So yesterday I got up thinking that I'd like to make some Chicken and Dumplings for dinner, but we didn't have any chicken in the freezer. No problem since I had 26 Jumbo Cornish X rocks in the backyard. I've been looking for a processor to no avail, and had accepted my fate as executioner. The birds were getting so big, and we have been just overwhelmed with how much they are eating and how often the coop needs cleaning. So I set out sharpening knives and putting icewater in the cooler. I stretched some twine between 2 trees and was going to use another piece of twine to hang the bird from. I went and got one of my roos and though how it was a shame that he was so used to me that he didn't run or squack. I hung him up and cut his throat. He was dripping for a few minutes but I couldn't tell if he was dying. I called my mom who said that I should cut both sides of his throat. So I did and he still wouldn't die. So I went back in the house the get the Storeys book, and when I came back out he was finally dead. I knew that I would have to skin him since I didn't have a scalding pot (hey, It's not paycheck Friday) and my recipe called for a a skinned bird. So I thought I'd start by cutting off his head. What I did instead was cut into the crop. Oops. I managed to cut the head off without much trouble and then I cut off the wing tips. Next I started pulling the skin down and over the body and off the arms. I cut the legs off mostly because it was bothering me to look at them. It was an odd moment to throw them away. Think about it. You throw away a lot of stuff in your daily existance, but how often do you throw away feet? Next was the innards, and all I had for help was a pair of gloves. The innards looked like nightcrawlers, and I'm not sure why it bothered me. I wound up cracking the breast plate and scooping out all the innards. I finished pulling the skin off and rinsed the bird with a hose and put him in the cooler. It took me a long time to process because I had no clue of what I was doing, and I'd be interested in a faster dispatch method. Also, if somebody could tell me a good reason not to use the hood of my car as a cleaning table I'd like to hear it. To clarify it is the first hood from my car that was replaced after some hail damage. The surface is fine with no paint chips, rust, etc. and I put down a sheet of plastic as a precaution. I don't expect the first time to be the last time, but if somebody could give me some advice on a better way to do things I think it would help. Otherwise, I'd have to say it was like a weird day in science class.
