We finally did it! We took the plunge and processed 3 big ole roosters yesterday.
It was very interesting! We used the HIGHLY technical "zip-ties-around-the-legs-and-nailed-to-a-tree" technique. We also nailed a contractor bag to the tree to catch the blood so it wouldn't get all over the ground.
I really surprised myself. I was expecting to be pretty sad when it came to the killing part. I did feel a little apprehension when I was holding the first rooster and putting the zip ties on him. But once we hung him up, it was just a matter of pulling the extra skin back on his neck and doing the deed. My lack of sadness kind of startled me. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the first rooster had a badly dislocated hip. So we were kind of putting him out of his misery.
A couple of things occurred throughout the process that I wasn't prepared for...
1: When roosters die, the flap and flail like Satan himself is inside of them. I was not prepared for this and got a face-full of blood for it.
Moral of the story: Have your partner hold the bird firmly in place at time of death.
2: When slaughtering someone else's chickens, there are certain things that you should be prepared for. Like, said chickens being INFESTED with lice. Failure to adequately prepare for this may result in heebie jeebies, goosebumps, nausea, and the urge to itch and flail for the next 12 consecutive hours. Moral of the story: Don't process lice infested chickens. *twitch*
3: When processing lice infested chickens outside in cold, dry, windy weather, removing the skin will cause the underlying membranes to dry and harden. Thus creating a greasy, stiff "patient" that is quite difficult to work with. Not to mention, kind of gross
Moral of the story: Don't process lice infested chickens. Or at least do it inside so the membranes stay moist when you remove the disgusting lousy skin.
4: Chicken lungs are very cool looking. They are also nigh unto impossible to remove when your fingers are exhausted and have almost no dexterity left. Moral of the story: Don't be such a cheap ChicknThief and buy a freakin lung scraper.
All of that aside, it was a great experience! We got three out of six done, gave one to the owner of the flock, and will be going back in two weeks to process the other three! Hopefully next time things will go a little smoother now that we have a full grasp on what we are getting into
It was very interesting! We used the HIGHLY technical "zip-ties-around-the-legs-and-nailed-to-a-tree" technique. We also nailed a contractor bag to the tree to catch the blood so it wouldn't get all over the ground.
I really surprised myself. I was expecting to be pretty sad when it came to the killing part. I did feel a little apprehension when I was holding the first rooster and putting the zip ties on him. But once we hung him up, it was just a matter of pulling the extra skin back on his neck and doing the deed. My lack of sadness kind of startled me. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the first rooster had a badly dislocated hip. So we were kind of putting him out of his misery.
A couple of things occurred throughout the process that I wasn't prepared for...
1: When roosters die, the flap and flail like Satan himself is inside of them. I was not prepared for this and got a face-full of blood for it.
2: When slaughtering someone else's chickens, there are certain things that you should be prepared for. Like, said chickens being INFESTED with lice. Failure to adequately prepare for this may result in heebie jeebies, goosebumps, nausea, and the urge to itch and flail for the next 12 consecutive hours. Moral of the story: Don't process lice infested chickens. *twitch*
3: When processing lice infested chickens outside in cold, dry, windy weather, removing the skin will cause the underlying membranes to dry and harden. Thus creating a greasy, stiff "patient" that is quite difficult to work with. Not to mention, kind of gross
4: Chicken lungs are very cool looking. They are also nigh unto impossible to remove when your fingers are exhausted and have almost no dexterity left. Moral of the story: Don't be such a cheap ChicknThief and buy a freakin lung scraper.
All of that aside, it was a great experience! We got three out of six done, gave one to the owner of the flock, and will be going back in two weeks to process the other three! Hopefully next time things will go a little smoother now that we have a full grasp on what we are getting into
