Suggestions on Chicken Processing Set up and Blood Disposal

[Crooked Chicken]

I like to give the dogs the heads, feet, necks, some livers, and backs. Freeze the extras for later. Hearts get used for broth and gravy. Sometimes the chickens get some livers and hearts. I try to keep the intestines away from the chickens.

Good luck with everything.

Do you give them to the dogs raw? Bones too?

 

[YdogsflY]

Do you give them to the dogs raw? Bones too?

Yep. Raw bones are fine. Cooked poultry bones are a big no no.

The feet, necks, and backs are really good for the dogs teeth.

It's more of a treat, not as a food or a meal for them.

 

[Crooked Chicken]

Yep. Raw bones are fine. Cooked poultry bones are a big no no.

The feet, necks, and backs are really good for the dogs teeth.

It's more of a treat, not as a food or a meal for them.

Really? Why are raw bones ok? I have always heard no chicken bones...... now I'm really curious.

One of these days I want to try making chicken broth as shown in the link I posted earlier. He uses everything except the head. It looks so rich and delicious.

 

[Maeschak]

Really? Why are raw bones ok? I have always heard no chicken bones...... now I'm really curious.

One of these days I want to try making chicken broth as shown in the link I posted earlier. He uses everything except the head. It looks so rich and delicious.

Cooking the bones is what makes them brittle... And when they are brittle they break apart in sharp shards which is dangerous for eating. Raw chicken bones are more rubbery and break up without sharp edges so they are safe for dogs. I used to feed raw chicken to my dog all the time and she loves it!

 

[Ridgerunner]

As far as feeding the bones maybe this will make you feel a bit better. Coyotes, wolves, and both feral and domesticated dogs catch and eat all kinds of critters, including various birds. Probably foxes too. They consume the bones, swallowing small ones and chewing on big ones. It doesn’t hurt them. Don’t worry about raw uncooked bones.

You are probably overthinking the blood bit. There is just not going to be that much as far as significantly providing nutrients to the trees or even in the compost. Still, I put as much stuff as I can in my compost pile. I like to use everything I can.

The smell will attract critters though. I’m not sure how your dogs would react if you water the blood in well around the trees. It’s very possible they will be attracted to the area and may well dig there. Or maybe not dig. I don’t use the cone method but use the hatchet and stump so the blood is not collected. I often set a live trap in that area after I butcher and usually catch a possum or raccoon the smell has attracted. There are probably other bits and pieces around including the blood to help attract them.

If you just put the blood and other offal in your compost pile you will attract critters. Rats and mice for sure, probably raccoons, possums, foxes, coyotes, or skunks to name a few. And the flies, lots of green flies and soon maggots when their eggs hatch. That’s why the experts say to not put meat or grease in a compost pile, the critters it attracts. Usually I bury the offal in my garden or orchard. Dig a hole deep enough to bury it well and put a piece of wire fencing over it, putting weight on the wire so nothing can dig down to it.

Recently I timed butchering to starting a new compost pile after bagging the last compost batch. I put the offal and two dead rats and a possum I trapped in the bottom, then covered that with several layers of vegetable matter from the garden, grass clippings, and the stuff I’d been collecting for the new compost. I have two bins for compost, one that is working to make new compost and the other stores stuff I collect. Some of it is pretty well broken down already so it helps make a seal on the new one to keep flies out and smells in.

When we butcher we all have different parts we keep and we throw away. When I butcher I keep the breasts, wishbone, thighs, and drumsticks for the table. I keep the gizzard, heart, back, wings, neck, and feet for broth. The liver goes to the dogs. I have two buckets for the other parts. The soft parts including fat and most internal organs go in one that will be fed back to the chickens, including the intestines cut into pieces so they can eat them. My thoughts on the intestines is that there is nothing inside the ones I butcher that is not already inside the ones I don’t butcher. Others have different opinions on that. I split some of the intestines open to check for worms. I’ve never found any but that’s such a good way to check for tapeworms or roundworms. I skin mine so about the only things to go in the compost or be buried are the heads, skin, and feathers. Practically everything else is used.

I didn’t see you mention water. I use a lot of water when I butcher, rinsing the chickens, my table, my hands, and the instruments. You need a sharp knife, it will soon be dulled. To help keep it sharp longer I suggest you get a pair of poultry shears for cutting joints and bone.

I totally understand about keeping the dogs away. The same goes for keeping the chickens away if they free range. They’ll come in and bother you, pecking at things. With my set-up the chickens cannot see where I use the hatchet or process them. I don’t think there would be any real problems with them seeing that but it just doesn’t feel right to me so I don’t let them.

If you haven’t processed a chicken before you will go through a learning curve no matter how many u-tubes or videos you watch. Don’t get too ambitious the first day. When you’ve had enough quit and do the rest later. Don’t get so tired or frustrated you get careless and hurt yourself, you are playing with sharp objects. The actual processing is only part of it, set-up and clean-up also takes time. So does putting it in the freezer. I do all the set-up I can the day before, including digging the hole in the garden to bury the offal, both to save time and so I don’t start tired.

Since you said you plan to skin, my first step is to take the feet off at the “knee” joint. That saves some frustration later. As the cockerels age they develop connective tissue that holds the skin to the meat. The more that develops the more strength if takes to tear the skin off. Different cockerels mature at different rates so there is no one specific age where that becomes an issue. It can be noticeable at 4 months, with others 5 months isn’t too bad. That’s one reason you might need a sharp knife, to cut connective tissue. Last week I skinned a two year old rooster when I processed him. That took time and a sharp knife. I also skinned some old hens, some had connective tissue but were nothing like that rooster.

When setting up your area the things I’d consider would be your post for the killing cone, your fence, a sharp knife or two, poultry shears, a table, water, buckets to put offal and parts in, an ice chest with ice water to put the chicken meat in, and maybe think about shade for you. I have gallon zip-loc type bags in the ice chest that I sort the different parts in when processing. The feet go in one, the white meat in another, and the dark meat in another. The stuff for broth, other than feet, goes in the ice water.

You’ll find your own methods and processes that work for you. Good luck!