Killing, Plucking, Eviscerating, & Cutting Up Your Chicken - Graphic!

[booker81]

Quote:
Not frugal, but taking a break from processing.

You'll want to cut the vent area so it's kinda like --O-- (pretend that is all together, no spaces, heh), with the vent in the middle of the "O".

You do have to help the guts out a bit. The gizzard is a BIG hard thing, and I like to grab that and pull gently, most everything comes out with it. I only save the livers - I'm not that big on gizzards. The heart and lungs usually stay in the cavity, and you do have to pull them out separate. Lungs are usually bright pink on and seem glued to the walls, there are special tools, but I usually slide a finger against the ribcage, and they peel out easily.

 

[Lorije1]

I processed 7 out of 21 yesterday using this as a printed guide. We did use the hatchet instead, but other than that we followed as closely as we could.
We only plucked 2 though..... even though the big feathers came out very easily, the little pin feathers took forever. We skinned the last ones and parted them up - WAY faster and easier.

14 more to go this Saturday.

 

[DMSrabbit]

Thanks for the post. So Informative, i intend to use this as a guide when i process all my birds..

 

[hcjosie]

Thanks for the realistic close up pictures! It wasn't as bad as I thought, I want to know how to do it right so the chicken won't suffer. (me too!) Good job.

 

[xoxocammyxoxo]

Whoo Hoo This helps out a lot since my fiance said "I won't be pluckin no birds"....

 

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

Got a couple question:
If we preffer to skin it.
Do we have to "part it" or can we cook it whole after skinning?
What order do we do the vent cut & tail cut if we skin?

 

[pederson3]

I wasn't able to read all the replies to this post, so here is my question. Anyone here ever used their old laying hens for meat? When you're processing them can you see eggs inside? Sounds strange to me, but the gal I sold some of my old birds to told me one of them had some eggs forming inside???? I guess I just thought they formed daily and she wouldn't have a back up. The other 5 didn't, they were all over age 5 too. If anyone has any photos of this I would love to see it too! Thanks!

 

[kurka]

if ovaries are still active, there will be some eggs inside, mostly yolks, at different stage of development [little ones and some closer to "adult yolk" size], this is normal. the meat from old hen is good for a soup, but not so good as a "fryer" - its of course edible, just needs sometimes longer thermal processing.

 

[booker81]

Quote:
When I skinned the banties I just did, I first cut the legs and wings off at the first joints. Then I made a cut at the keel bone in the skin, and pulled the skin off all the way until it was just attached at the head and the tail. I used a cleaver to cut the tail off with the feathers intact, and the skinned the neck down to cut the neck with a cleaver. That way the head, tail nub and feathers were all in one piece. After that, I started the evicerating - pulled the crop off the breast and removed, then did he vent cut and removed the innards.

As for cooking, dunno

I plan on simmering for broth, so I left them whole. I have a big pot and am not worried too much on space.

 

[Tropical Chook]

Quote:
Yes, if the hen still has active ovaries, you'll find eggs. I recently processed a relatively young hen because she simply wasn't worth the trouble she was causing, and we found four yolks inside her. This being Thailand, the yolks ended up in the soup along with the hen.