All went rather well. I weighed bagged chickens and I got an average of 6.7lbs and largest was 7.3lbs and smallest was 6.5lbs.
Things that went well: plucker was great time saver and did a great job. The knifes where sharp to start with. Kill cone was big enough. Having running water with shut off valves was handy. Plenty of buckets for things.
Things that need improved: need more kill cones. I got water too hot and the skin started to tear in plucker. Reduced heat and was fine after that. Need to make a basket to chat he feathers from plucker. Bucket didn't work. Need larger table to work on n and a sink might be nice.
Things I learned about gutting a chicken: No one in my family eats the neck so I cut it off at the base near ribs. At first I cut too much skin with the neck learned to leave more skin. Next I learned to loosen the crop and windpipe from neck and in cavity before removing the neck so you don't cut the crop. Next I don't like the tail part of the chicken so I figure out how to cut the small opening two fingers down from breast plate and then use knife to cut down to under the vent on one side then the other. Then I used my fingers to make a hole under the rectum and then slide knife in and cut down removing the tail and the oil gland in one cut freeing the vent and tail from body so I can pull all the intestines out with out any leaking. I then learned that if you loosing all connective tissue around inside cavity all the way up and on both sides and the backbone area the guts all come out in one time and intact. If you first dig your two fingers over the top of the lungs when you first pull they come out with everything too. I learned a lot with just five birds. Should be better the next time too. It only took me 10min per bird to include catching them and bleeding them out.
I had three roosters and two hens. I noticed my hens had much more fat in them. I am curious if they will taste any different.
