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

[jajeanpierre]

Be prepared for the death throws. They can be quite strong, depending on the method chosen.
The first time the smell really got to me - both of the wet feathers, and during gutting.
Prepare yourself during gutting that it's warm inside. It's a strange feeling.

Also, sometimes they make a noise as air is pushed through their respiratory system when you are handling the carcass or gutting. That freaked me out the first time it happened.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Well, I couldn't wait for a few more weeks for my boys (had younger chicks needing their space). It's over now, and I'm weepy. I was unhappy with how one of them went. The cut was too deep and crop contents were leaking out... not sure if he was choking a little.

Do you guys find that your birds generally squawk when you make the cut on the neck? Mine have. I spent a really long time sharpening the knife beforehand, so I'm not sure what else I can do to make it better.

Sounds like you might have cut the front of the throat.

You want to cut the side, just under the jawline. The carotid arteries travel up each side of the neck. I'm going to look back through the photos and see if I can't find some pictures that show where to cut.

If you cut the front of the throat, you can miss the arteries. You don't want to cut the wind pipe because they will have trouble breathing and it will stress them.

You cut right up under the jaw, on the side. Pull the skin really really taut or even the sharpest knife won't give you a deep cut as it drags across the feathers. I grab the feathers and skin in my hand, almost like grabbing a puppy by the scruff of the neck, but take more skin in my hand. The bird won't be able to move when you have him held so tightly. You don't hurt him, but his head will be immobile when you make the cut.

Your knife should be so sharp it easily cuts paper like a razor blade. Hold the paper up and just slice down through the edge. There must be a video of that somewhere.

Mine (all 12 or 15 I've processed) have never made a noise when they were cut or bleeding out except one. I think he was just sort of meeping the same way he would meep if I were carrying him and he was a bit worried. He was almost finished bleeding out and I think he was just bothered/worried because he was hanging upside down. Maybe he was scared because he knew he was dying. I don't know. It bothered me a lot. The cries he made, as I said, were no different than if I were gently carrying him.

Sorry it didn't go as well as you would have liked. You might want to discuss what went wrong and what went right with this group.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Also, sometimes they make a noise as air is pushed through their respiratory system when you are handling the carcass or gutting.  That freaked me out the first time it happened.

it would've been nice to know that EARLIER lol. I kinda freaked out and started crying again when I heard that. I thought he was still alive for a second even though we'd been plucking him for 10 minutes.

 

[Amina]

Well, I killed the first two of them, and those went fairly well, although they did let out a small squawk when I did the cuts. They were also squawking and fussing about being put upside down, me holding their heads prior to the cut, etc. So I do think they reacted to the cuts, but they reacted to everything else, too. :/

After the second one, I was so upset that I asked my husband to do the third. That's the one where the cut was too much to the front. He did ok with our first cockerel cull a few months ago, so I thought this one would go ok.

We still have four ~9 week old Marans x EE cockerels. Before it's their turn, I'll have to figure out what I can do better. And maybe I should only do two in a day, since I was so upset after the first two today.

 

[Amina]

If the squawking is an issue of a too-dull knife, I'm not sure what to do about that. Like I said, I spent a long time sharpening that knife beforehand.

Would a disposable scalpel be a good idea, or would the blade be too short for it to work well?

 

[Amina]

it would've been nice to know that EARLIER lol. I kinda freaked out and started crying again when I heard that. I thought he was still alive for a second even though we'd been plucking him for 10 minutes.

Oh goodness, you poor thing! That has to be traumatic, thinking that!

 

[radioman]

I put dish soap in my scalding water, but I just did it because the instructions said to. I don't know why, though.
The soap breaks the "surface tension" of the water causing it to get in and around the feathers easier. A water "softening" agent like Calgon would work also but sometimes it may cause an allergic reaction to people that are sensitive to it. Also the soap tends to remove some of the oils and dirt, making the whole process a bit cleaner...

 

[ronott1]

I put dish soap in my scalding water, but I just did it because the instructions said to. I don't know why, though.


The soap breaks the "surface tension" of the water causing it to get in and around the feathers easier.
A water "softening" agent like Calgon would work also but sometimes it may cause an allergic reaction to people that are sensitive to it.

Also the soap tends to remove some of the oils and dirt, making the whole process a bit cleaner...

Dish soap will help the water to penetrate to the skin by breaking down the oil on the feathers. With ducks this is very important since duck are water proof.

 

[jajeanpierre]

it would've been nice to know that EARLIER lol. I kinda freaked out and started crying again when I heard that. I thought he was still alive for a second even though we'd been plucking him for 10 minutes.

I'm sorry we didn't share that little goodie beforehand. I know I always try to remember to mention it when people are preparing for their first kill. Noise from air being pushed through the syrinx (bird vocal cords) of a dead bird can be upsetting even if you've heard it before (it is for me, at least). I think some of the how-to instructions and videos try to gloss over the parts of slaughter that are upsetting. I don't know why, really. Some of the good processing videos will not film the death throes and until you've seen them, you don't realize how strong they are. For a person like me, who is not from a farming or hunting/background it can be an unpleasant surprise. I'm all for no surprises.

Another thing that I haven't seen mentioned in the instructions videos/articles is how much more difficult it is to process an older bird. Gutting and cutting up a 2-3 month old Cornish-X is not the same as processing a free ranging cockerel older than 6 months. Everything is stronger. I was shocked at how much brute strength it took to skin my 11-month-old cockerels. Even separating the crop from the neck was quite the challenge.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote: I forgot about that one.

If the squawking is an issue of a too-dull knife, I'm not sure what to do about that. Like I said, I spent a long time sharpening that knife beforehand.

Would a disposable scalpel be a good idea, or would the blade be too short for it to work well?

You can take your knife to a butcher shop and they will sharpen it. Many people use a scalpel or fish filet knives.