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

[chicken pickin]

No ice box but it is only a high of 35 degrees today so I figured they would be fine. He is home and is cleaning them now. Pics to come

 

[Happy Chooks]

No ice box but it is only a high of 35 degrees today so I figured they would be fine. He is home and is cleaning them now. Pics to come

That's as good as being in an ice box.

 

[Tomtommom]

Found one of my birds dead this morning. I noticed yesterday that her comb seemed to have frostbite and she didn't act quite right.. unlike herself. Our temps are pretty unseasonably cold (30s at night, 40s/50s in day time) for Alabama, but the other seem to be handling it ok.

I skinned her and cut her up.. waste not want not. Dogs got her organs and undeveloped eggs. I got one whole egg out of her uterus, it was perfect, just didn't have a shell yet... looked edible to me. Last night's temps were in the high 20s, low 40s when I found her... figured she's been essentially refrigerated until I found her.

Her liver was kinda 'fatty' looking, otherwise she appeared to be fairly healthy. Gizzard seemed large compared to her body, but barred rocks are pretty piggy birds.

Sad I lost her, she was a good layer, but she had an attitude (everything was food, including ME) and had pecked me several times before...

 

[ronott1]

Found one of my birds dead this morning. I noticed yesterday that her comb seemed to have frostbite and she didn't act quite right.. unlike herself. Our temps are pretty unseasonably cold (30s at night, 40s/50s in day time) for Alabama, but the other seem to be handling it ok.

I skinned her and cut her up.. waste not want not. Dogs got her organs and undeveloped eggs. I got one whole egg out of her uterus, it was perfect, just didn't have a shell yet... looked edible to me. Last night's temps were in the high 20s, low 40s when I found her... figured she's been essentially refrigerated until I found her.

Her liver was kinda 'fatty' looking, otherwise she appeared to be fairly healthy. Gizzard seemed large compared to her body, but barred rocks are pretty piggy birds.

Sad I lost her, she was a good layer, but she had an attitude (everything was food, including ME) and had pecked me several times before...

Was the liver intact?

They can die like you described from liver rupture.

 

[Tomtommom]

Was the liver intact?

They can die like you described from liver rupture.

It was intact, perhaps slightly enlarged, but it was paler than I usually find in my birds. Don't think it was her liver that did her in. Very little blood pooling anywhere, it was still pretty well dispersed in her veins.. small reddish area was the only evidence I saw of pooling. She had not been dead long. My husband swears he did not see her in the coop when he let the dogs out at 7am. I found her around 10.

She always had an unusually floppy comb and it was pale-ish blue/grey yesterday, except for where it attached to her head, it was red there. It wasn't the shade of blue/purple you see in lack of oxygen/cardiac issues. It was a clear to me the cold had gotten a hold of it. Perhaps with it being so floppy it did not have proper circulation to keep it warm. Gut feeling says the trauma was too much for her.

I should've brought her in, but the damage was done and really, I can't very well keep a chicken inside all winter if the first bit of frost did that to her.

 

[chicken pickin]

So we cleaned the ducks both Mallard 1duck 1drake. They have been gutted, head and feet removed, I dry plucked(and plan to use a hand torch to remove any remaining down feathers. My question is I left the wings on and am having a tough time removing all the wing feathers. Is there going to be enough meat on the wings to go through the hassle or should I just remove and toss the wings? I plan to roast them in the oven whole with skin on.

 

[ronott1]

So we cleaned the ducks both Mallard 1duck 1drake. They have been gutted, head and feet removed, I dry plucked(and plan to use a hand torch to remove any remaining down feathers. My question is I left the wings on and am having a tough time removing all the wing feathers. Is there going to be enough meat on the wings to go through the hassle or should I just remove and toss the wings? I plan to roast them in the oven whole with skin on.

You can remove the wings.

I would save them for the broth you will make from the bones.

 

[fisherlady]

So we cleaned the ducks both Mallard 1duck 1drake. They have been gutted, head and feet removed, I dry plucked(and plan to use a hand torch to remove any remaining down feathers. My question is I left the wings on and am having a tough time removing all the wing feathers. Is there going to be enough meat on the wings to go through the hassle or should I just remove and toss the wings? I plan to roast them in the oven whole with skin on.

On many of our culled roosters I find it is easier to just cut off the last joint of the wing, if there is little meat on them I will cut it off at the next to last joint and just leave a 'drumette'. Unless I am parting out a bird I don't like to remove the wing right at the 'shoulder' joint because it leaves a large chunk of white meat of the breast exposed when roasting and you loose a considerable amount of meat which is around the base of the wing where it connects to the body.


edit to add.... Sorry, I see Ronott1 already answered with a good option. Definitely would be a good soup addition!

 

[chicken pickin]

Here are the ducks DH caught hunting yesterday, 3 in total, 2drakes 1duck. We were very excited! We have never processed duck before, only chickens and turkey. The ducks weren't too hard to process but getting all the fluffy down feathers off was a little difficult and very time consuming. They are resting in the refrigerator now. Ill cook one or 2 up this Fri or Sat, DHs friend gave us a recipe to try. We have never cooked duck before.

 

[ronott1]

Here are the ducks DH caught hunting yesterday, 3 in total, 2drakes 1duck. We were very excited! We have never processed duck before, only chickens and turkey. The ducks weren't too hard to process but getting all the fluffy down feathers off was a little difficult and very time consuming. They are resting in the refrigerator now. Ill cook one or 2 up this Fri or Sat, DHs friend gave us a recipe to try. We have never cooked duck before.

I am very happy for you!

Let us know how they taste.