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

[gypsychicken]

Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[gypsychicken]

That is so funny.

 

[gypsychicken]

Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[Chad Cool]

cool

 

[3KillerBs]

I did 2 of my 5 Big Red Boys just now. I used the broomstick over the neck method to kill them and skinned them instead of plucking -- a fortuitous decision because when I was pulling enough feathers to access the belly for gutting I realized that 16-week-old red, hatchery roosters are nothing but pinfeathers.

I'm heating water to scald the feet now and hope that I can get the socks off.

I had to steel my nerves a little to actually accomplish the killing, and the first time was not as quick as I would have liked. I got the second time right though.

I think that the killing cone would be much easier. But I live in town and can't have a permanent set up mounted anywhere. So for 2 birds today and 3 more on Thursday simpler was better. Gutting after reading these directions was absolutely simple. Not sure about the lungs or the testicles, but I've found a lot of lungs and testicles in store-bought birds so I'm not too concerned.

Its a funny feeling to take a life into your hands, pet it a little, talk to it, calm it down, and bring it to its destined close. But once you get a chicken undressed it looks just like any other undressed chicken.

 

[tinamommy727]

I'm thinking about buying meat birds this year, but I just don't think that I can do the killing. I'm hoping to find someone that does the processing around here. I'm willing to split the meat. I'm new to the whole "thinking about chickens for meat instead of eggs" business, but the cost of food is horrible around here!! What type of chickens should I buy for meat?

 

[sue turpin]

It really is an odd feeling, not great, to cull the animals that one has raised and nurtured. Although being in touch with the animal and being as kind as is possible makes me feel so much differently about my food. I don't believe I will ever be very fond of this necessary duty, but I know. Will always behind and gracious when I do. It.

 

[DallasCriftins]

I did my first two Roos at the weekend in as much as these were the first I have killed with the intention to eat them.
I have dispatched a few sickly hens previously but we have always then disposed of the entire bird.

One was a Silver Laced Wyandotte that was developing a case of Wry Tail and was limping badly.
The other was a hybrid Wyandotte/ Orpington. which we call Wellingtons
The latter had a lot more fat on him than the Wyandotte.

I used a plastic road cone - no need for a permanent set up I just poked it through the rung of a ladder on a table clamped it down and that worked perfectly
I used a decent ceramic knife on one side of the neck and both birds bled out and went to sleep very quickly no obvious distress as the blood loss simply causes them to pass out and then there is just a bit of twitching when the heart stops.

This is by far the most humane method and they bleed out properly at the same time
I have tried axes - quick but messy and often inaccurate.

Scalding and removing the Feathers was very easy so was butchering them albeit a bit messy and as a beginner it took longer than expected.

Worse thing was the smell of the feathers that lingers a bit keep it off your skin and clothes if poss. by wearing rubber gloves
I would not do this in the height of summer as flies might be a problem.

So at the weekend we had our first ever completely home grown meal, veg and all.
Since then we have had an excellent Soup and the Livers and Kidneys were great fried with some home-made bread!

I have 16 more Roos to deal with so next we will do 4 or 5 from sex linked birds we hatched so we knew they would be dinners from day one!

last night I was putting the birds away and saw a Rat. By the time I had returned with my Air rifle it had gone
but inspired by eating our own meat, across the far side of my field was a large Rabbit so yep got it clean with one shot and this evening we had Rabbit!
Which is something I have not eaten in many years.

 

[aoxa]

This video shows how quickly Polyface farm employees gut a chicken. I like where they make the cut to get the innards out. I liked how they tucked the legs in the skin flap after. I did it myself, and found they looked much better bagged that way. Just thought I'd share.

ETA: This shows killing to finished product.

 

[Buster52]

Yeah, he's not an employee. He is runs a contract farm and works with Salatin. An important distinction, I think.

And a fellow BYCer by the way.

And a fellow Okie, as well.