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

[offgridhermit]

I'm getting set up to do some butchering today, by myself. It's just going to be 3 Cornish roosters today.






My hanging and bleed out area. Heads and blood will go into an old feed sack. Last time I had a bucket hanging there.
Turkey fryer for scalding. Tub of cold water for finished birds to rest in till I bring them in the house. (Well, after dispatching my first one, I found the bucket works better).



Scalding and plucking area. I pluck in a wheelbarrow..



Processing station.

More of the processing station.

Processing station with covered table, cutting board, sharp knives with a knife sharpener. I'm using my fishing filet knife. A double sink that has no plumbing so I am using dish pans in the sinks.

Right now I'm waiting for my scald water to get hot enough.

One rooster is currently bleeding out. It turned out messier this time, since last time a friend did the killing for me. So I won't show a pix of my hanging bird.

I'm still learning.

Well BYC friends, wish me luck.
Cheryl, the off grid hermit.

 

[hennible]

Good luck!
Your set up looks awesome!

 

[offgridhermit]

Well, I only butchered 1 bird. It was a lot smaller than the birds I butchered last time. So I'm going to let the others do some more growing.


Bleeding out.

after plucking.

I was expecting a larger breast.

legs and wings removed.

innards removed.

gizzard, heart, and liver. The wishbone removed from breast.

Wishbone piece and breast.

Breast cut up into 4 pieces. The wishbone, the middle section and 2 sides.

4 breast pieces, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, liver, heart, gizzard, back and rib sections, neck, and some skin from the breasts.

4 breast pieces, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, liver, heart, gizzard, back and rib sections, neck, and some skin from the breasts.

I think set up and clean up took the most time. Hopefully I'll get faster with experience.

Feeling satisfied.

 

[hennible]

That looks great! Thanks for the pics, love how you broke him all down. I want to do that with the next. Nice job.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Hey everyone. I've heard about this thread several times from other people and now it's my turn to come in. We should be processing for the first time tomorrow or Monday. Just one extra roo. In a way, practice for the future ones that we have hatched out since any boys in that group are for food. The problem is, I've been miserable and weepy just thinking about it. Any advice you can give me to make this any easier, physically and emotionally? I want him to go as easily and painlessly as possible and I don't want to spend the next week and a half in tears either.

 

[hennible]

One thing that helps me is thinking of what I can make from the animal.... Really good soup stock, an amazing roast chicken.... Also helps to think of what it's like with to many males...for you and every flock member. Also how empowering it is to raise your own food and keep skills like butcher common... And one more that helps me is that our birds have better lives, how ever long or short they live, than their commercial counter parts.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Hey everyone. I've heard about this thread several times from other people and now it's my turn to come in. We should be processing for the first time tomorrow or Monday. Just one extra roo. In a way, practice for the future ones that we have hatched out since any boys in that group are for food. The problem is, I've been miserable and weepy just thinking about it. Any advice you can give me to make this any easier, physically and emotionally? I want him to go as easily and painlessly as possible and I don't want to spend the next week and a half in tears either.

Oh, do I know how you feel!

What method are you using to dispatch the bird?

For me, the lead up to the slaughter is always fraught with angst. Once the bird is slaughtered and processed, I don't feel so bad.

I think the killing is always the hardest and most emotionally draining. Personally, I think that knowing the method you are going to use, knowing what can go wrong and how to solve the problem when it doesn't go by the book is important. It just isn't like the YouTube videos.

Probably the most important thing is to be decisive and use more force than you think you could possibly need. If you are bleeding the bird out, pull the skin really taught and cut really deep to get the carotid arteries. You should cut both sides. Deep, right down to the arteries.

Be prepared for the death throes. They can be quite shocking to those of us who have been removed from killing and death.

Whatever method you use, there is someone here who can help and we all understand how you feel. ((((( Hugs))))))

 

[Amina]

Hey everyone. I've heard about this thread several times from other people and now it's my turn to come in. We should be processing for the first time tomorrow or Monday. Just one extra roo. In a way, practice for the future ones that we have hatched out since any boys in that group are for food. The problem is, I've been miserable and weepy just thinking about it. Any advice you can give me to make this any easier, physically and emotionally? I want him to go as easily and painlessly as possible and I don't want to spend the next week and a half in tears either.

I get really distressed thinking about processing my boys too. But keeping chickens brings me such joy that I don't want to give it up. My animals have way better quality of life than anything in a factory farm. And if I were ordering from hatcheries, the parents of my chicks would be kept in miserable conditions, and the boys would be killed right after hatch. So I'd rather hatch my own and give the boys a chance at a short, but good life. It's still painful for me to do, but it's for the best. I hope this helps you.

 

[Happy Chooks]

This week I processed my first ever rabbits. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be (cuteness factor) They are brining now I did 6, and they were sooooo much easier then chickens, and almost no smell unlike chickens. I did them same as I do chickens, w/ a pellet gun, only no cone.

One thing that was a bit freakier then chickens is how long their muscles continue to "twitch" after death. I'm not talking full on death throes but muscle twitching for an hour or so after death, skinning, processing and in the brining bucket.

Great job! Rabbits have way too much cuteness, I don't know if I could do them.

Good luck!
Your set up looks awesome!

x2

Hey everyone. I've heard about this thread several times from other people and now it's my turn to come in. We should be processing for the first time tomorrow or Monday. Just one extra roo. In a way, practice for the future ones that we have hatched out since any boys in that group are for food. The problem is, I've been miserable and weepy just thinking about it. Any advice you can give me to make this any easier, physically and emotionally? I want him to go as easily and painlessly as possible and I don't want to spend the next week and a half in tears either.

It helps me to think of the life they had here in the sunshine/fresh air instead of commercial farming techniques. I'm not going to lie, the first time is especially difficult. Here's some tips:

Put a couple drops of dishsoap in your water for scalding. It helps with the plucking.
Pick a method you are comfortable with. You don't want to add risk to yourself with a method that makes you more nervous.
Be prepared that the killing may not go as well as you hoped. It's a learned skill.
Be prepared for the death throws. They can be quite strong, depending on the method chosen.
The first time the smell really got to me - both of the wet feathers, and during gutting.
Prepare yourself during gutting that it's warm inside. It's a strange feeling.
Clean and let the bird rest in the fridge until rigor is gone.
If you are feeling upset about the processing, bag the bird and place it in the freezer until you have gotten past the emotional part of it.

I'm sure I'll think of more.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Thanks everyone. Hubby is outside getting things set up now. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to even go outside for this one. This is extremely emotional for me. To kill him, hubby's going to use a sharp hatchet and a stump. Mostly because we couldn't find a kill cone at TSC. The most we've ever processed before were two fish and hubby food a squirrel once. I know he had a great life, free ranging and eating good but we hadn't planned to kill him at first so we got very close to him. I'm sure eventually this will be easier but right now, I'm crying as I type. Pms isn't helping either.