Texas

[hungnguyen]

Nice pix of the dogs. Wish you are close by so I can adopt the dogs

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

Looks like more rain this weekend. I am going to butcher two Black Copper Maran Roosters this weekend, and the next two soon after. I am leaving three of the best examples of the breed alone. The other four are getting culled. So, more chicken dinner this weekend.

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

Those GSD are so gorgeous. I still want a girl, it is just not the right time.

Thank you :3

We might breed again in a couple years, it depends on if we are still renting or not. If I knew I had a house next year I would say we for sure would be having two more litters then b e quitting. I want to cut her off at 5 years old I think three litters is plenty. Otherwise we won't be breeding them again. A duplex is not the right place haha.

Nice pix of the dogs. Wish you are close by so I can adopt the dogs

Thanks

Looks like more rain this weekend. I am going to butcher two Black Copper Maran Roosters this weekend, and the next two soon after. I am leaving three of the best examples of the breed alone. The other four are getting culled. So, more chicken dinner this weekend.

How do you butcher your roo's? I am going to be butchering mine if they can't find homes, and same with my older hens. What is the quickest way for them do you think? Also do you have to scald to pluck them? I don't have a way to scald them. :/

 

[Ren2014]

Looks like more rain this weekend. I am going to butcher two Black Copper Maran Roosters this weekend, and the next two soon after. I am leaving three of the best examples of the breed alone. The other four are getting culled. So, more chicken dinner this weekend.

YAY for the rain!

 

[bnjrob]

How do you butcher your roo's? I am going to be butchering mine if they can't find homes, and same with my older hens. What is the quickest way for them do you think? Also do you have to scald to pluck them? I don't have a way to scald them. :/

We use a sharp knife and a killing cone. We like it much better than the hatchet on the chopping block - the bird is calmer and no worrying about cutting yourself or missing the bird or cutting the bird but not killing it in case it moves.

You don't have to scald. I have a friend who says scalding is a waste of time and she feels like she can pluck just as fast without scalding. I prefer to scald. Even though we pith the birds when we kill them to help the muscles release the feathers, scalding just seems to help us get the plucking done easier and faster. We use a turkey fryer setup to scald with now, but when we first started, we just used our biggest stock pot on the stove. We've tried skinning rather than plucking, but our birds have so much connective tissue that it took longer to cut the skin off our birds than it does to pluck.

 

[hippiestink]

Thank you :3

We might breed again in a couple years, it depends on if we are still renting or not. If I knew I had a house next year I would say we for sure would be having two more litters then b e quitting. I want to cut her off at 5 years old I think three litters is plenty. Otherwise we won't be breeding them again. A duplex is not the right place haha.
Thanks

How do you butcher your roo's? I am going to be butchering mine if they can't find homes, and same with my older hens. What is the quickest way for them do you think? Also do you have to scald to pluck them? I don't have a way to scald them. :/

I agree with @bnjrob, I prefer to scald. We have a HUGE 10L stockpot we use for this purpose, I test the water by dipping in the feet and seeing if the scales come right off.

I know a lot of folk like the killing cones but I've always hated the dang things. I break the neck quicklike the way my grandma did with her fowl. If I have time I will use a knife and very quickly bleed the bird out to do the deed. We pray over the animals before and after processing, we're Buddhist so we consider it respectful to thank the bird for its sacrifice.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

Thank you :3

We might breed again in a couple years, it depends on if we are still renting or not. If I knew I had a house next year I would say we for sure would be having two more litters then b e quitting. I want to cut her off at 5 years old I think three litters is plenty. Otherwise we won't be breeding them again. A duplex is not the right place haha.
Thanks

How do you butcher your roo's? I am going to be butchering mine if they can't find homes, and same with my older hens. What is the quickest way for them do you think? Also do you have to scald to pluck them? I don't have a way to scald them. :/

I did it the redneck way. I have a 2x8 with some boards drilled into the bottom, it is anchored down by some garden bricks. On the top I have two large traffic cones drilled in the top, and on either side two Lowe's buckets to catch the blood. So, I try to get them reasonable sedated, and then take their head. The last one had such thick hackles, I didn't want to miss the jugular, so I pair of limb trimmers did the severing. Then what sinew was left I cut and let the head drop. It isn't quite a perfect system, the death muscle response did spray some blood on the porch, but the majority was as drained in the bucket. Then, I scalded the body in a large cooking pot until I could pull some feathers. Then he was off the garage for the chicken plucker, which got most of the feathers off. Then I had a folding chair, a folding table, and a cutting board and found that most of the knives I had were too dull for the task. However, Kobalt razor knife made some quick work. The only part I was disappointed with, is I nicked the gall bladder when I was trying to separate it from the liver. My neighbor likes chicken livers, so I was going to give it to him. My son called dibs on the heart. He cooked up in an hour, and made a good dinner, lunch, and soup.

I think I am going to try the crock pot with this next go to get the meat more tender. But, there is no comparison to the Tyson Cornish X you get in the grocery store that is pumped full of saline and has no flavor. The dark meat on the rooster was almost as rich as duck.

 

[bnjrob]

I think I am going to try the crock pot with this next go to get the meat more tender. But, there is no comparison to the Tyson Cornish X you get in the grocery store that is pumped full of saline and has no flavor. The dark meat on the rooster was almost as rich as duck.

A brine can tenderize and still let you have the good homegrown chicken flavor. I like a salt/sugar brine and for different flavors will add things like apple cider and herbs and spices.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

A brine can tenderize and still let you have the good homegrown chicken flavor. I like a salt/sugar brine and for different flavors will add things like apple cider and herbs and spices.

I understand that. I am talking about the supermarket mess that is injected with saline to make it appear plumper. Not to mention it has been fed arsenic to keep it from dying after being force fed. to make its breast larger. Rubbing down the meat or using herbs and spices, or cooking it with lemon in the cavity isn't bad. I just prefer to have my own eggs and my own meat that I know what went into it. Once finances stabilize, I plan on high fencing the side hard and either putting boar goats or hairless sheep, so I can butcher them and know where my other meat comes from. I try to hunt every year, so I know where my deer meat comes from. I have no love for the industrial method of ranching/farming. The USDA lets the big boys get away with putting garbage in the system you wouldn't catch them eating, not to mention all the meat recalls. I want to know where my meat comes from, and I am guess you and most of us do too.

That is why I mentioned the saline injected supermarket meat. Your method of tenderizing yard bird makes sense. I may just try it.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

I agree with @bnjrob , I prefer to scald. We have a HUGE 10L stockpot we use for this purpose, I test the water by dipping in the feet and seeing if the scales come right off.

I know a lot of folk like the killing cones but I've always hated the dang things. I break the neck quicklike the way my grandma did with her fowl. If I have time I will use a knife and very quickly bleed the bird out to do the deed. We pray over the animals before and after processing, we're Buddhist so we consider it respectful to thank the bird for its sacrifice.

I scald so my chicken plucker than get the majority of the feathers off, so I can start butchering quicker.