What part of South Dakota. I was in Rosebud last week turkey hunting. Killing your own birds isnt that hard but may be a little smelly. OK its going to be a whole lot smelly. I usually hold them by the feet and lay their head on a block of wood. Then I chop off their head with a meat cleaver and turn them loose. Be careful because they flop everywhere and sling the red stuff. The when their done hang by the legs and skin them. Its much healthier and quite a bit easier than plucking. From there you can leave whole or use knife to cut up at the joints. After you get the legs, thighs, and wings off, I split the breast away from the back. the cut the back in half and also the breast. Ready to eat.......ok well almost
Why not look into a heratage breed. Try a buckeye which is a good meat bird and layer(dual purpose). You could start with a couple and then raise the chickes. Motherearthnews.com has a great article on meat birds. Check that out, it will help you tons.
welcome from Pittsburgh PA I just love S.D. with all of its history, some good some bad, sounds like your leaning towards a healthy life style,good luck Holly
Well plucking can be done its just a little harder. When I was a kid we would raise 100 every year to put in the freezer. After they are dead you have to dunk them in boiling water for a short period of time, then the feathers will loosen and come out easily. As far as gutting there is more room there than you would think. Be sure to cut the vent out and then just split the sides. I think the wind pipe in the neck area will be most difficult. But again if you can get past the smell the rest is relatively easy.
Black Dominique chick died. It seemed normal at the store...then it was laying down the first nite and day..then 4 pm yesterday it start flapping on its back like it was choking and died.