OMG! I processed a turkey today tryed pithing nightmare

[mtnhomechick]

No need to apologize NP......I am always looking for the least painful way. It just didn't work for me. If it had I'd be thanking ya. I probably did it wrong and it was my first time culling a chicken anyway.

Would love to see the video though. Thanks!

 

[ninjapoodles]

The one Alex beheaded traumatized us WAY more than the ones he pithed. Maybe he's doing something in particular that makes a difference. I'll try to pay closer attention, and like I said, document the process.

Maybe I can take photos of each stage with one, and video of another.

 

[silkiechicken]

If plucking is hard, don't use boiling water. That will cook skin and meat, leave a tough outside on the bird, and you'll want to use them soon as they won't store as well. Try to do the dunking in about 140-160F water for 45-60 seconds while swoosing up and down to get under feathers. If the birds are under a few months old, 140F will be fine. I used 150F for my turkies and soaked for about 60 seconds. Sorry the method of pithing didn't work for you, I too use a knife and just cut off the heads. I don't let the birds flail either, just hold them down.


Edit to add:

One thing that may help in the future is to look at a picture of the skull of the animal you are planning on killing. That way you can better tell where the brain or vital organs are before you start and thus know how deep to place the knife and/or where the best spot is. I remember once a fried trying to kill a possum with a "head shot" but it didn't work. Well, reason was is that the shot went into the nasal cavity of the possum and out its jaw, as its brain is set high behind the eyes between the ears in the back and is really small for the body size of the animal. Knowing where the brain is, facilitated my brother in killing two large coons in one shot each, on the first attempt each time, preying on the birds using an air powered pellet gun from the house to the coops.

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

I tried pithing once on a tough old roo. Didn't work that well for me either, he was bleeding like crazy, got up and walked away(then I couldn't catch him and he died after about 40 minutes of chasing).

I personally like hanging them by their feet, cutting the throat while holding their head and as soon as I cut them I bend the head back with a bit of downward pressure to break the neck. They bleed out well, but still have the spasm etc. at least its not messy since I will hold onto the head until they are done with the flapping.

This method I started since my dad likes to tie flies for fishing and clean feathers are a must(with the hatchet the whole bird ended up red..).

 

[ninjapoodles]

I asked Alex about these posts, and he said that absolutely, if done right, the bird's eyes should close immediately upon pithing, and it should be totally brain-dead at that point. When I told him that some had birds looking around, getting back up again, etc., he just shook his head and said, "No, that's not right. They're not doing it like I did, then."

So I told him that he is going to have to SHOW how he does it, and he said OK. We also took some pics of our roo crowing, to show the "slot" in the roof of the mouth, for the other thread where people were asking about that. I'll post those later.

 

[kinnip]

I haven't started processing yet, and I'm a little queasy about it. Obviously pithing isn't foolproof, and head chopping is at the bottom of my list. What about breaking the neck? I just ordered a chick sized poultry dispatcher. It's similar to a pair of pliers, but breaks a chicken's neck without breaking the skin (I hope). They make them for larger birds, too. Could I use one of these prior to exsanguination? Would it affect the ease of plucking?

 

[Beekissed]

I've used the wringing the neck method with young fryers and it is very quick and easy. For older, tougher birds..not so easy. It has to be repeated for them and it feels awful in your hand, all those bones crackling around!

 

[wishin4chicken]

This is how my mother-in-law used to process the Sunday dinner. She had an old apple box with a nice knot hole in it. The box was put over the intended entre and invariably the chicken stuck it's head out of the hole. She was ready with the ax and whop. No flopping to watch because the chicken was in under the box.

Husband says she'd have dinner ready in no time.

She was quite the gal.

Michele.

 

[ninjapoodles]

I just posted some additional info with pictures, over on the other thread , after questioning Alex on just how he did our birds. He is adamant that if you do it right, the eyes should close immediately and the bird should be instantly brain-dead. That definitely goes along with what I observed, though I have NOT tried it myself yet, just watched him.

 

[DTchickens]

Quote:
ROTFL, wish i could have been there..