Need processor/butchering advice...Pittsburgh PA

sunnysideinpittsburgh

Hatching
8 Years
Nov 7, 2011
3
0
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Hello all!

Just registed today but have been lurking here for over a year now! We raised10 giant whites and 5 BBB turkeys this year. Getting ready to start processing soon. We looked and looked for processors near our area (even put ads on CL in OHIO!) trying to find someone to process our birds. Only found one so far that is about 1 hr and 45 mins away in Ohio. Now here is my issue...

My husband is willing to process them (not sure how comfortable I am with that...) this being his first time. Had we originally went with heritage breeds (like I had wanted!), I think we both would feel better about being able to handle it. These guys are ginormous!!! Should I let him try this himself for the first time? Or does anyone know of a processor here in Pittsburgh or surrounding areas?

Thanks for the advice!!!

BTW, I will NEVER do the giant breeds again!! Heritage or nothing for our farm! LOL!
 
It's not very hard to do. Do 1 of them and see how it goes. There is a bunch of good info in the meat section here on BYC. I butcher on Sunday to be cooked on Thursday. Just remember to rest them in the fridge for 4 days or so before cooking or freezing for a better bird.
 
You gotta crawl before you can walk. Just do one, and watch a couple of youtube videos on processing for pointers, and it will get easier. Great feeling of accomplishment afterward.
 
I do mine on the Saturday before Thanksgiving so that anyone helping has a day to recuperate before going to work on Monday.

If you have ever done chickens, turkeys are easier in a way... more room to get your hands inside.

One thing that I will say, if you do them yourself take a few minutes and lay the innards out and look at them. We have always just done the 'scoop and toss' method, then when a friend and I tried to do a necropsy on one of her chickens that died I found myself looking at the innards and trying to identify the parts. If I would have looked as we butchered chickens earlier it would have been a lot nicer to know what is supposed to be there and what it should look like.
 
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Put one in a pen with water only for 12-24 hours. This will clear out the poop pretty good. I usually give a handful of scratch a few minunets before the butchering so I can find the crop eaiser. I hang mine by 1 leg and grab the head and take a sharpe knife and quickly and deeply cut the throat and let them bleed out.
 

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