Space needed for meat chickens

[RoosterML]

@aliciaFarmer I can not express enough when dipping the bird before plucking always keep an eye on the water temp. I believe 140-145° is the range. Do not go over or it is very easy to rip the skin along with you will have started to cook the bird, you will see little white spots. Just ask me how I know . It happened to 2 out of the 25 so I guess not to bad for our first time.

 

[RUNuts]

The 48 hour resting period is to allow rigor mortis to pass. Depending on a lot of variables, it can pass quicker or longer. Waiting 48 hours is a guideline. The resting can be done before or after freezing. Before cooking, bend the legs to see how easy they bend. If difficult, you will have a tough chewing bird.

Yes, 145°F ish water is helpful to release the feathers. Pin feathers are the most difficult, aggravating and is a good reason to skin the ones in that phase of growth.

 

[aliciaFarmer]

Plucking is the worst part, my first 4 I hand plucked. I think those 4 otook as long as the 13 I did recently.
So thankful that my DH insisted on buying a chicken-plucker for me. It makes it realistic for us to raise our own chickens for meat now.
In fact, he offered our best friend to join us in the chicken raising. Terms, we will raise them at our place in the chicken tractor; he will come and help butcher them.
Not sure how many he will want. His wife is a city-girl, he was raised on a pig farm. This is right up his alley, but not so sure she will be open to it. She is more the "Meat comes on a tray and wrapped in plastic" type of gal. To give her credit, she is a pharmacist so being a germ-a-phobe is understandable.

The plucking has been my concern so the time comparison is great to hear. I planned on the scald/dunk/pluck method but have considered a plucker still attachment. A real plucker would be amazing to have one day! Though I think my husb could make one.

I have never gotten the plastic tray and wrapped in plastic meat kick. At very "worst" I'll go to a natural butcher and get my meat in paper. But I'm also anti-pharmaceuticals so that makes sense for sure. Sounds like a great deal to have a helper!

 

[aliciaFarmer]

This is what we do. We raise between 20 and 25 meaties a year and do them in batches of between 4 and 6 at a time. We can do a batch that size in about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish, even with hand-plucking (which does get easier and quicker with practice). Aside from making butchering days more manageable, we like doing it that way for a couple of reasons. First, we can rest the birds in the fridge for a couple of days before further processing and freezing. Otherwise, I guess we would be managing the resting period in big coolers, which seems like a pain. Second, it gives us a variety of sizes. The first groups are around 6 pounds, which we like as whole roasters. The next group are around 7 lbs, and we cut those out into parts and freeze the breasts separate from the legs/thighs. The last groups we let get really big 8 t 11 lbs, and turn them into a year's supply of breakfast and Italian sausage.



I'm curious as to why she would think that the birds coming out of a factory farm and commercial slaughterhouse are more sanitary. The one thing I love about raising and processing my own is that I know that my birds were raised in fresh air, clean bedding and an open, and non-crowded environment, and that my butchering area is very clean.

That sounds like the very best way to do it! Thank you so much for sharing your method and reasoning. I think that's exactly how I will do it as well. Starting with just four-ish at a time. Plus that won't take up the whole fridge when I need to rest them. Coolers would be a huge pain in the butt! And probably not entirely safe I wouldn't think.

 

[aliciaFarmer]

@aliciaFarmer I can not express enough when dipping the bird before plucking always keep an eye on the water temp. I believe 140-145° is the range. Do not go over or it is very easy to rip the skin along with you will have started to cook the bird, you will see little white spots. Just ask me how I know . It happened to 2 out of the 25 so I guess not to bad for our first time.

That's not bad for a first time at all! I found a 5 gallon pot on Amazon I want to get and a thermometer to clamp-on so I have a constant read on temperature. A friend of mine who also homesteads and started processing her own chickens several years ago warned me about that one. Her first time 8 out of 10 we're problematic due to too much heat. You rocked it!

 

[RoosterML]

That's not bad for a first time at all! I found a 5 gallon pot on Amazon I want to get and a thermometer to clamp-on so I have a constant read on temperature. A friend of mine who also homesteads and started processing her own chickens several years ago warned me about that one. Her first time 8 out of 10 we're problematic due to too much heat. You rocked it!

Keeping a water hose next to the pot helped with temp control once it went over just added some water to bring it back down

 

[Acre4Me]

That sounds like the very best way to do it! Thank you so much for sharing your method and reasoning. I think that's exactly how I will do it as well. Starting with just four-ish at a time. Plus that won't take up the whole fridge when I need to rest them. Coolers would be a huge pain in the butt! And probably not entirely safe I wouldn't think.

In case it turns out that you process more, using a cooler or two can be useful and food safe. You need ice, of course. When we have used coolers as our extra fridge during times of holidays or family visits, we pre-chilled the cooler(s) with a bag or two of ice. Then after food added, monitored ice levels. If you have raw meat, put into bags first (and we always scrubbed out the cooler afterwards anyways, if there had been raw meat). If you keep the cooler closed as much as possible and in the shade, they will keep cold quite well. Good luck.

 

[RUNuts]

I did not want to spend the money for a large pot. I found a 20 gallon with lid (? should measure) at an aluminum recycle place for $10 in excellent shape. Cleaned it up and works.

The pawn shops have crawfish boiling pots in similar shape for half the price of new. Resale shops have them at times. Explore your options. These pots are expensive and last forever, so they are a good investment.

 

[wyoDreamer]

We sue the turkey frying set that DH bought and we never used... It has a propane burner that fits underneath it and holds the pot securely on it. The lid has a hole in it and it comes with a thermometer with a long tail that fits in the hole and reads the temp of the liquid inside the pot.

 

[RoosterML]

We sue the turkey frying set that DH bought and we never used... It has a propane burner that fits underneath it and holds the pot securely on it. The lid has a hole in it and it comes with a thermometer with a long tail that fits in the hole and reads the temp of the liquid inside the pot.

That's what we use as our scalder. Works well aside from the darn safety that cuts the propane flow unless you reset it every 10 minutes. If I would have to guess that was some liberals bright idea .