"processed" 1 rooster today

[ace6175]

Thanks for the support from everyone!
The reason I think my dh didn't use a sharp enough knife is that the rooster's neck had a lot of blood clots - he didn't bleed out enough, which is probably due to the not so sharp knife. It was quite a mess to clean......hopefully he didn't suffer too much.
But if I had to do it again, at least I know what NOT to do!!
We are having chicken tonight (but not that rooster!)

 

[jaku]

Quote:
As long as you get the jugular vein, they should bleed out fine. I kill with the blade of a utility knife- VERY sharp, and when it starts to dull, I throw it out and get a new one.

 

[Bedste]

I would like to know what is the best humain way. I have many roosters and I really like them but they will not be happy together for long and it is difficult to find them homes. I guess everyone has plenty of roosters. I saw this article of a guy popping the neck first and then hanging them upside down while all the blood goes to the head. Which way is the best. This way seems peaceful but I wonder what it would be like in real life. http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/Chicken_a/killing-chicken-meat.php

 

[Winsor Woods]

Quote:
Do you plan to use the roosters for food or do you just want to put it down peacefully? If you want to eat the chicken then the best overall solution is to bleed them out by cutting the jugular and hanging them upside down. The meat keeps much longer this way.

If you want them to drift off peacefully and don't care about muscles tissue engorged with blood, then the American Zoological Association recommends carbon dioxide asphyxiation. Basically you would put the bird in a large bucket or trashcan and run the hose from a CO2 canister into the bucket/can. You turn the valve on for 15 seconds or so and the CO2 displaces the regular atmospheric air and they drift off and don't know what hit them. That's the way feeder mice, feeder bunnies, feeder quail, etc. are dispatched before feeding to the animals.

Dan

 

[Bedste]

Thank you Dan.. I am going to eat them or give them away for others to eat. If you pop their neck and then hang them upside down, before cutting off their heads wouldn't that be smoother? Just asking.

 

[Scoop]

Don't feel bad, I used the sharpest knife I could use and struggled, too.

 

[Winsor Woods]

Quote:
You can kill a chicken just about any way you want. For food purposes (palatibility and storage longevity, you want to get as much blood out as possible.) Unfortunatley, you need the chicken's heart beating to accomplish this goal. A quick kill, means that the heart stops quickly too. It's a catch 22 of sorts. Here's a response in another thread that I quoted a passage from a book on the subject.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2790287#p2790287

Dan

 

[Linkoso]

Aw...

I'm sorry for your bad experience.

I never use a knife when i kill... I HATE

to see the animal bleed to death while the head is still attached to the body.

I always use an axe, and before i use the axe i always faint the animal (if the animal is'nt fainted or stuned before you cut the trought or neck off it is counted as animal cruelty here in Sweden).

 

[Bedste]

please tell me how to faint a rooster

 

[protodon]

Chickens are pretty much hypnotized once they are placed upside down and by using the sharpest thing available the bird shouldn't feel much of the cut. Then it will begin to lose conciousness and this method helps to get as much of the blood out of the body as possible.

I've only processed one rooster so far but I used a scalpel to cut him while he was hanging upside down. Then I tried using a "sharp" knife to clean the bird and it was terrible . I went back to the scalpel and it was a piece of cake. I'm glad I didn't try using that knife to disbatch the bird. It would've been terrible but now I am sold on the scalpel. Yes you do need to have replacement blades but you know they they will be super sharp every time you take them out of the package.