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

[jajeanpierre]

Then she quickly slits *just* the jugular, causing the bird to bleed out,

I have to comment on this. This list discusses cutting the jugular all the time. Maybe it is just people using the wrong names for the different parts of the vascular system. Maybe they really are just cutting the jugular vein.

If you cut "just" the jugular vein, the bird will take a very long time to die. The jugular is a vein, going from the brain to the heart. The pressure is fairly low. After a deep jugular cut, the chicken's heart will continue to pump fresh oxygenated blood to their brains for quite a long time while they remain conscious and not exactly stress and pain free.

You want to cut much deeper, you need to sever one or both carotid ARTERIES which are deeper in the neck muscles. Arteries carry oxygenated blood and are under a lot of pressure. Cutting the artery will prevent oxygenated blood from reaching the brain, rendering the bird unconscious and dead very quickly.

 

[Tomtommom]

I have no medical background, nor am I native English speaker

It's the veins in the neck. Either way, didn't work for us.... rooster skin is TOUGH. We'll stick to the broomstick.

 

[Beekissed]

I have no medical background, nor am I native English speaker

It's the veins in the neck. Either way, didn't work for us.... rooster skin is TOUGH. We'll stick to the broomstick.

That's when hanging in a killing cone comes in handy because you have your hands free to provide tension on the skin of the neck while using the appropriate force on the knife. A cone is easy to fashion from a 2 gal. bleach jug with just scissors, then tacked to a tree or fence post, can help make the process easier for future processing.

Here's a pic or two of a cone made from a jug...

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Hey north Easterners, What is the BEST hatchery closest to us for Cornish X ?? mail order is fine just dont want to order from Texas or CA lol
Thanks!

Edited by Staff

 

[wingstone]

someones a vegetarian in the wrong house

Hey north Easterners, What is the BEST hatchery closest to us for Cornish X ?? mail order is fine just dont want to order from Texas or CA lol
Thanks!

Sally, I order directly from Longenecker's hatchery in Elizabethtown ...I would be willing to pick them up and meet you in the area of Lebanon fair grounds if you would rather not ship..

I usually get the plain white broilers,,, these are the same birds that they ship to the big production houses by the thousands

 

[fisherlady]

I got mine at TSC... during chick days, actually. It worked very well for us, they cost $2 per bird, but I knew I was getting lively little buggers and I was able to get just 10 at a time with about 8 or 10 days in between so I could stagger my butcher days. They are shipped to the feed mills and Tractor Supply stores in crates by the hundreds, often special shipped since they are such large deliveries, so they stay warm and are probably handled a bit more animal friendly. Not to knock the local mailman, but general carriers can sometimes be hard on shipped animals. Check the source your local feed mills and TSC use and then check online for info about their supplier, if they are online, or ask other folks in your area if they have gotten from that supplier.

Where you are at Sally I would ask Wing who she has used and how much luck she's had with her birds. She does a lot of processing and has gotten from a number of different sources, so she would be a good reference in your area.

 

[fisherlady]

Sally, I order directly from Longenecker's hatchery in Elizabethtown ...I would be willing to pick them up and meet you in the area of Lebanon fair grounds if you would rather not ship..

I usually get the plain white broilers,,, these are the same birds that they ship to the big production houses by the thousands

Speak of the devil

Guess she was already typing her answer at the same time I was!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Thanks u two, lol I am north berks just west of cabels off I78 What about my NPIP issue? can we get certs for PT and AI clean (not monitored)

 

[Happy Chooks]

someones a vegetarian in the wrong house

Hey north Easterners, What is the BEST hatchery closest to us for Cornish X ?? mail order is fine just dont want to order from Texas or CA lol
Thanks!

Hoover's hatchery has great prices. A friend of mine has ordered from them before, and we split an order, we are each getting 25 for $46.00 including shipping. They are in Iowa. McMurray was double the cost.
http://www.hoovershatchery.com/

 

[wingstone]

someones a vegetarian in the wrong house

Hey north Easterners, What is the BEST hatchery closest to us for Cornish X ?? mail order is fine just dont want to order from Texas or CA lol
Thanks!

Lancaster county has an endless list of hatcheries, many of which supply the bigger production houses, but will pack small amounts of 25 if asked.....

there is also freedom rangers out of denver, I have both picked up and had delivered from here, always have good hardy birds from there.