quick and dirty? solo "doing in"

[Ahab]

Quote:
That's the way they did it on the farm my dad grew up on in TN. Grab it by it's head, swing it around, then pop up against a tree or even in the air if you're good, sort of like cracking a whip. My dad has been gone since the 70's but I still remember how he'd roar with laughter at the thought of his sister trying to learn to do that. She never did get it right. Poor chicken. She ended up getting really mad since the family was roaring with laughter at her so she grabbed up an axe and did the poor dizzy bird in that way. I use kill cones. And my family is not allowed to watch LOL.

That's how my grandmother did it in East Tennessee. She wanted to fry chicken, she'd start heating the grease in the iron skillet, go out to the corner of her backyard where she kept the year's young cockerels, corner a likely prospect, grab him by the head, and in two revolutions of the body it was over. Then she'd sit on a stump while the bird bled out (the head separates from the body) and pluck him in her apron. Two quick slits and out came the guts, tossed over the fence to the neighbor's coonhounds, then it was into the kitchen, a quick dismemberment, salt and pepper and paprika, then into the bag of flour, into the milk, back into the flour, and right into the grease--the cover on for half an hour or so, then turning, and the cover off. The whole process took an hour and a half, max. That's how her mother taught her, back in the 1890s. And her mother's mother, and her mother's mother's mother.

Of course I fancy things up, being a sophisticated moderne, but that don't make it no better, as she'd say.

 

[kefiren]

I am the original poster. Update! I processed 3 roos this morning. Content warning.

I can't say enough about the couple who gave me a lesson last week, and the wife who helped me today. Can't beat real-life hands-on lessons and moral support. I realized at the lesson last week that "doing in" chickens is sort of bang!..over. Different than I imagined. Today, I didn't stray from their methods too much, I needed to start somewhere. Not quick and dirty, and not solo!

I kept all my birds confined at dawn (because I'd never catch my target roosters once free) and went catch/chop #1; catch/chop #2; chatch/release the other birds/chop #3; then moved on to the plucking etc.

As I posted originally, I am a 98 pound weakling. But, it turns out I *was able* to control a rooster with my left hand, and swing the hatchet with my right. As my teachers said "Once you have the bird by the legs it's all over." Roosters are more delicate and vulnerable than they appear in the barnyard.

As for the hatchet method--even though I was able to kill the roosters, I'm not sure it is the right method for me. I did practice in advance with stout branches. I'd hoped to womp off the head in one blow, but I couldn't manage to. I think a hatchet with a longer cutting edge would help. I hope the roos didn't suffer too much. Perhaps I will try the cone/jugular vein next time. That is my biggest regret of today.

I did the processing as far from the chicken yard as possible. (~100 feet away) The remaining roo brother seemed to make noises that sounded like grief. Am I imagining too much?

I felt a little shook up and emotional afterward. Singing sad songs helped somehow.

Renee

 

[gmendoza]

10 minutes tops.

Thats how long it should take at maximum.

1. Grab chicken
2. chop off neck
3. drain blood into bucket (trash bag lined)
4. tie up legs
5. skin chicken
6. cut off legs
7. knife goes in,guts come out
8. wash chicken clean
9. dry and wrap chicken
10. into freezer camp

done and done.

easy,peasy, lemon squeezy.

 

[kefiren]

The noise that rooster was making (that i thought was grieving) was his (not so great) attempt at crowing. when i went out to the pen just now he did it again. he hasn't crowed until today, coz he's the late bloomer of the bunch. very pretty though.

leave it to me to get all sappy, LOL.

 

[kefiren]

Update: Second Go around.

This time I still wasn't 100% solo! I had a list in my mind of 2 chickens and a roo that needed to go next.

I had DH screw a gallon vinegar bottle to the woodpile for a killing cone. I also asked him for some hatchet tutoring and he showed me how to use the weight of the hatchet in a circular arc rather than taking it way up into the sky and therefore loosing accuracy. (Just in case I needed to revert to hatchet method, which in fact I did.) I should have also put nails in the chopping block for holding the head, but didn't.

As I suspected, my BCM cockerel didn't fit in the makeshift cone! So, I called over DH and handed him a gardening tool and asked him to hold the head still. He's a bit philosophically opposed, but out of his great affection for me he did. I extended the bird gently and took the head off cleanly. I'm gaining confidence.

Regarding the gutting, I realized I relied too much on my friend's help last time. Thank goodness I had Harvey Ussery's book "The Small Scale Poultry Flock" on hand. I got the pages a bit sticky!

I took my time and only got one bird done in the time allotted, but so much was learned!

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Congratulations! I tried on two different occasions to use the hatchet and neither time got a clean cut.

So I switched to using a quick cut under the jaw. I felt much happier as there was no second try required. I guess it's my technique that needs work. I've found I've learned things each time I process a roo so practice makes perfect.

 

[galanie]

The hatchet likely wasn't sharp enough if it was a problem. I have one that was actually made for woodworking as it only has a bevel on one side and I keep it knife sharp. It would easily do the job if I did it that way. As for the cone method, again the knife has to be really really sharp and if you get right under the jaw then you aren't trying to cut feathers and it goes much better. Either way takes practice though to do cleanly for most.

If you use the hatchet method you really need those nails. You need something to stretch that neck out and keep it that way, and to keep hands away from the target area. That's the easiest way for most people but just be sure that hatchet is really sharp.

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Your probably right, I sharpened the hatchet with the same stone I use on my scythe and really wasn't happy with it but I couldn't get it any sharper. No such issue with the knife, I used my filleting knife and it was perfect first time. I think I'll be sticking with that now as it was much let traumatic for both parties involved.

Oh and I was meaning my hatchet technique needed work but when I reread my reply I see I didn't write it very clearly. I was really worried I wouldn't get it right with the knife so I did a lot of research on the forum and looking at the pics to be sure I did it properly. It's not something I would have been confident to do without the help of people on here. =)

 

[galanie]

Yeah, problem I see with hatchets is that from the factory, they are usually sharpened with an outwardly curved profile to the edge. This means that they'll never be really sharp, and always "crush" more than cut. I regrind most of the edged tools I get new because I'm a sharp edge fanatic and can't stand one that doesn't cut.

BYC folks are the best in the world, aren't they? All the helpful answers people get rather than trolling is really unique to the internet these days.

 

[PrairieChickenLady]

This has been a very helpful thread