Good luck tomorrow. I wish I would have thought about skinning my roosters instead of plucking the feathers

I don't eat the skin either.

 

[tnchickenut]

Yeah, as fast as possible... you hold him a minute and you may chicken (HAHAHA) out or be hesitant on the 'break'.

They make this thing in the UK (you can get it in the US via ebay) called a "dispatcher" which breaks their necks quick... I know I can't do it by hand. I just don't have the guts. Slitting a throat is one thing and feeling the bones is another....

Enough!!! I don't want to talk like that to you now!! lol

 

[delfargo]

well, what used to be an abusive rooster is now a nice looking bag of meat in my fridge.
the whole experience was not as bad as i'd feared. "the dork", as we call him, was less freaked out that i thought he'd be, alot less "struggle" than i thought. and after i had a talk with him and told him i was sorry it had to be this way, i think he understood. we said a quick prayer and then...wham!
the "killing" part went well - first whack with the hatchet did the trick. alot less blood than i expected, alot less mess too. the skinning went smooth, although next time i will have a sharper knife. thought i'd sharpened it up good, but could have been sharper.
so, all in all, it was nowhere near as troubleing as i had thought. it might be different when time comes to get the girls in the freezer, but i got another year before i worry about that.
he was cleaned up and in the fridge on saturday morning, so i figured by tomorrow the meat should have "aged" enough to throw him in the oven. i'm quite curious about how he's gonna taste. the meat smells a little "gamey", like pheasant or duck (which i love). i'm sure it won't taste like supermarket chicken.
so, thanx for all the advice y'all gave me before my first chicken kill.
i've still got alot to learn, i'm sure, but at least i now know how to do it, and better yet, i know i can handle doing it.
i'll let you know how he tasted ina day or 2.