Processed my first chicken today....questions...

[50-45-1]

https://www.thereadystore.com/food-storage/11966/how-to-pluck-and-dress-a-chicken/
this is a pretty good site explaning how to dress out a chicken. There are a buch of them out there on the web. Even how to videos.

One fall When i was about 12 my mom and I dressed out about 10 chickens a day.
She had raised 100 meat birds and i learned very fast. I dont like to skin a chicken because the skin retaines the moisture and flavor. So we scalded ( do this outside as its very stinky) i have never kept the feet to do anything with. I have known some that have, i think it may be southern thing.
Its actually not that bad, once you get the hang of it.
I agree with the bumble foot idea. Also if your birds are heavy and they have a fair distance to leap up and down from there roosts it can make them lame. Also consider the surface they have to land on. Is it cusoned in shavings or hard boards.

 

[SomeChickinTN]

https://www.thereadystore.com/food-storage/11966/how-to-pluck-and-dress-a-chicken/
this is a pretty good site explaning how to dress out a chicken. There are a buch of them out there on the web. Even how to videos.

One fall When i was about 12 my mom and I dressed out about 10 chickens a day.
She had raised 100 meat birds and i learned very fast. I dont like to skin a chicken because the skin retaines the moisture and flavor. So we scalded ( do this outside as its very stinky) i have never kept the feet to do anything with. I have known some that have, i think it may be southern thing.
Its actually not that bad, once you get the hang of it.
I agree with the bumble foot idea. Also if your birds are heavy and they have a fair distance to leap up and down from there roosts it can make them lame. Also consider the surface they have to land on. Is it cusoned in shavings or hard boards.

I didn't think to look for a spot. Are they still safe to eat if they have that? I have dual purpose breeds, so the weight probably is a factor.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I didn't think to look for a spot. Are they still safe to eat if they have that?

As long as you're not eating their feet, I'd say so. For those that you're not going to be processing for the table soon, I'd give them all a thorough looking over including but not limited to: bottoms of feet for bumblefoot, feathers at the base of the tail & wingpits (arm pits?) for lice and mites, nostrils for mucous or food particle blockages, a quick pinch at the breast bone to determine healthy weight vs bony, a gentle pinch at the edges of their beak to gaze into their mouth and throat to look for candidiasis (thrush), gape worms or food lodged in there. Examine the condition and cleanliness of the feathers over her rump, is there any swelling, redness or prolapse evident? Does she smell bad? When not holding your chicken, do you hear a rattling sound when they breathe (rales)? These are just some wellness observations of the actual birds, but doing this periodically can go a very long way in nipping disease in the bud and alerting you to possible problems in the coop, run, diet and even stress levels in your flock. Oh and...

No, it took about 2 hours to skin and gut because we were sort of learning as we went.

My first took a very long time too, but I'd estimate it takes about a half-hour per bird now that I have a better understanding of the process, AND a decent knife and kitchen shears.

 

[trudyg]

You get better with time and practice. Sounds like maybe you need someone to watch the kids next time so you have everything handy during a stressful time. I use a zip tie to cinch up the feet and hang by the feet from a nail in a tree. Then, I use a utility knife with a new blade for the kill. Mine tend to not pass out, so I stroke them and talk to them to calm them, then part the feathers so the blade is where it needs to be and, swipe, good deep cut and walk away. Wash off the blade and dry it so it's good for next time. I use one of those table used for cleaning fish, have the hose a buckets handy. Once it's dead it's not really so bad, just watch that your knife is sharp and don't cut yourself. Go as slow as you need to--better to waste a bird and learn than hurry and make a mess of it (even tho I've done that, too, and kept what meat I could easily cut off.) no biggie