Killing cockerels tomorrow, got questions

[AutumnThyme]

I'm going to be butchering 6 of our 8 cockerels in the morning, and I have a few questions about doing this whole thing by myself. I have a large canning pot to scald in, but no outdoor heat source.
Should I put on 2 pots and switch them out?
Also, how long might it take for a noob like myself to kill, scald, pluck, and clean each bird?
Should I do each one start to finish, or kill a couple at a time?
Is it reasonable to expect that I'll be able to do all of them in one day?
What's your vote for method- neck-breaking or jugular-cutting (don't have a good sharp hatchet, but I've got brand new razor blades & a broom)?
Are my kids going to need therapy if they watch/ help?
LOL, J/K on the last one. I'm sure they'll understand.
Thanks!

 

[slingshotandLAR]

It's gonna take awhile.....

Without being able to keep the water at temp I would say do one at time start to finish. Unless you get someone to help you.

My wife and I do it like this, we use a cone it's easy and we "found" a road cone we cut the too few inches off it works great. For the water we use a outdoor turkey fryer with a propane tank. I catch the chickens out of the coop and put them in the cone, and we take turns with the knife. It's important to her that she participates in the killing part.

When it's finished bleeding, off with the head and into the water, at this point I'm off for another bird for the cone. The second one is bleeding while we pluck the first one, takes about 5 minutes to do by hand with both of us working. We set up portable tables to use for gutting and finishing, so to the table the first bird goes. She starts the second bird in the pot and I get the third in the cone bleeding, then I'm off to the table. I take the crop out first than the guts and finally the legs, again only takes 5 minutes and into the ice it goes. When I'm done she had the next one plucked.....

This is a very efferent way to do it if you have two people, almost no wasted time.

One thing you have to be mindful of is temps this time of year, that's why I say do one at a time. I want the birds cleaned as soon as possible and in the ice. Because your new the first few are going to take awhile and you don't want to risk having one sit out too long waiting to be finished.

I would hang your birds somehow, rope or string and some sort of hook will do. If you want to use the stick go for it, it may make it easier and than cut. Make sure the water is ready than dip and pluck. Than finish that bird completely and grey it cooling, put the water back on and get the next bird and repeat.

Buy the third one it will start moving along as you get used to it, even if you only do two an hour it will take 3 hours to do 6. It will take you longer to do the first two then it will the remaining 4. You should easily be able to do them all in half a day.

I hope I've helped, good luck









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[Hummingbird Hollow]

When I'm butchering by myself, I usually just put the water on the stove in the kitchen. I use the cone method and once the bird has bleed out and the head is chopped off, I slide it head...well neck...first into a plastic grocery bag, and bring it into the kitchen. It is scalded and I let it drip back into the pot for a few seconds and then back outside or into the garage (depending on the weather) to pluck. I usually do the actual butchering at the kitchen counter too, because access to the sink makes everything so much easier.

I had to do some butchering last fall entirely outside because our kitchen was being renovated and the hose just isn't the same.

It takes me probably 30 minutes from picking the chicken out of the run to having it in the ice bath, but that doesn't count the time necessary to get everything set up at the begining and then get everything cleaned up at the end, which is almost the same regardless of whether I process 1 or 10. You'll be slower in the begining.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

The water should be about 150F. I have another pot or two, as I've only one pot over 5 gallons and others about 2 gallon, water is boiling. Add some boiling water to the large dunking pot to bring up temp when needed.

The real trick to plucking is much like stripping wall paper. If you try and start before it's ready you'll be working far too hard and be pulling off the under layer, in case of chickens that's the skin.

Dunk and swish, dunk and plunge then check a wing feather. If it does not pull with minimum effort then dunk and swish and plunge again. The idea is to not cook the skin but loosen feathers so they come with no effort hence the dunking and not leaving the bird in the water. It's taken me 6 or 7 good dunks before the hardest feathers, wing or tail, pull right out. At that point it only takes 10 minutes to puck clean. Don't hesitate to dunk again if a few feathers start getting hard to pull.

7 birds will take some time. I did 7 once and swore I'd never do more than 4 at a time there after as I butcher alone. Without a plucking machine it's simply far too time consuming and I don't like being around the smell of death that long.

Sharp knife and cut around the anus and up the cavity. Hand up in and with one pull it all will come out, even the esophagus. Scrap all around chest cavity with knife and pull out again. It's
gutted clean if female. Cockerels will take another grab at the testicles but gutting is quick and easy.

I use a sharp hatchet to dispose of birds. A rope over the swing set and garbage pail with bag in it under. Loop the legs, cut head, put bird in pail and pull rope so it's elevated in pail. They'll be motionless for about a minute then the nervous system kicks in and they flail about. I dispatch, pull rope and quick hitch then walk away to have a beer and smoke as the flailing goes on. It's a bit unnerving but you know they are dead as soon as the head is off, simply strong nervous system. I walk away myself to sit in garden and contemplate what recipe I'll use. Gumbo? Stew? or is it young enough to slow roast?

Forgot to add that mine go in ice cooler until I'm done butchering then the large dunking pot gets hosed out and cold water with sea salt brine, a cup per gallon. Birds go in that and in fridge for 3 days. No matter age or how I'm going to cook them I always brine them in fridge for the rest period.

 

[AutumnThyme]

**GRAPHIC DETAILS WARNING!**

Thanks everyone for the good advice. I got through the first one from start to finish & I'm not totally pleased with the method I chose. First off, although he seemed peaceful through most of the process, it took him a long time to bleed. I cut only one side, careful to miss the trachea, as I'd seen done. The flow was very good at first, but unfortunately he had time to clot before his heart stopped. Broke his neck and removed the head, that was that. I'm concerned about getting a good bleed with the broomstick method, and also about stressing the bird. Nonetheless, I think for both our sakes (mine and the bird's) I need the assurance of a quick death Especially since I'm killing one of our favorite roos today (favorite doesn't always mean best so he's gotta go).
Also surprised about how long the processing took. SO MUCH CONNECTIVE TISSUE!!! Really glad I'm canning these tough boys! I finally gave up and just used my shears to open up the cavity a little more to get it all out.
Anyway, thanks a bunch for being there and also for the advice.
-A

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

That bleed out always seems so long to me too. I've tried to go deeper and have both managed to damage the trachea, which seems to cause more distress as well as once cutting myself in the process. However, on several occasions I've done a thorough examination of the neck after the chicken is completely bleed out but before I chop off the head and discovered that I'd gotten the carotid artery very thoroughly.

I usually place my hand down in the killing cone against the chicken's chest when the blood flow slows way down and the thrashing has stopped because I can feel a slight trembling...perhaps the last attempts of the heart to keep beating. When that stops, I pull the bird out of the cone and proceed. The whole process is distressing to me, which might be why it seems to take so long.

It would be interesting to get an accurate average from the really seasoned chicken people to see how much time actually passes from the first cut to the heart stops. Having that information would let me know that I was doing the best, quickest job possible or needed to improve my technique.

I think I'll start such a thread today.