Sunday Dinner Is Fresh Fried Chicken

[Buster]

We have four "layers" that will be going into the freezer tomorrow for non- participation. I am looking forward to good stew from them.

Anyone know where I can get some more salmon faverolles?

 

[PurpleChicken]

We had a ton of leghorn crosses last year thanks to a very active Leghorn roo.
I am cooking the last one in the crockpot as I type this message. They are small
but tasty.

We have a few RIR/BR crossed roos in the 4 to 5 pound range just waiting for
the hatchet to fall. Yummmmmm.

 

[dixygirl]

Hi Dangerouschicken
I see from your website you used a chopping block with 2 nails to hold the head between. What do people think about just picking them up by the head and swinging them around?
Thanks

 

[Buster]

Quote:
I tried this method and didn't do it right. It was traumatic for the chicken and for me. I will stick to a chopping block from now on.

 

[Omniskies]

The head-swinging method only really works on certain breeds from what we've seen.

Cornish-Rock crosses seem to be the easiest. Their necks can't support the weight so they're finished by the first swing.

Bantams and 1-2lb chicks seem to also be fine since they're light enough to get more momentum behind the swing.

Large chickens are where you run into problems. They're strong and their necks are proportional to their bodies so they can withstand more pressure. Plus the extra size makes the neck swinging more complicated. For these I use a killing cone or a chopping block (only we use hedge trimmers instead of an ax. No missed shot for us).

A big problem with the head-swinging is that the neck will bruise/discolor as a result. If that doesn't bother you then no worries. Also your larger chickens will kick their feet up and scratch at you.

Good luck with yours. It'll probably be odd and frustrating the first few times to butcher your own birds, regardless of the method you use, but once you get the hang of it then it's well worth the effort

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Quote:
I think it is much easier to mess up than swinging a hatchett. Whatever method you decide to use, just do your homework so it's done right the first time. We chose the chop method with our first rooster, just because that would be a little harder to mess up. We restrained the bird and then Adam(who did the chopping) took a practice swing and stopped short, to make sure he was going to do it right. Then he did the deed.

The hardest part to get through is the actual swing. Because you must be decisive and sure of your actions. Don't want to hesitate last minute of the swing and not hit hard enough. The most disturbing part(for me anyway) was watching the death throes. Which weren't too bad, because I kept reminding myself it's dead and it's only the body's nervous and muscular system freaking out.

I would be afraid of trying the swing method myself. Also, I get over killing the bird much faster once the head is completly removed. I know it's a silly quirk of mine, but I do much much better if the head it completly removed from the bird and my sight.

I've only butchered one so far, but we have more on the way. So maybe it was just a beginner's quirk of mine.

-Kim

 

[Buster]

I have found that putting them under a box or a crate as soon as you cut the head off helps avoid having to see the death throes and also contains the blood mess.

 

[halo]

Quote:
That is a great link, a lot of good info there. Did you follow his way of doing it?

 

[PurpleChicken]

I tried the "Swing by the neck" method once. It was horrible because I did
not know what I was doing. The chicken actually survived. I'll spare the details.
He was a Delaware.

 

[redhen]

hi everyone..i noticed someone wrote on this thread that meat birds dont live long..maybe not even a year...what are the meat breeds?.....the ones that i have that i am concerned about being meat birds are..White Rock...(she is a monster, compared to the other breeds, of the same age)..and my Delaware....what about orpingtons?....lol...now i'm afraid all my birds are gonna croak!...lol...

...Wendy