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

[Coralietg]

I am in need of advice. My husband left for a 48 hour shift this morning, so of course it would be today that I go to check the Cornish and one of them can't stand up.

I don't know what to do.

 

[BCMaraniac]

I am in need of advice. My husband left for a 48 hour shift this morning, so of course it would be today that I go to check the Cornish and one of them can't stand up.

I don't know what to do.

Does the comb on the bird look pale compared to the others or purplish? If so, the bird is in congestive heart failure and should be processed right away.

If you pick it up, does it try to put weight on either leg? If you put food in front of it, does it eat? If it is a leg problem, it will likely survive till your hubby gets home if it is eating and drinking.

If it is just its leg, you can separate it from the others to keep the other birds from injuring it further, then process when your hubby gets home. That is what I would do if I thought I could keep it relatively comfortable....but I am used to processing with help.

How old is it?

 

[cassie]

Butcher him ASAP. If you look in the archives on BYC you can find step by step instructions on how to butcher a chicken. I found myself in the same situation. My husband and brother were out of town and I had a choice of butchering the chicken or letting him die and putting him in the dumpster. I opted for butchering him. I printed out the instructions and did each step. I didn't read ahead. I just did one thing, and then when it was finished I did the next step. To kill him I hung him up and used a heavy pair of pruning shears to lop off his head and then followed the instructions step by step. Before I knew it I had a clean naked chicken in the fridge. Some advice. Put a few drops of dish detergent in the scald water. Scald until you can peel the top layer of skin off the leg. Then dunk the chicken in some cold water to cool off. If you get a good scald, the feathers will come right off. I'm a first class wuss. If I can do it anybody can. Don't think about it. Just do it. Good luck. I no longer use the pruning shears. I use a utility knife and cut the jugulars.

 

[Coralietg]

Does the comb on the bird look pale compared to the others or purplish? If so, the bird is in congestive heart failure and should be processed right away.

If you pick it up, does it try to put weight on either leg? If you put food in front of it, does it eat? If it is a leg problem, it will likely survive till your hubby gets home if it is eating and drinking.

If it is just its leg, you can separate it from the others to keep the other birds from injuring it further, then process when your hubby gets home. That is what I would do if I thought I could keep it relatively comfortable....but I am used to processing with help.

How old is it?

His comb looks a little pale. He won't put any weight on his legs. I moved him out of the tractor to see if he was just being lazy, and he kind of flopped half onto his side and wouldn't put weight on his legs. They are 7 weeks old today. He's actually one of the smaller males at 5.5lbs. I'll go and see now if he will eat when I put food next to him.

Butcher him ASAP. If you look in the archives on BYC you can find step by step instructions on how to butcher a chicken. I found myself in the same situation. My husband and brother were out of town and I had a choice of butchering the chicken or letting him die and putting him in the dumpster. I opted for butchering him. I printed out the instructions and did each step. I didn't read ahead. I just did one thing, and then when it was finished I did the next step. To kill him I hung him up and used a heavy pair of pruning shears to lop off his head and then followed the instructions step by step. Before I knew it I had a clean naked chicken in the fridge. Some advice. Put a few drops of dish detergent in the scald water. Scald until you can peel the top layer of skin off the leg. Then dunk the chicken in some cold water to cool off. If you get a good scald, the feathers will come right off. I'm a first class wuss. If I can do it anybody can. Don't think about it. Just do it. Good luck. I no longer use the pruning shears. I use a utility knife and cut the jugulars.

Thanks so much. I just found an old 1 gallon vinegar jug that I can use as a killing cone if need be. I have a sharp knife, a specific killing knife I got online. I'm being a wuss, I'm 28 weeks pregnant and have a 5 year old and 2 year old in the house, I just wasn't expecting this.

 

[dutchbunny83]

I would recommend skinning the bird if it's your first and you don't particularly want to do it.
Much much faster & easier.
Comes right off, feathers & all.
Then you can portion your meat & freeze it.
Only thing we bother to pluck are ducks & if we're roasting a turkey whole for the holiday.

 

[BCMaraniac]

I agree....butcher ASAP. When I had this happen to me, I buthered him right away. However, I opted to skin and removed the meat from the carcass because I didn't want to get into the abdominal cavity since he hadn't been fasted.

I just cut off the breast and tender, cut off the wings and legs, and discarded the rest.

Good luck.

 

[Coralietg]

His comb is a peach colour compared to the red of the other males. He will eat when I put the food next to him.

 

[BCMaraniac]

His comb is a peach colour compared to the red of the other males. He will eat when I put the food next to him.

He sounds like he may be in heart failure. I would butcher, skin, and just take them meat, and not try to salvage the whole carcass.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Sometimes the ones that are in heart failure don't bleed well, so try to cut all of the vessels in the neck. And don't be surprised if the blood is very dark. It's because he isn't getting enough oxygen.

 

[cassie]

You need to butcher him now. Even after I became the designated chicken processor, I didn't bother to fast the chickens before I killed them. It is better if you do I suppose, but I didn't have any trouble cleaning the unfasted chickens even as a complete novice. I didn't fast the chickens because I processed them two or three at a time and I never knew for sure if I was going to kill chickens on a particular day or not. I never tried skinning them either. If you get a good scald, plucking is easy, even for me.