**Sort of poll** How do YOU process your birds?

[97cv]

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[PineBurrowPeeps]

You guys crack me up...

I saw a youtube vid about a month ago of a chicken getting slaughtered via it's head chopped off. They hadn't restrained the bird and just let it go careening about their yard headless, while their kids and the adults looked on laughing. It ticked me off soooo bad to watch that vid because it was so disrespectful, here's an animal that just gave it's life to be on your dinner table and they're going to laugh at it while it dies.

Not going to happen to my birds!

Plus, didn't anyone even tell them not to play with their food?

 

[SandraMort]

EXACTLY.

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[Wolf-Kim]

We chopped our chicken's heads off with a hatchet last time. Next time, I think we'll be trying a cone and a sharp knife. See which we like better.

This is a great thread!

**Technically the people laughing at the flopping chickens, aren't laughing at the bird as it's dying, but rather laughing at it after it's dead. Ya ever see someone play with a whole chicken before? I have seen more than one person make it dance, it's stupid but it can be funny. Just wanted to add that these people were laughing at the bird after it was dead and not while it's dying.

-Kim

 

[Poler]

I've heard, but have not tried, a tip that a friend gave me about slaughtering chickens.

He told me after you get the chicken on the stump, take a marker and draw a straight line from the tip of its beak onward. According to my friend, they stay staring straight at the line where you left him. Then just use the hatchet.

If anyone else has either used this method or heard of it, please let me know.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

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I have never seen it used for slaughter, but I do know what you are talking about. Most people call it "hypnotizing" the chicken. I don't know how or why, I just know that it is done.

-Kim

 

[NC chicken man]

We will start processing our own birds August the 16th we have 300 to process,we went to polyface this past march and seen Joels farm and how he does his things and we helped our friend down the road process her chickens,my buddy made the killing cones,scalder and the plucker out of stainless steal ,and we hope to help local folks to process their birds too.

 

[chickabator]

axe on a tree stump works for us

 

[Sunny Side Up]

My friend & I have only been processing our roos for about 9 months now, and with each session Learning Ways to Improve Next Time. By the time we're both Grannies we'll be really really good.

It helps to have all our tools & equipment collected & handy beforehand. We're keeping a list of the things we need, and trying to keep them in one place in-between times. We each have a metal porch swing frame in our yards that we use for hanging the birds by their feet while plucking.

Plucking isn't such a bad job if you get a good scald first. We have some big stock pots that we boil water in on the stove, then keep hot on the BBQ. We use a meat thermometer to check the temp. Hanging the birds from the frame allows us to use both hands for plucking.

We withhold food, but not water, the day before so there's less nasty surprises inside them. And I always have them in wire cages by the night before so they can't even eat the grass. I wouldn't attempt chasing birds around the yard right before processing them.

We've used both the chop and the yank methods. Used machetes, axes, and cleavers. We haven't tried hypnotizing them, just put their heads between 2 screws on the stump to hold them in place. One person pulls on the legs, sometimes also holding the head down with a stick, while the other chops. The best way to chop is with something both heavy & sharp, and give a good strong decisive whack.

But we've agreed that we're going to try the slice method next time, to see if the birds bleed out more thoroughly and taste better. Must you use a cone if you're slicing? Is that just to keep the bird from flapping & flipping & spraying its blood everywhere? What about pulling a toeless sock over the bird like a jacket, zip-tying its legs together and hanging it up over a bucket?

We've just done mixed-breed and standard-breed roos, at 20 weeks when they've reached their full sizes. They've been nice & tender & tasty. I let them rest in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, then slowly simmer them in water or broth for 2 hours or so, until the meat just melts off the bones. Then I separate the white from the dark, and freeze for later or enjoy right away.

Now I'm hungry for chicken...

 

[newchickmom]

We just did our first batch a couple of weeks ago. We decided to only do 5 the first time to see how it worked out. We hung them by the feet from a rope strung between 2 trees, and used a very sharp knife to cut the throat. I personally think this is the best way. I think they can bleed out better this way and are fairly calm when they are hung.
The hardest part was plucking even though we scalded them. I ended up just skinning 3 of them.