- Nov 2, 2014
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http://www.weapons-universe.com/kubotans.htmWow! I've learned a lot on this forum...
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http://www.weapons-universe.com/kubotans.htmWow! I've learned a lot on this forum...
Wow, what a concise report. Very good job. I'd love the be that organized. Next time, I'll make a list of the needed things first.Four years ago I killed and processed 12 of the 15 roosters from a box of 25 straight run chicks following what I had learned from various online sources (primarily Joel Salatin's videos). Much was similar to the information in this thread. I processed two the first weekend and the rest in small (3 to 5) batches on other weekends. I processed the least friendly roosters first as I wanted to keep the friendliest..
We made two tall sawhorses and placed two 2x4s across them just far enough apart to support an upside down traffic cone with the top cut off. Under the cone was a large box lined with a black plastic bag. We did not feed the chickens the evening before as I read that it was best to have their guts empty. Since none of the chickens in the coop were fed and they all stayed together, the roosters to be processed in the morning were not stressed by being separated. I did all the processing in the late autumn when the weather was cool and dry.
I got everything ready well before sunrise on the opposite side of the house from the coop. I went into the coop and took a sleeping rooster from the roost and carried it around the house, talking to it and keeping it calm. After putting the rooster in the cone, holding the head and slitting the vein, and waiting for the bird to bleed out, I hung the bird from hooks on one of the sawhorses by a cord with a slip knot around each foot. I then went back to the coop for the next rooster. I was careful to keep the birds calm and keep them from seeing anything to frighten them. This was fairly easy as I finished this first part before sunrise and all the blood went into the black plastic bag, probably because I held their heads until they were dead. I wore an apron that stayed clean and a glove on the hand that held the bird's head. I put the glove on after putting the bird in the cone and took it off before getting the next bird.
By sunrise, the water in the propane canning pot reached the correct temperature for scalding. I plucked each bird and placed in a tub with ice water. I sat in a chair so that the scalded bird hanging from the sawhorse was at my shoulder height. I ate breakfast while the birds were chilling in the ice water.
Then I moved to the kitchen where I cleaned, parted, vacuum packed, and put them in the freezer. I thoroughly cleaned the kitchen before and after this step.
While I do not enjoy killing and processing my chickens, at least I know that they had a good chicken life and were treated well to the end.