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

[Kassaundra]

Oh, the other reason I am done now it I left the wings partially feathered and in tact, when my husband goes to work I am going to give each dog one. Thought I was going to cut my fingers off trying to skin them, decided it wasn't worth the tiny meat on them.

 

[fisherlady]

Older roos are a PAIN! We did a flock for an older gentleman who was having trouble with egg eating and aging hens no longer laying. The older hens were tougher than our 'teenager' extra roos... and certainly tougher than our meat birds, but not too horrible... but that rooster took forever! And I am with the rest of you... I was about ready to give up on it... but I did finish him so that he could be made into broth.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Done w/ both, and man oh man you guys can keep your fully feathered roos, I'll take my castrated NN any day!!!!!! My NN's take 10 minutes, 5 to pluck and 5 to eviscerate, those guys took me an hour or more each and brute force, the only reason I'm done now is I finally gave up and started cutting the birds into pieces and skinned each piece, and jajean, your not kidding about getting the crop out, pulling a chainsaw cord would have been easier!!!!!

My new killing set up will need a little work, I think the principle is good just needs some tweeking.

It took me longer to get the crop out away from the neck--just the crop!!!!--than it took me to completely skin, gut and process a same-aged Silkie pullet that went and committed suicide in my pool. I wouldn't have believed it until I actually did it. Skinning them took incredible brute force--my husband holding one end and me pulling on the other. In the middle of trying to skin the second bird, I was tempted to scald them and pluck them, but since I only had one left I didn't. Plus I feared plucking would be the same horror show that skinning was. Imagine thinking scalding and plucking would be easier and quicker than skinning.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Older roos are a PAIN! We did a flock for an older gentleman who was having trouble with egg eating and aging hens no longer laying. The older hens were tougher than our 'teenager' extra roos... and certainly tougher than our meat birds, but not too horrible... but that rooster took forever! And I am with the rest of you... I was about ready to give up on it... but I did finish him so that he could be made into broth.

What really surprised me was how hard it was to remove the entrails. I couldn't just put my hand in and swipe away the connective tissue that held everything in place. No, I had to go in with a knife and cut the connective tissue. I had to use a knife to skin him like I was taking a hide off an animal. Everything was difficult with those birds and they were only 10 months old.

I won't be using them just for broth. One I cooked up and used in a curry and for soup; the other two are still in the freezer. I let them age for five days in the fridge I think. The one I ate wasn't as tough as I feared he might be.

 

[Kassaundra]

What really surprised me was how hard it was to remove the entrails. I couldn't just put my hand in and swipe away the connective tissue that held everything in place. No, I had to go in with a knife and cut the connective tissue. I had to use a knife to skin him like I was taking a hide off an animal. Everything was difficult with those birds and they were only 10 months old.

I won't be using them just for broth. One I cooked up and used in a curry and for soup; the other two are still in the freezer. I let them age for five days in the fridge I think. The one I ate wasn't as tough as I feared he might be.

Totally agree on every point, the entrails had to be cut out, first time I've ever not just put my hand in and pulled out easily. I've been looking up recipes for coc'que'vin (sp \) hoping that will make the edible. I do not know how old his boys were, figuring they were around 1 year at least.

 

[Kassaundra]

Tried a new pellet type, I like it the Destroyer type, pointed expanding pellet. They worked well.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Totally agree on every point, the entrails had to be cut out, first time I've ever not just put my hand in and pulled out easily. I've been looking up recipes for coc'que'vin (sp \) hoping that will make the edible. I do not know how old his boys were, figuring they were around 1 year at least.

Any slow cooking moist recipe would work. You just don't want to cook it to death so it is tasteless.

 

[Beekissed]

That group of cheap meat roosters was just like this....I don't believe I've ever had a more difficult processing and I've killed some pretty old birds before. I think it was a combination of old roosters and cold weather that kept all the tissues to tight to the body and in the body. It was actual work to separate the bird from the offal and the meat from the bones. That last group I just canned right on the bone because it was just too tough to cut while raw.

Processing those twelve birds was more difficult than processing 25 CX. Now I know why they used to "age" the birds with the guts, skin, feathers and all before cleaning it for cooking.

 

[BCMaraniac]

OH I wasn't castrating them I was processing them. My FIL wanted one of my NN roos, so his to big boys had to go, and he was to soft hearted to do the deed so I did it today.

Oh, sorry. I was replying to Arielle about castrating at 4 weeks....and not castrating late. Then my brain translated that into you were caponizing roosters, not butchering......a foggy brain day, I'm afraid.....LOL.

 

[Kassaundra]

Oh, sorry. I was replying to Arielle about castrating at 4 weeks....and not castrating late. Then my brain translated that into you were caponizing roosters, not butchering......a foggy brain day, I'm afraid.....LOL.

No problem, I have those days too.