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

[chicksooner]

Hi all, well iv been putting it off an putting it off the day of my turkey killing. they are being kept in tomorrow no food just water and 'D-day will be this thursday. I have 9 to do, i have had them since august when they were only 4 weeks old. from day 1 they were for the table and i thought i would be fine with it, but as the time has passed i have got very attached to them now, i have never had turkeys before an didnt realise how cute an inquisitive and charicturfull. i have killed a few roosters the last month for practise. i propose to pull neck then blead, pluck then hang by 1 leg till 23rd when i will gut them and truss up ready for delivery as iv sold 8 of them.

. what is the purpose of the hang as my dad never used to he killed 23rd an delivered the same day, but all i read is to hang and some people even hang for weeks. have never hung a chicken, just prossed and fridged the same day. I am how ever a bit worried about the neck pulling as they weigh 35lb at the moment and very strong, has anyone got any tips of keeping it from flapping and pulling its neck as i dont think i could use the broomstick method.
Many thanks from a nervous poultry keeper

They are rather pretty. Do you mean "wring their neck" as in yank it and then wait for them to die? I personally have never processed a turkey but I imagine that way would be very hard. I personally would hang upside down by the feet and then bleed it out by slicing the neck veins. This is a very simple easy way and requires a lot less muscle. I also would completely clean and refrigerate.

 

[Kassaundra]

You are going to hang dead birds in the open w/ insides still in for several days then disembowel them?????

Doesn't that breed all kind of bacteria from the decaying intestines???? What about insects and preditors?

 

[fisherlady]

I agree with the suggestion to cut the veins to bleed them (although I've never broken a turkey's neck, so would have to have someone with more experience chime in on that to be sure)

I understand hanging them for a few days to age, but I am with Kassaundra in worrying about the effect of breakdown if the bird isn't eviscerated prior to being hung... I am assuming you are 'hanging' in a cold place such as a walk in cooler or otherwise cold type environment?

I have never waited to eviscerate any birds I have processed, usually they are basically 'oven ready' on the day of butchering other than the aging process...

 

[wcah]

@chicksooner, yes i meant break there neck. if i were to just cut there throats isnt it VERY messy with all the blood pooring out?

any tips on restraining the turkey? as iv heard they can break there wings and bruise them selves if not put in a kill cone. i have used a road cone for my cooks but no way am i going to get a turkey in it, far they are far too big for that.

from doing alot of reading on this topic tonight i have found that its mainly us 'Brits' and some Europeans that hang with guts in for days. still havent found out why with the guts in as yet. but hanging is supposed to go through the rigamortis proses and then the mussels start to break down to create tender meat.
also 'Brits' starve there poultry for 24hrs before they kill this is to ensure the crop is empty and dosnt go sour when hanging. Where as alot of American/Canadians feed late afternoon the day before the kill.
Yes they will be hung in the barn which is clean rat proof ect an got an average temp at the moment of 3 degrees Celsius

 

[fisherlady]

@chicksooner, yes i meant break there neck. if i were to just cut there throats isnt it VERY messy with all the blood pooring out?

any tips on restraining the turkey? as iv heard they can break there wings and bruise them selves if not put in a kill cone. i have used a road cone for my cooks but no way am i going to get a turkey in it, far they are far too big for that.

from doing alot of reading on this topic tonight i have found that its mainly us 'Brits' and some Europeans that hang with guts in for days. still havent found out why with the guts in as yet. but hanging is supposed to go through the rigamortis proses and then the mussels start to break down to create tender meat.
also 'Brits' starve there poultry for 24hrs before they kill this is to ensure the crop is empty and dosnt go sour when hanging. Where as alot of American/Canadians feed late afternoon the day before the kill. 
Yes they will be hung in the barn which is clean  rat proof ect an got an average temp at the moment of 3 degrees Celsius 

a couple of options, build another cone with scrap metal or plastic, possibly use a 5 gallon bucket with a hole cut into the bottom center for the head and neck to hang through.... I use a coffee can to catch the draining blood to minimize the mess. If you have an over head beam you can tie to you can always just hang a rope from the beam and tie the turkeys feet together and simply hang it from the beam for the time it takes to do the deed. A second person may make it a bit easier, but after hanging upside down for a few minutes the bird will most likely be calmer.
Also, refer back in this thread to other posters who use a .22 style rifle (air powered) to dispatch the bird prior to bleeding... works very well for the folks who use them.

