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

[pipemum]

I'm going to be processing 8 broilers as Cornish game hens on Saturday. I need a little hand-holding. They are still chirping like chicks! Because they are chicks! 5 weeks, I think. It's gonna be hard. I keep thinking about how good they are going to taste, and then one comes over and sits happily on my foot.

 

[ronott1]

I'm going to be processing 8 broilers as Cornish game hens on Saturday. I need a little hand-holding. They are still chirping like chicks! Because they are chicks! 5 weeks, I think. It's gonna be hard. I keep thinking about how good they are going to taste, and then one comes over and sits happily on my foot.

1. Get everything ready
2. Assign jobs: Kill, pluck, eviscerate and etc.(for me it is all of those jobs...)
3. Do not worry if you only process two. Catch the rest next week
4. After resting them(probably not necessary with CX), pop them into the freezer and plan on eating the first one in a couple of weeks or so.

Keep us posted!

 

[jajeanpierre]

Wow!!! I'm so sorry you are having these troubles!

Sounds like you are a strong woman, though, and that's all the difference in the world when troubles arise. I wouldn't worry about traumatizing the youngster...mine were shooting their own deer at his age, learning to gut and skin and process. It's part of being a man to learn to hunt, gather, provide and this is all part of that.

BeeKissed, I know you and I don't agree on this, but I would keep the little boy out of this (the killing and the dying part of the process) unless Mom has a pretty good idea it won't traumatize him. She has enough to deal with without worrying about the well being of her son.

Mom has never done this, so she herself will (likely) be somewhat traumatized by the whole thing. Your boys grew up with a matter-of-fact attitude about where food comes from. I bet you never introduced them to slaughter or hunting because it was very much a part of their life since they were babies. Mom self identifies as a city girl, so I really doubt this little boy has the same attitudes and experiences your little boys had at the same age.

My own feeling is that for this first one or two, Mom needs to focus on what she is doing and not worry about her son. For most of us on this forum killing is somewhat of a traumatic event, and watching a bird dying can is disturbing. They don't go quietly like in the movies! I'm not saying how we feel is right or good: it just is, which is why this forum came into existence.

Maybe it will be just fine, but why chance it? Mistakes happen when people are distracted and worrying about a little boy's feelings is a major distraction.

 

[ronott1]

Hello everyone!

Haven't been around in awhile, hope you're all doing good!

I've been having a rough month-- my 7yr old cat who is like one of my kids to me went missing, a predator took all my Isbars & Marans, my daughter turned the knob on my incubator at lockdown and cooked $160 of eggs and my husband just deployed to Afghanistan. So haven't been around much!

Anyway, I need some help with turkeys! I am so over them! They poop ridiculous amounts compared to my chickens and smell so bad. They like to roll around in the mud and they have white feathers so they look so dirty! They almost knock you down when you go to feed them like they've never eaten. And I'm spending $30 a week on feed. So I'm done!

That being said, I've never processed anything nor killed a turkey. I'm doing it solo (I have a 7yr old but I don't know how much help he would be and I don't want to traumatize him. What age did your kids get involved?). I remember someone saying they used a BB gun on chickens, so I went to get one for the turkeys and everyone there was telling me the handheld CO2 bb guns wouldn't kill a turkey at point blank, it'd have to be the rifle type and obviously I can't hold him and shoot him with a rifle.

My husband always has these grand ideas like meatbirds than the Army sends him away and my city girl self is left to deal with the mess!!!

Anyone have recommendations for me???

I am so sorry you had such a bad time lately!

One problem with Turkey processing is making sure you have a pot big enough to scald them.

Keep us posted on you progress.

 

[Beekissed]

BeeKissed, I know you and I don't agree on this, but I would keep the little boy out of this (the killing and the dying part of the process) unless Mom has a pretty good idea it won't traumatize him. She has enough to deal with without worrying about the well being of her son.

Mom has never done this, so she herself will (likely) be somewhat traumatized by the whole thing. Your boys grew up with a matter-of-fact attitude about where food comes from. I bet you never introduced them to slaughter or hunting because it was very much a part of their life since they were babies. Mom self identifies as a city girl, so I really doubt this little boy has the same attitudes and experiences your little boys had at the same age.

