Support needed - butcher day!

[Sunny Side Up]

There are ways to process at home without attracting predators. First of all, I do the work far away from the coops. I hang the birds over a big garbage can lined with a black plastic bag (that color doesn't show the blood as well, makes it less offensive to human sight) for them to bleed into. I drop all the feathers into the same bag as I pluck, and then bring the can to the cutting table to drop the discarded bits into.

There's always a group of laying hens circling the table like sharks, waiting for organs to be tossed to them. I give them the heart, lungs, gizzard, liver, & testicles, but not the gall bladder or intestines.

The bag can be tied up & the can taken to the curb afterwards, the leftover scalding water poured out far away from the coops, and the grass hosed down afterwards. I don't think there's much left to attract any more predators than usual.

I'm sorry if I spoiled anyone's excuse for butchering at home...

 

[SpringChickens]

Quote:
Great advice Sunny! My husband has been saying that as soon as they crow, they're gone... well, they definitely started crowing! I'm actually not going to do all of them today.

I have a total of 10 roos, and I will probably only do 6 or 7 today. I have two which *might* be hens... (I really doubt it, but it sounds good

). I have one which I am probably going to keep for our one and only roo, and maybe will leave one more for good measure.

Unfortunately, I do think that it's about time for them. The australorps are getting to be really good size, probably 7-8 pounds each, probably won't get much bigger if I give them a stay of execution. We'll see...

Thanks to everyone for the good advice. I'm sure it'll get easier after I do the first one, but I am dreading that first kill.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

you can do it! believe me your barnyard will be much calmer. we had rooster day a couple weeks ago and are so glad we did (5 roosters).

take a deep breath, have a prayer of thanksgiving, trust the 'way of things', be grateful for the harvest, and take your time.

 

[SpringChickens]

Thanks again to everyone for your advice and support. We are now down 9 !!! roosters. I decided that we should do everything while we had it set up. We left one Barred Rock rooster to rule the roost, but everything else is now in the freezer.

It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, my husband and I used cervical dislocation, which was very easy with two people. Their deaths seemed to be painless and they were not stressed prior to being dispatched. Once they were dead, the rest was easy!

Thanks again! I'm looking forward to some delicious chicken dinners.

 

[CrimsonRose]

Quote:
Wow glad to know I'm not the only one that runs in to cry... LOL

My kids handle it better than I do... They love all our animals just like pets, help feed them and give them hugs... But at the end of the day they get so excited to have a diner that they helped make and they know it's healthy and the animal was well treated that they don't seem too upset over the whole process... They do always try to talk me into letting them keep several but I typically tell them I'll let them hatch some new babies to raise and that helps fill the void... I expected them to cry (like me... LOL) at least the first time... but they knew it had to be done and were fine with it...

It always helps me to keep thinking that this is something special I can do for my family... I can give them a better and healthier meal than anything I can buy at the store...

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

congrats SpringChickens!!!

arent you happy with your success?? and just wait for that good eatin'!!

now that you are 'in the know' you can spread the word. the hard thing is convincing others that its just not that bad. in real life, there is no swelling music or crying video-camera holding youth weeping about the inhumanity... it just is what it is.

the hard thing tho is explaining the process - there's just no good way to say it! we try to come up with less-graphic terms to explain to folks such as my hubby "removes the smiling parts" and i'm on "guts"

congrats! congrats! now get in there and make some stew!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Good for you, SpringChickens, & your husband too!

I too get a good feeling of relief when I see the numbers go down in the rooster/meat pen, less beaks to feed & hear crow, less back ends making more poop, more groceries in the refrigerator!

Do you plan to let them rest in the refrigerator for 1-2 days before cooking or freezing? Will you cook them all or freeze some whole for later? I don't have a lot of room in my freezer, so after 2-3 days of rest I will quarter & slow-cook my birds on the stovetop in water with fresh herbs & bruised garlic cloves. I let them slowly simmer for about 2 or more hours until the meat just melts off the bones. Then I remove all the meat & freeze it in packets, just white & just dark meat. Then it's really handy for use later in soups, stews, salads, chilis, etc.

Enjoy your well-deserved meals! Send us pictures if you can. Yes, folks here do take & send photos of meat, both raw & cooked, and it gets rave reviews.

 

[gckiddhouse]

Quote:
can you describe cervical dislocation and how you did it? I have read about this method. It sounds very humane, but i don't know how to do it, or how much force is required. I would hate to screw it up. You said it took 2 people? Thanks

 

[SpringChickens]

Quote:
I let them rest overnight (almost 24 hours) in an ice water bath with salt to make it more of a brine. I left one out to cook, and the rest went into the freezer... we have a chest freezer plus the one on our refrigerator. I might have to try your suggestion, that sounds delicious! A nice easy way to make the meat very accessible, too.

I'm not sure I'll send pictures, simply because they were black birds, so they look a little mottled now. We had a hard time getting some of the pin feathers out which were beneath the skin...

I can't wait to try one of these boys, they should be delicious!!

 

[SpringChickens]

Quote:
For cervical dislocation, my hubby held the head, while I held the feet and we pulled in opposite directions. We would count to three to make sure we pulled hard enough and fast enough to dislocate the neck quickly.

We did need to exert quite a bit of force, but again, we counted to make sure we were in sync with each other. The bird went from being held in DH's arms to dead in probably less than 1/10th of a second. I have seen someone do it with just one person, but I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it by myself. I would be worried about not exerting enough force and having a bird in pain.

We did end up decapitating a few

, but I figure that's a lot better than hurting one. Their heads were going to come off eventually anyway.