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

[Sally Sunshine]

I helped process my meat birds this year. It was very hard for me. I'm a huge animal lover and hate to see animals in pain. I promised my hubby I would take care of them and help with the processing. I went in the run and picked out a chicken. I held him and petted him and thanked him for his life. I hung him upside down and hubby cut his throat to bleed him. I cried. When he was dead I plucked his feathers and hubby gutted him. What helped me get throuh it was knowing that they were loved and had happy chicken lives. Hang in there. This past weekend we sent 3 roosters to freezer camp. Big hugs to you Sally.

BG you made me cry! But you did it anyways, your so strong! Thank you!

You know my dad would crack jokes and make fun of my stupidness about all this! But again, its all in the way we are brought up. So its all his fault right??????

 

[ozexpat]

I was not always a cold blooded animal killer!

I always get a pang when I kill anything. I do have the ability to rationalize and compartmentalize. It helps.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: Thank you so much! Chad was telling me how he and Bruce did theirs, see my dad did the chopping block and the flying flopping birds everywhere.

Did you have any eating them issues? I think I need to get passed being able to eat them first.

 

[CayuseRanch]

Hey Sally great thread. I thought I would share my processing experiences with you but let me say I am not highly experienced.

When we first got chickens we had 6. After getting on BYC my addiction grew. I told myself that I couldn't get more chickens unless I was willing to process the roo's. Regrettably you just dont get all pullets when you hatch.

Luckily the Okies in the BYC were having their annual swap soon after and one of the things going on at the swap was a processing demonstration. So I sat thru that demonstration which was very educational. They demonstrated several ways to process including the one on the thread you processed. My "favorite" way follows, but first I want to tell you why I prefer this way. The one in the thread to me is fairly messy. Also when you cut the jugular to me, it seems the bird is still alive until it bleeds out. (there is a reason they do that though it is supposed to make better meat somehow) I want the bird dead immediately with no suffering. That is also why I don't send my birds to be processed. I know I will give them a clean and fast death.

Some pre-processing recommendations...
* As mentioned, Don't name your birds. We name only a few, that for one reason or another we get attached to and we know they will not be processed.
* Try to seperate your processing birds into a seperate area
* Do not talk to the birds before processing, don't thank them for feeding the family etc. If you must, do it when your bagging them for the freezer
* I tell myself its like a day at work. Don't think, just do.

Processing day.

Gather the chickens for processing into a large cage. I am sentimental enough that I do not put them in an area where they can see the deed.

Tie a sturdy rope around something overhead...a large branch, a beam in the barn, etc I actually hang two ropes

Get a large stump and place in front of the rope

Have bucket below rope hanging from beam

Have sharp ax at the ready

Tie the rope around the chickens legs and let them hang upside down. Leave them there like that for a minute or so. You want them nice and relaxed. At this time the bucket should be below where they are hanging also.

When the bird is relaxed, take him by the head and stretch his neck over the top of the stump. I hold his head with my left hand and the rope is taught enough that it pulls his legs back so he is stretched out. Hope that makes sense. No pictorials here.

Then using the ax, sever the neck completely and let him hang over the bucket till bleeding stops.

Walla, bird dead, freezer full. Its not "easy" by any means. But it does get a little easier each time.

We also skin our birds since we don't eat the skin anyway, and easier to clean.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

oz!
I better send a letter to your roommate suggesting when he sees a cone being brought into the house to get the BBQ sauce and not the authorities!

 

[fisherlady]

I always get a pang when I kill anything. I do have the ability to rationalize and compartmentalize. It helps.

Yes, that is a big part of it. I deal with a lot at my job, so I have learned over the years to seperate myself from things I can control and things I can't.

 

[Gardeningmama]

Quote:
I have no plan at all, LOL! Haven't from day 1, I just wanted some chickens, then I wanted to hatch. Hatched, ended up with too many roos, no one else wants. I haven't thought about processing, maybe because I just don't think I can. Mental block, you know? Heck, that chick I asked about, how to cull? Still screaming in the brooder. I keep saying I'm gonna do it tonight. As far as eating them, it took me a while to eat my own eggs, Sally. I'm a wussie too.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Hey Sally great thread. I thought I would share my processing experiences with you but let me say I am not highly experienced.

When we first got chickens we had 6. After getting on BYC my addiction grew. I told myself that I couldn't get more chickens unless I was willing to process the roo's. Regrettably you just dont get all pullets when you hatch.

Luckily the Okies in the BYC were having their annual swap soon after and one of the things going on at the swap was a processing demonstration. So I sat thru that demonstration which was very educational. They demonstrated several ways to process including the one on the thread you processed. My "favorite" way follows, but first I want to tell you why I prefer this way. The one in the thread to me is fairly messy. Also when you cut the jugular to me, it seems the bird is still alive until it bleeds out. (there is a reason they do that though it is supposed to make better meat somehow) I want the bird dead immediately with no suffering. That is also why I don't send my birds to be processed. I know I will give them a clean and fast death.

Some pre-processing recommendations...
* As mentioned, Don't name your birds. We name only a few, that for one reason or another we get attached to and we know they will not be processed.
* Try to seperate your processing birds into a seperate area
* Do not talk to the birds before processing, don't thank them for feeding the family etc. If you must, do it when your bagging them for the freezer
* I tell myself its like a day at work. Don't think, just do.

Processing day.

Gather the chickens for processing into a large cage. I am sentimental enough that I do not put them in an area where they can see the deed.

Tie a sturdy rope around something overhead...a large branch, a beam in the barn, etc I actually hang two ropes

Get a large stump and place in front of the rope

Have bucket below rope hanging from beam

Have sharp ax at the ready

Tie the rope around the chickens legs and let them hang upside down. Leave them there like that for a minute or so. You want them nice and relaxed. At this time the bucket should be below where they are hanging also.

When the bird is relaxed, take him by the head and stretch his neck over the top of the stump. I hold his head with my left hand and the rope is taught enough that it pulls his legs back so he is stretched out. Hope that makes sense. No pictorials here.

Then using the ax, sever the neck completely and let him hang over the bucket till bleeding stops.

Walla, bird dead, freezer full. Its not "easy" by any means. But it does get a little easier each time.

We also skin our birds since we don't eat the skin anyway, and easier to clean.

Thank you! I can envision this method yes. Do they not flop and fly or is it because they remain head down feet tied?

I haven't seen a thread that shows how to skin a bird, have you seen any? We also dont eat the skin, only on a turkey
Do you have to skin it like a dear or squirl? or do you rip it like a dove or something?

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote:
I have no plan at all, LOL! Haven't from day 1, I just wanted some chickens, then I wanted to hatch. Hatched, ended up with too many roos, no one else wants. I haven't thought about processing, maybe because I just don't think I can. Mental block, you know? Heck, that chick I asked about, how to cull? Still screaming in the brooder. I keep saying I'm gonna do it tonight. As far as eating them, it took me a while to eat my own eggs, Sally. I'm a wussie too.
oh Mich! you still have the mite? we need to discuss her, take some pics and go back to the diary thread! we need to figure this poor stinker out for you! I didn't know! why didn't you tell me!

and is that how you spell wussie? I couldn't figure out how to spell it

 

[fisherlady]

Thank you so much! Chad was telling me how he and Bruce did theirs, see my dad did the chopping block and the flying flopping birds everywhere.

Did you have any eating them issues? I think I need to get passed being able to eat them first.

I would be sick seeing the flopping around too... not something for me if I know of a way to avoid it.

I didn't really have any trouble with eating them, which surprised me, especially with Brutus. Once the birds are processed then my view of them was centered on their food value, I keep a mental picture of what they looked like before in a totally seperate brain area, I guess, I know they were very happy and spoiled when they were like that, Nothing changes that. Once they are processed then they are no longer the pets they had been. I guess because they were then all about the same looking so it became much more impersonal and practical.

And I absolutely love the taste of the soup made with our birds vs the ones bought at the store. Very, very different to me. And then there's the added bonus of knowing how well they had been treated and the lack of drugs/chemicals. I would much rather process one of my own birds than buy one from some factory that processed thousands all in the same day. For every one of my own we process it is less profit for big poultry farms, and healthier for us.