My own feeling is that for this first one or two, Mom needs to focus on what she is doing and not worry about her son. For most of us on this forum killing is somewhat of a traumatic event, and watching a bird dying can is disturbing. They don't go quietly like in the movies! I'm not saying how we feel is right or good: it just is, which is why this forum came into existence.

Maybe it will be just fine, but why chance it? Mistakes happen when people are distracted and worrying about a little boy's feelings is a major distraction.

Has it ever occurred to you that your attitudes and the many on this forum are the result of parents who thought exactly the same way that you do? That killing animals for food is some horrible, traumatizing event filled with all sorts of drama and pathos? Now we have a thread where grown people are trying to work through these attitudes so they can face the facts that something must die every time they put meat in their mouths. The mere subject of the thread would be a laughable thing back in the day, and rightly so. No, I don't think perpetuating those attitudes is advisable...if you only do what you've always done you will always have what you always had~translation: Something has to change these attitudes and the change has to start somewhere and you can very well see how ingrained they are by the time one has reached adulthood. Then someone has to start a thread about it....

If the goal is to raise one's own meat and kill it at home..which is clearly the goal in this case or we would not be discussing it at all..then the goal needs to start with a grass roots attitude of acceptance that things must die. What's the perfect time to learn that, exactly? Can anyone identify the correct age to reveal to a human that creatures die so that they may live? What is the perfect manner in which to do so?

While I respect your opinion, I see no need to over dramatize a simple process and act like it's going to scar her kid for life if he sees a turkey die. Yes, I deliberately introduced my children to slaughter and hunting as a direct and well thought out course of action because I don't believe in telling children a lie, nor cushioning the facts of life for them. As a result they act like men among men, can produce their own foods and treat it like every other normal action in life..no different than changing the oil on the car or getting a job to support their families. Eating is a fact, eating meat is a fact for many, that meat must die in order to be eaten is a fact as well. I would not have my children hide their heads in the sand about these basic facts in life. Nor would I advise anyone else to do so either.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Has it ever occurred to you that your attitudes and the many on this forum are the result of parents who thought exactly the same way that you do? That killing animals for food is some horrible, traumatizing event filled with all sorts of drama and pathos? Now we have a thread where grown people are trying to work through these attitudes so they can face the facts that something must die every time they put meat in their mouths. The mere subject of the thread would be a laughable thing back in the day, and rightly so. No, I don't think perpetuating those attitudes is advisable...if you only do what you've always done you will always have what you always had~translation: Something has to change these attitudes and the change has to start somewhere and you can very well see how ingrained they are by the time one has reached adulthood. Then someone has to start a thread about it....

If the goal is to raise one's own meat and kill it at home..which is clearly the goal in this case or we would not be discussing it at all..then the goal needs to start with a grass roots attitude of acceptance that things must die. What's the perfect time to learn that, exactly? Can anyone identify the correct age to reveal to a human that creatures die so that they may live? What is the perfect manner in which to do so?

While I respect your opinion, I see no need to over dramatize a simple process and act like it's going to scar her kid for life if he sees a turkey die. Yes, I deliberately introduced my children to slaughter and hunting as a direct and well thought out course of action because I don't believe in telling children a lie, nor cushioning the facts of life for them. As a result they act like men among men, can produce their own foods and treat it like every other normal action in life..no different than changing the oil on the car or getting a job to support their families. Eating is a fact, eating meat is a fact for many, that meat must die in order to be eaten is a fact as well. I would not have my children hide their heads in the sand about these basic facts in life. Nor would I advise anyone else to do so either.

I'm not disputing that. I just don't think that anyone needs to be going through the first-time experience of slaughtering an animal and worry about a 7-year old at the same time. If we all had your attitude, this forum wouldn't exist. Since it does exist, most of us here are not all that comfortable with killing our food. Some of you are quite comfortable with slaughter, and I thank you all very much for helping me get through this.

