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

[Sally Sunshine]

awww Chicks, gutting isn't bad, and yes its messy in there, you just need to clear out the entire cavity, and yes that means ripping and pulling and using a knife or spoon to remove the lungs in the bottom(back) See I didn't have issues with that part because I know what a clean carcaus is and how to do it, once all that stuff is out your down to ribs and its all fairly clean after a good rinse with the hose.

Maybe you should gift them and take a break, its not for everyone that's for sure. Doesn't mean you failed anything, just means you need time or need to choose a different route!

 

[Elke Beck]

I was set up and we sized the cone. Everything was ready. I had no idea it was so hard to hit 2 of the biggest veins/arteries. Poor guy suffered until I actually hit one then he went quick. Then I had a cleaning cooler lined with a trash bag and that was fine. He cleaned up nice. Put him in the 150 degree water and I think he cooled it down from the cold water in the cooler. Plucking seemed to take forever so I guess I should have left him a minute or 2 longer. Then the clean out. It was just bad. I thought I knew how to pull everything out after watching videos but it ended up being a mess. Things tore and leaked and it was nasty.

I am thinking about giving away my last 2 cockerels so at least someone else will benefit. Not sure I have it in me to try again. I hate feeling like a failure and I hate that I feel like I totally tortured the poor roo and then mutilated his body.

If you want to give it another go, try skinning it instead of plucking, then just fillet off the breasts and cut off the legs, leaving the body cavity intact. You do not have to open the body cavity to get really good meat. Remember that you will still need to let the meat rest even though you have cut it into parts.

On not hitting the artery the first time, the very first bird I did was a RIR cockerel that my broody hen hatched and I carefully raised with his two brothers. He was my favorite, so I decided to do him first because otherwise I might wimp out on doing him. I really liked that bird. Being a newbie, I did not realize how tough the skin is on roosters -- I mean, they seem so fragile, right!?! So I made a wimpy cut and there was just a fine spray from nicking the artery. He hung upside down in the cone while I fussed and fumed over what to do. I finally got my nerve back up and wound up cutting his throat clear to the neck bone - overkill. It was a horrible experience, and if I had stopped with that failure I probably would never have done another chicken. I am still haunted by the memory of him hanging there. However, I also honor that little red rooster because his suffering has made me a much more humane butcher and I owe him a thank you for being my hard lesson.

Don't be hard on yourself, and stop thinking you are a failure - you were inexperienced, not cruel. There is a huge difference. You are a good person, and having a bobble on your first time processing does not change that.

If you decide that DIY chicken processing is not for you, then there is no shame in that. It is not pleasant, and frankly I keep getting the feeling that I might be just a little crazy for doing it.

 

[fisherlady]

If you want to give it another go, try skinning it instead of plucking, then just fillet off the breasts and cut off the legs, leaving the body cavity intact. You do not have to open the body cavity to get really good meat. Remember that you will still need to let the meat rest even though you have cut it into parts.

On not hitting the artery the first time, the very first bird I did was a RIR cockerel that my broody hen hatched and I carefully raised with his two brothers. He was my favorite, so I decided to do him first because otherwise I might wimp out on doing him. I really liked that bird. Being a newbie, I did not realize how tough the skin is on roosters -- I mean, they seem so fragile, right!?! So I made a wimpy cut and there was just a fine spray from nicking the artery. He hung upside down in the cone while I fussed and fumed over what to do. I finally got my nerve back up and wound up cutting his throat clear to the neck bone - overkill. It was a horrible experience, and if I had stopped with that failure I probably would never have done another chicken. I am still haunted by the memory of him hanging there. However, I also honor that little red rooster because his suffering has made me a much more humane butcher and I owe him a thank you for being my hard lesson.

Don't be hard on yourself, and stop thinking you are a failure - you were inexperienced, not cruel. There is a huge difference. You are a good person, and having a bobble on your first time processing does not change that.

If you decide that DIY chicken processing is not for you, then there is no shame in that. It is not pleasant, and frankly I keep getting the feeling that I might be just a little crazy for doing it.

Very well said,

chicksooner, it is never easy, and the first is hardest and no matter how well it goes it still feels like everything was all wrong. It is not a skill that happens from the first go, it gets better with experience. When you are working around the neck to cut the esophagus and windpipe it is not always easy to tell what you are working on, finding and identifying an empty crop can be a challenge and don't beat yourself up from not getting it all figured out the first time. We are still 'refining' our own preferred techniques even after doing many birds.
Give yourself credit for accomplishing what you have and take it from there.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: awesome!

 

[chicksooner]

Thank you all for making me feel a little better. I am feeling much better about it in that I killed it. I know I should not feel good about that accomplishment but for me that was a huge step. First time to kill an animal. I even throw my fish back that I catch so they can keep swimming. Never hunted where I actually killed anything and people quit taking me hunting. Pretty sure I talked too much.

Anyway, keeping my other two for now and I will conquer my fears again and eat one of my chickens. I want to taste the yum that everyone else is eating.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Thank you all for making me feel a little better. I am feeling much better about it in that I killed it. I know I should not feel good about that accomplishment but for me that was a huge step. First time to kill an animal. I even throw my fish back that I catch so they can keep swimming. Never hunted where I actually killed anything and people quit taking me hunting. Pretty sure I talked too much.

Anyway, keeping my other two for now and I will conquer my fears again and eat one of my chickens. I want to taste the yum that everyone else is eating.

you sound like my DH! I took him hunting when we first got together and he never shut up! I am like shhhhh and it wouldn't last long!

And chicks, brine them for a few days and I can SWEAR that it was ABSOLUTELY better than any turkey I ever made!

 

[Wax Myrtle]

chicks, I can't say anything everyone else has already put so well. I, also, had trouble the first couple times finding the right spot and cutting deeply enough. And older birds are much, much harder to eviscerate than young birds. I remember watching Food, Inc and seeing Salatin (?) draw a bird in like three seconds. Then I tried drawing my first - a seven month old EE cock - and it took me about thirty minutes because the membranes were soooo tough and strong.

Y'know - rereading your account just now, you mentioned plucking taking a long time because you thought he may have cooled the scald water and so didn't scald well. It gave me an idea... For those of us who pre-wash before the scald, why not set up two scald pots...? One as a warming dip, one for the true scald. I may try this, because I have occasionally had the same problem, particularly with larger birds! See, your experience has helped someone else!

 

[Alaska Fowl INC]

 

[Elke Beck]

chicks, I can't say anything everyone else has already put so well. I, also, had trouble the first couple times finding the right spot and cutting deeply enough. And older birds are much, much harder to eviscerate than young birds. I remember watching Food, Inc and seeing Salatin (?) draw a bird in like three seconds. Then I tried drawing my first - a seven month old EE cock - and it took me about thirty minutes because the membranes were soooo tough and strong.

Y'know - rereading your account just now, you mentioned plucking taking a long time because you thought he may have cooled the scald water and so didn't scald well. It gave me an idea... For those of us who pre-wash before the scald, why not set up two scald pots...? One as a warming dip, one for the true scald. I may try this, because I have occasionally had the same problem, particularly with larger birds! See, your experience has helped someone else!

Wax Myrtle,

So true on the older birds being much harder to eviscerate! Even a few weeks makes a huge difference on how hard it is to pull the guts. The Red Rangers I did yesterday were 11 weeks, and they were so much harder to do than the ones I did younger. It took a bit of muscle to break the membranes and connective tissue. BTW, I will not watch the Salatin video because seeing him casually holding a conversation and not even looking at what he is doing makes me want to give him such a pinch!

On the heated rinse water, that is a good thought. I think sometimes the cool water sets the feathers and makes it hard to get a good scald on the bird.

 

[fisherlady]

We used rather hot water for our pre wash... it was straight hot water from the tap with some Dawn and a cup of bleach (I used a large cooler to give plenty of swishing room)
After birds were bled out in cone we moved them to the pre wash and swished them a couple of minutes to loosen the yuck and get the dirt and such out of the feathers... they then went directly to scald and then to plucker. We didn't cold water bath them till after the plucking, since they would have to wait for the gutting stage for a few minutes.
Doing it that way avoided the body being chilled before it would be placed into the scald water.

If needed it would be easy enough to move them from cone to cold water for short term storage, then go to the prewash/prewarm before they go to the scalder. Biggest factor to help decide how many cold water baths you need to set up for would be how many folks you had to help or if you were doing it yourself. If I were working myself I would definitely add in the extra cold bath container to give myself extra time for getting the stages finished.