Most important aspect of butchering?

[Alaska Fowl INC]

just butchered my first 3 chickens this weekend and it went great thanks for all the knowledge posted here i did have to get a new knife after the first one it wasn't as sharp as i wanted it to be went out and got a hobby knife used for wood carving or marking perfect razor on it just like a scalpel thanks everyone for the help and my other chickens enjoyed the liver and bits and pieces they could get.

Did he say knife..?

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[Alaska Fowl INC]

A knife to a man is like a needle to a woman..

Thats what grandpa

always said,,Grandpa

was born in 1899,

,Things have change since then,,,
He also said "You can't push a rope",,

 

[Elke Beck]

A knife to a man is like a needle to a woman..

Thats what grandpa

always said,,Grandpa

was born in 1899,

,Things have change since then,,,
He also said "You can't push a rope",,

Alaska Fowl INc, I come from a long line of strong women who kept the home fires burning when the menfolk were off playing war games and otherwise away. My great aunt, who was born about the time of your grandpa, is a role model for me. When she and her husband were having a fight and he said that he was leaving, she grabbed him by the shirt front, reeled him in and said, "Listen buster, if anyone is leaving, it is going to be ME!" He never said he would leave again because he did not want to be left with 4 kids to raise. He knew who did the work around the house.

So, you go ahead and wave your knives around. I will be over here getting the important stuff done.

 

[wesj]

knife for chickens? .. poultry shears is all that is needed

 

[Alaska Fowl INC]

Alaska Fowl INc, I come from a long line of strong women who kept the home fires burning when the menfolk were off playing war games and otherwise away. My great aunt, who was born about the time of your grandpa, is a role model for me. When she and her husband were having a fight and he said that he was leaving, she grabbed him by the shirt front, reeled him in and said, "Listen buster, if anyone is leaving, it is going to be ME!" He never said he would leave again because he did not want to be left with 4 kids to raise. He knew who did the work around the house.

So, you go ahead and wave your knives around. I will be over here getting the important stuff done.

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[offgridhermit]

Set up your processing station in advance, and walk through the steps before you start. Preparation shall set you free! You do not want to wind up searching for the knife when the bird is in the cone, or struggling to reach a towel to mop up a spill. Have a place for everything, and make an effort to keep everything in its place.

I set up my processing station as follows:

Killing station is a ladder with the cone zip tied to the fold out shelf. I clothes pin a trash bag to the ladder so that the bottom of the cone is inside the bag. This way the blood goes directly into the bag and the splatters when the bird flails around at the end are trapped. It also mean the bird is in a dark space, so I think there is less struggling.

My scalding station is about 3 feet from the killing station, and beside a sink. I move the bird from the cone to the sink and give it a good rinse to get off any poop and other dirt before it goes into the scalding pot. My pot is the base of my big pressure canner. I scald until the wing feathers come out instead of lifting the chicken out of the water. I pull the chicken out and hold it over the sink until the dripping slows down, then move to my plucking station.

The plucking station Is about 6 feet away from the scalding station. I have my new Power Plucker drill plucker clamped to a table and a frame with plastic drop cloth covering it to stop the feathers from shooting everywhere.

Once the bird is plucked, I move to the cleaning table, which is next to the scalding station. That is where I finish plucking, gut the bird and cut it up if I want parts.

I don't have anyone to help me, so I won't do more than 3 birds at a time. By the time I am done with 3, I have enough poop left that I can do a thorough clean up, take a shower, get a lovely beverage and settle down to watch Dooms Day Preppers Bugged Out.

Do you have pictures of your processing station? I will be processing for the first time next year and won't have any help. If you don't want to post the photos, send me a private message if you would please? Thanks in advance.

 

[Elke Beck]

Do you have pictures of your processing station? I will be processing for the first time next year and won't have any help. If you don't want to post the photos, send me a private message if you would please? Thanks in advance.

Here you go.



I put plastic drop cloth on the frame behind the plucker to contain the feathers a bit.

 

[foamspoon]

Mine do not seem to care one way or the other.