Narraganset weight?

[brewmiss96]

So I'm having problems with my hen turkeys getting agressive to one of my laying hens and I've decided to slaughter them. They got a reprieve from Thanksgiving because the parents had a turkey, but I'm ready to put them in the freezer. It's my first time. I hunt though, so I have no problem with actually killing them, esp because that's what I bought them for, but I do have some questions...

How big should my narraganset hen be before I slaughter her? She's about half the size of the Bronze breasted, hatched in April, the Bronze in March. I know they grow slower, but will it be alright if I kill her now?

I am going to do the hang-upside down in a can method, and I'm wondering how you get them to lay their heads on the block, if one person is holding the wings and the other is doing the chopping?

Any other suggestions for a first-time turkey killer without a shotgun?

Thanks.

 

[mikarod]

You could just tie them upside down with the cone attached to them so that their wings will not be able to flap. Then, just slice the jugular and coratid artery.

However, if you wish to use the chop-block method, then have the bird's head weighted down. Have one person hold the wings and legs (whether tied, etc.) and have the head weighted down/held across the chopping block. You can actually use a lifting weight and a sturdy piece of string. It's not...string really..more like yarn. And tighten it so that the bird is not being choked, but is also not able to move it's head. Then do the deed.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Well, I can tell you that our Thanksgiving turkey was a Narri tom. We knew that it was really too early for him to be at "market weight," but we didn't mind so much since we only had 6 people to feed. It was this guy:

He was hatched the first week of May, making him about 6 months old on butchering day. I don't know what his live weight was, but I'd guess (based on years of toting sacks of grain, large dogs, and small children) about 25lbs. or so. By the time we got him dressed out, without any extra skin, and cut back to about the wishbone in front, and with the last joint of the wings cut off, we had an 11-pound carcass. And my Narri hens are considerably smaller than my Toms, so I'm guessing that what you'll get with your hen will be comparable to a jumbo roasting chicken.

The flavor was great, though. We had planned to do some more of the Narris at Christmas, but based on the low weight of this first bird, we'll probably carry them over until spring before putting them in the freezer, or until they become intolerably aggressive, whichever comes first.