Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[Beekissed]

It's recommended to bleed the animal while the heart is still beating so that it forces more blood out of the carcass. That's just a hygienic thing that keeps the meat fresh longer and was pretty important back in the day before refrigeration and some folks claim it changes the flavor of the meat if the blood is kept in the tissues.

I can't say I've ever eaten an animal that didn't have a good bleed out, so I cannot attest to any flavor differences that may occur when there is no proper bleed out.

 

[BCMaraniac]

maybe I can do it with our pellet gun cause I don't think my beretta would leave any chicken to eat

Something about the bleeding with knife that seems cruel, with a pellet in right place should be instant I hope. Thanks. I went to zoo school and they showed a video of animals being cut and bled before getting processed and it was very disturbing watching lamb and cows being hung upside down and bled so maybe that is why I am having a problem, still gives me the heebie jeebies. So much I was a vegetarian for several years until I went home to p's and they eat meat every night and I realized there is a reason we are the top of the food chain and dug in.

Since we humans were given dominion over the beasts and the fowl, as long as we are good stewards of the resources, all is good.

My hubby thinks butchering a chicken up close and personal is uncomfortable for him......but a shotgun at 20 yards is not......guess who butchers the chickens?

 

[ronott1]

maybe I can do it with our pellet gun cause I don't think my beretta would leave any chicken to eat

Something about the bleeding with knife that seems cruel, with a pellet in right place should be instant I hope. Thanks. I went to zoo school and they showed a video of animals being cut and bled before getting processed and it was very disturbing watching lamb and cows being hung upside down and bled so maybe that is why I am having a problem, still gives me the heebie jeebies. So much I was a vegetarian for several years until I went home to p's and they eat meat every night and I realized there is a reason we are the top of the food chain and dug in.

Why? So basically I need to woman up huh?

Bee answered this nicely. What I meant was that the chicken needs to be hanging over a bucket to allow the blood to pump out. From what has been posted, the pellet method will still cause the bleed out.

A friend processed cockerels and did not bleed them properly. several had weird blood spots in the meat.

The whole process with your home birds is much more humane than what the Store version went through to get on our tables. You are way ahead with processing yours.

 

[Beekissed]

Since we humans were given dominion over the beasts and the fowl, as long as we are good stewards of the resources, all is good.

My hubby thinks butchering a chicken up close and personal is uncomfortable for him......but a shotgun at 20 yards is not......guess who butchers the chickens?

My boys would love to do it that way too....just more fun when there are loud noises and blood flying for the menfolk. In our family, it's the women who do all the chicken processing...and all the other processing, for that matter. Generations upon generations of womenfolk doing the dirty deeds to put food on the table. You can imagine why it's a foreign concept for me when other women have a problem with it...in my experience, women are more able to handle the tough, messy, stinky and dirty jobs in this life than are men. We have stronger stomachs for poopy diapers, kid vomit, period messes, etc.

Butchering chickens is much the same and women are specifically designed for handling all the messes life. We just do it because someone has to and men usually get out of it by saying they "can't handle it".

That's how Mom got cornered into doing all the deer gutting and processing many moons ago, because my Dad had nicked the gut when he shot a deer and couldn't handle the smell. It was all downhill from there..from then on my mother was the "gutter". Literally.

Bee answered this nicely. What I meant was that the chicken needs to be hanging over a bucket to allow the blood to pump out. From what has been posted, the pellet method will still cause the bleed out.

A friend processed cockerels and did not bleed them properly. several had weird blood spots in the meat.

The whole process with you home birds is much more humane than what the Store version went through to get on our tables. You are way ahead with processing yours.

Yep! WAY ahead.

 

[Kassaundra]

It is important to bleed them though.

I hang them upside down in a killing cone type method, shoot in the head w/ the pellet, they bleed out through the big hole in the head just fine. I only cut the head off after death is complete and death throes finished.

 

[jajeanpierre]

maybe I can do it with our pellet gun cause I don't think my beretta would leave any chicken to eat

Something about the bleeding with knife that seems cruel, with a pellet in right place should be instant I hope. Thanks. I went to zoo school and they showed a video of animals being cut and bled before getting processed and it was very disturbing watching lamb and cows being hung upside down and bled so maybe that is why I am having a problem, still gives me the heebie jeebies. So much I was a vegetarian for several years until I went home to p's and they eat meat every night and I realized there is a reason we are the top of the food chain and dug in.

My pet vet told me that slaughtering large animals Kosher style is pretty ugly and distressing to the animal. They cut through the trachea, which causes the stress. I don't think bleeding out is all that stressful, but the animal does go through many involuntary movements in response to dying that aren't pleasant to watch. The trick is to do it right the first time. Easier said than done, of course. Watch lots of YouTube videos so you understand what done well looks like. I suspect being hesitant is the most common mistake we novices make.

 

[Beekissed]

I used to cut through the trachea and saw no additional stress from that practice. It just opens a better airway for the bird that is hung upside down, is all. Now, an animal that is standing or kneeling while the throat is cut might have more issues if the trachea is cut, due to aspiration of blood.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I used to cut through the trachea and saw no additional stress from that practice. It just opens a better airway for the bird that is hung upside down, is all. Now, an animal that is standing or kneeling while the throat is cut might have more issues if the trachea is cut, due to aspiration of blood.

My vet was talking about big mammals. He said the big mammals were very distressed because they were choking. I agree, it isn't the same as with chickens hanging upside down.

 

[Beekissed]

I've seen those kind of butchers and it ain't pretty....but none of them are pretty, so to speak. I saw a vid the other day of a couple of guys butchering a huge bull on a busy city street with the use of some ropes, a few poles, a few large pans and a big ol' knife. I couldn't believe their efficiency in this endeavor...but felt pretty bad for the bull.

 

[chicken junky]

I think I might be able to do the pellet gun in cone I just have this problem with the whole knife jugular thing. Maybe after a few thousand it won't bother me so much. Was talking to my vet today and she said she can't do it either unless it is suffering then it is nothing for her. So I told her I would break their wings and bring them to her to finish off. She told me she would teach me how to set their wings.