This mom has had quite an eventful month. I don't think she or her son needs any more stress, and her worrying about a 7-year old witnessing death and dying for the first time will be stressful. If it weren't causing some worry, why would the mom ask about it?

Mistakes are made when people are stressed and distracted. There is a lot of room for error, and it is the errors that cause everyone, including the turkey, the most distress.

 

[pipemum]

I asked my kid if she wanted to watch and/or help. She said she didn't. Before we ate her favorite rooster, she declared she didn't want to eat chicken anymore and has stuck to it. And now, sigh, she won't even eat eggs, no matter what I say, she's convinced she's eating a baby chick (we don't have a roo). She's 4. I absolutely hated the texture of meat for 25 years and was forced to eat it growing up, so I have told her she doesn't have to eat chicken if she doesn't want to. I do make sure to point out that the meat she does enjoy comes from a pig (kid loves bacon and pepperoni), just so she knows what she is eating and not shocked by finding out when she's older. I'm not ever going to force her to watch me process a chicken, but she's a curious and "can do" kid and she'll likely be participating at some point soon enough. When I was a kid, I loved going through the crops of the doves my dad would bring home. It was so cool to see what they'd been eating!

Okay, question regarding processing: I've only done one bird at a time. I'm doing 8 little ones this time. I'm going to have 2 killing cones set up, so 2 birds at a time will be bleeding out. Should I bleed out and pluck all 8 (using a drill plucker) before eviscerating? I was thinking of bleeding out and plucking 2 at time, and setting the plucked birds in ice water till I have all 8 done. Then eviscerate all 8 one at a time. Or should I bleed out, pluck, eviscerate 2 at a time? I'll have a friend helping, but not sure she'll actually be helping. She was HORRIFIED at my suggestion that her kids were welcome to watch/help if they wanted.

 

[ronott1]

I asked my kid if she wanted to watch and/or help. She said she didn't. Before we ate her favorite rooster, she declared she didn't want to eat chicken anymore and has stuck to it. And now, sigh, she won't even eat eggs, no matter what I say, she's convinced she's eating a baby chick (we don't have a roo). She's 4. I absolutely hated the texture of meat for 25 years and was forced to eat it growing up, so I have told her she doesn't have to eat chicken if she doesn't want to. I do make sure to point out that the meat she does enjoy comes from a pig (kid loves bacon and pepperoni), just so she knows what she is eating and not shocked by finding out when she's older. I'm not ever going to force her to watch me process a chicken, but she's a curious and "can do" kid and she'll likely be participating at some point soon enough. When I was a kid, I loved going through the crops of the doves my dad would bring home. It was so cool to see what they'd been eating!

Okay, question regarding processing: I've only done one bird at a time. I'm doing 8 little ones this time. I'm going to have 2 killing cones set up, so 2 birds at a time will be bleeding out. Should I bleed out and pluck all 8 (using a drill plucker) before eviscerating? I was thinking of bleeding out and plucking 2 at time, and setting the plucked birds in ice water till I have all 8 done. Then eviscerate all 8 one at a time. Or should I bleed out, pluck, eviscerate 2 at a time? I'll have a friend helping, but not sure she'll actually be helping. She was HORRIFIED at my suggestion that her kids were welcome to watch/help if they wanted.

She is 4. When my youngest was four, she wanted us to change her name to Little Rainbow. She is now 14 and realizes how silly that was.

Process them two at a time. If you wait too long they get rigor mortis...That makes things a bit harder.

 

[pipemum]

Oh yeah, forgot about rigor mortis. Thanks!

Little Rainbow, hahahaha. My kid would be so happy if I had named her Little Rainbow. I'm surprised she hasn't suggesting something like Purple Sparkle Rainbow Pink Wings.

 

[ronott1]

Oh yeah, forgot about rigor mortis. Thanks!

Little Rainbow, hahahaha. My kid would be so happy if I had named her Little Rainbow. I'm surprised she hasn't suggesting something like Purple Sparkle Rainbow Pink Wings.

Purple Sparkles! That is funny

I processed three on Saturday and by the time I got to number 3, he was pretty stiff....

I hope the processing goes well!