I understand what you mean about it being different in the UK/Europe than USA, if they have been doing it for generations and you have the location to do it right then do whichever method you prefer for the hanging/gutting stages also. Folks in the USA seem to have trouble wrapping their heads around the idea of leaving eggs sit out on the counter instead of in the fridge also... funny how customs develop differently in different societies.... none are 'wrong', they are just different....

 

[bachbach1]

For turkeys a 5 gallon bucket works good, if you want the internal cone shape in the bucket, use paper and water mixed in a paper mache like consistency, and let it dry. If it gets dirty you can pop it out and throw it away. For the blood if you dont want to catch it as a liquid, take a couple of trash bags and place them is a box, and fill it with kitty litter. The kitty litter absorbs a lot of liquid, in this case the blood. Auto parts stores sell the same thing as kitty litter, they call it oil absorbent in 50 pound bags, it is cheaper. When you get finished close the trash bag and set it out with the trash, or bury it. If you bury it it the blood biodegrades even if it is in the plastic, the plastic will be there a while though.


As far as what you do with the cleaned birds, I wouldn't ever kill them unless you clean/gut and wash them. If you dont promptly clean them out inside, some of the taste, and smell/taste of the feces will migrate into the meat. Not pretty, but there is nothing to stop it. You need to clean them ASAP when you kill them there is lots of bacteria in their digestive tract.


My father worked with the USDA and was a meat inspector, and he gave me a lot of insight in processing, and handling meat. With poultry salmonella is the #1 enemy. Something not hardly known is a strong salt water mix/soak kills salmonella, so I always soak my birds is a salt water solution refrigerated until I freeze them. Think of it as a marinade, it actually salts the meat inside, so that is a plus. Poultry shouldn't be aged according to USDA guidelines, it should be frozen asap if freezing it is the end game. If it is going to be refrigerated and used, poultry spoils a lot faster that beef that is commonly aged, so dont store it too long. Some people age poultry simply because they have heard of aging meat/beef, it isn't beneficial according to the pros. Now some people will argue that it is good, and I wont argue with that one bit, meat does change as it gets older. To each his own, I just choose to stick with USDA guidelines on meat handling.

 

[Beekissed]

It would be a very tough thing to break a turkey's neck...they are even difficult to chop with an axe! (ask me how I know!

) You don't even need a killing cone, just hang them by their feet from a fence post, barn, tree, etc. and slice that neck like you would a chicken. If you don't want them flapping their wings and injuring the wing meat, you can run a line of duct tape around their bodies to keep the wings tight to the torso. Red Green would be proud!

 

[gypsychicken]

We have all been watching far too many Disney Cartoons. Chickens are MEAT AND EGGS. Domestication of animals allowed man/woman to do things like hybridize plants, spin wool, enrich the brain with nutrients meat can provide. It helps if you can separate MEAT from PETS. They are not the same. It's still not the best day on the farm, but then, you have yourself some frickin' yummy chicken.

It gets easier and easier with time.

 

[bachbach1]

Duct tape, love it, that would work like a charm, LOL

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Hey ya'll, haven't posted here since July when I had to cull for the first time. I had 3 more cockerels than I had planned, so they went to freezer camp. I kept my favorite roo...the one picked out as the intended roo...and named him Zeus.

Unfortunately, Zeus is not a good boy. At all. He attacks me, my kids, and my mom. His attacks on me are few and far between...I've been asserting my dominance and he knows who's boss...I think he just likes to test me sometimes. I have taught my boys, and my mom, how to handle him and put him in his place. This has been going on for 3 months. I have given him chance after chance to correct his aggressive behavior, and he keeps failing.

Last week was the defining moment when he took top spot on the freezer camp list. He went after my mom feet first...if she hadn't been quick enough, he woulda took her eye out. That same day he chased my 8 year old. No more.

I have been putting it off for a week now. He is so beautiful...it breaks my heart that I couldn't correct his bad behavior. I raised him from a day old...he is now 10 months old. The only guy with his 8 girls. I'm bummed.

Tomorrow is the day. A friend of mine is giving me an Easter Egger cockerel...18 weeks old. My plan is to remove Zeus from the flock and introducing the new roo all in the same day.

I am not looking forward to this at all. But I know it needs to be done. I can't give an aggressive rooster to someone knowing he could cause the new owners harm.

Thanks for listening, just needed to share.

Here's Zeus: