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

[Elke Beck]

Do you think the brahama will taste bad as they are 7 months old? Heck they only now got the rest of their feathers, I will assume you mean meaties right? Glad I am not waiting longer for them!

Sally,

Coq au Vin is designed for old roosters, so grab a bottle of burgundy and start stewing!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote:

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

::deep breath:: i dont know, it is very involved (which i knew it would be) but those obnoxious cluckers are freakin cute and happy to see me. I *hope* that once they are dead I can take over with the rest of it as Ive told the hubby that its HIS job to kill them and Id do the rest... i find myself reading the thread and literally getting sick to my stomach, this is my first rodeo and weve lost a few laying hens to predators and two who simply dropped dead but we buried them... ive never had to kill (or clean) something this big (nothing bigger than bugs)

Here's my advice. Firstly, be sure you want to do this. Sounds like most of us in this thread either have, or plan to, butcher chickens. Don't let us pressure you into something you don't want to do.

However, if you really want to do this, set aside a whole half day to process just one bird. Just one. Do that one, force yourself to get through it, and then stop for the day. Don't try to do another one that day. Make sure you take care of yourself afterwards. Have a sympathetic friend you can call. Eat something non-chicken, or even non-meat.

Once you've done it and have some perspective, you'll know if you can do the rest. And if you can't, you can probably pay someone else to process them.

I don't kill mine, either. My husband kills them, I pluck them, he guts them, and I part them out the way I want to. But I don't like doing it, and we're going to pay someone else to do it this year. There's no shame in saying that something's just not for you, especially after you've tried it. Trying it just once gives you more experience than 99% of Americans. But if it makes you sick--then just don't do it. We'll all still talk to you! <hugs>

Erika

 

[chicksooner]

Sally,

Coq au Vin is designed for old roosters, so grab a bottle of burgundy and start stewing!

I don't know what this is but if it requires an old rooster and a bottle of wine I am in!

 

[chicksooner]

Sally,

Coq au Vin is designed for old roosters, so grab a bottle of burgundy and start stewing!

Wait is the wine for me or the bird?

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I have been reading again..... yeah me, go figure

anyways.....

Jean you made slitting the throat look so easy, but I keep reading horror stories about people starting and trying to slit the throat and failing! saying its thick and you they couldn't get through enough to make the bleed, and some even had to run for a sharp scalpel!

also some even use a hatchet and the darn thing bounces off the neck of the bird!

Anyone have any horror stories to share?

 

[chiques chicks]

Hatchet did a hatchet job for me, very rough and brutal. I prefer not to go into details, just say it was not pretty, near, or quick. For knife (even if I shoot, I still cut to bleed), I use a fillet knife. Thin and very sharp. Boning knife for the rest of the job.

 

[Charm1704]

My girlfriend and I processed some of her and my young Roos.......I will not do it again!..... my DH wouldn't eat them

...and he loves my chicken and dumplings....So I sell them...I know they will be eaten by another family and that's okay with me....I don't have to do the dirty work.....I just take their $$ and go to Whole Foods and buy chicken DH will eat...~Charm1704

 

[Sally Sunshine]

My girlfriend and I processed some of her and my young Roos.......I will not do it again!..... my DH wouldn't eat them

...and he loves my chicken and dumplings....So I sell them...I know they will be eaten by another family and that's okay with me....I don't have to do the dirty work.....I just take their $$ and go to Whole Foods and buy chicken DH will eat...~Charm1704

I am seeing a DH trend here, anyone else see it too! LOL

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Hatchet did a hatchet job for me, very rough and brutal. I prefer not to go into details, just say it was not pretty, near, or quick. For knife (even if I shoot, I still cut to bleed), I use a fillet knife. Thin and very sharp. Boning knife for the rest of the job.

OH no, I was hoping to hear it wasn't true!

Good thing I do my homework FIRST! I can only imagine!