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

[Arielle]

Quote: WHat do you mean by the "holding nails"???

 

[Kassaundra]

WHat do you mean by the "holding nails"???

When people use the hatchet method they partially nail two nails side by side just wider then the neck and narrower then the head, they place the chicken on the flat surface w/ neck between the nails to use them as a 3rd hand so they can put slight tension on the birds neck and keep it still and in place.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Well that is clever!! I have always relied on my DH to swing with great acruacy to not hit my hand stretching out the neck for a merci killing. lol

 

[Phoenixxx]

WHat do you mean by the "holding nails"??? 

One of the threads here suggested putting two nails in a board, far apart enough for the neck but close enough to hold the head, so that you can stretch the chicken's neck out by pulling the feet. Then you give yourself a larger target ergo less chance of a miss.

My husband laughed when he saw that - said chickens will stretch their necks out on their own if you just stroke them first. Well, he kinda told me that a little late!

 

[ChaoSS]

I've considered trying the hatchet but the one I have is far too light and awkwardly short. I'm already accustomed to handling the machete (ours is home-made, about 3' long and very heavy) as i've used it for clearing brush and chopping branches many times. If it weren't for the head-holding nails I think I would've been fine; in fact, I didn't use them for the second bird but instead used my husband's technique of gently stroking the neck to get the head stretched out.

hmmm. Mine won't stay still long enough to make the kill without being held in place. I always wonder if other people just have a magic touch or something. Anyway, your machete sounds great, I always think of the cheap ones they sell in hardware stores, fine for certain things, but I wouldn't want to take a head off with one. You would have to have one heck of a fast swing, and I'm not accurate when I try to do that.

 

[Phoenixxx]

hmmm. Mine won't stay still long enough to make the kill without being held in place. I always wonder if other people just have a magic touch or something. Anyway, your machete sounds great, I always think of the cheap ones they sell in hardware stores, fine for certain things, but I wouldn't want to take a head off with one. You would have to have one heck of a fast swing, and I'm not accurate when I try to do that.

I think the trick is to hold the bird just higher than where it's head lays. My husband uses an unsplit log section barely big enough to lay the neck across but holds the legs up. To calm the bird he strokes the neck with the blade until it lays still and then swings. When I tried that with my second, it worked pretty well

 

[ChaoSS]

I think the trick is to hold the bird just higher than where it's head lays. My husband uses an unsplit log section barely big enough to lay the neck across but holds the legs up. To calm the bird he strokes the neck with the blade until it lays still and then swings. When I tried that with my second, it worked pretty well

I'll try that some other time. Right now I'm not using a chopping block, once I shoot them I'm doing it right on the ground. I think next time I'm going to be using a noose instead of the nails some people use, on a section of 2x4.

 

[Arielle]

I would love to see the little boy in charge of the processing, swing and whack, swing and whack. A sight to see I"m sure. A well skilled butcher at a tender age.

 

[winteree]

If it has been working for you there is no need to change at this point. I am a firm believer in the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

right on

 

[winteree]

I must say, my first dispatch was a disaster! I did not check to make sure the machete was sharp. The first blow glanced off the head-holding nails but injured the chicken so there was no turning back. I felt so terrible, my stomach was turning, I almost felt like crying - but damage was done, for the poor chicken's sake I had to keep going and go as quickly as possible. Second whack I'm sure was the killing blow, but it took another three or four blows to sever the head completely. By then, I was covered in blood and shaking... It was awful!

After that, I vowed to leave the dispatching bit for my husband. He did the next few for me. Recently, though, there was a roo I wanted for dinner but week after week, he never got around to knocking him off. Finally one day I decided to pull up my socks and just do it myself. Stomach turning, feeling guilty, shaking, I grabbed the SHARPENED machete and just went for it. Death blow first strike, head fully severed on strike two. So, nowhere near as disastrous as my first time, which is good. I expect the next time will go even better but I don't think the tummy-turning, shaking and guilt will ever go away.

man that sucks

well a good rule of thumb is if the blade can split paper without ripping it can make a clean follow though i hope it goes better with newer kills