Thanksgiving Turkey Processing

[ScottnLydia]

I am not understanding this. You talk about the turkeys bruising themselves. If turning the bird upside down calms them, is the flapping of the wings part of the 'death throes'? Is bruising bad for the meat? I am hoping to raise turkeys next year and am trying to understand the world of turkeys. Thanks!

Lisa

Bruising only occurs when there is blood pressure. If the bird has bled out before it starts flapping, it won't bruise anyway. Mine whanged into a pole pretty good when he flapped after he bled out, and there was no bruising on the wings at all!

That's also how they can tell if injuries were caused before or after death on people. Bruising, before death, no bruising, after death.

 

[chicken pickin]

Hi,
I'm new to this chicken raising, my girls just live a good quiet life and give me eggs and I was happy, until I want to now raise birds for meat and seeing your turkeys looking so wonderful dressed out, I need schooling. I have never killed anything (except by accident with the car) I was told once you get past the 3rd one you will be ok, the cleaning to me would not be a problem just need to know how. Ok I saw my first killed deer last year that was not road kill and sorta watched as it was dressed out, now you know how green I am. So anyone want to take on the task of schooling an older woman? I want to really raise Cornish hens because in 6 to 8 weeks they are ready, but I have to know what tools I need and get ready before I get the birds. I am able to free range my girls and I do give them good feed as well, course they get lots of salad stuff too to eat since I work in a restaurant and when we clean the produce I take it home. So I was told that my girls would probably taste really good. Any takers?
Kathleen (kat)

I dont know how many tips I could give you, I only raised cornish cross for the first time this summer but here is my thread on my raising them from start to finish if you want to take a look.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/686096/the-start-of-my-chicken-tractor

 

[Buster52]

We processed about 40 this year, BBB and BBW. We planned to keep a dozen or so so we could have a turkey a month, but business got so brisk at the end we ended up with just 3. Had they not been so big, we would have sold a couple more.

Thinking maybe next year we should do 70.

 

[Buster52]

This is where we kill our turks. We hang them from the shackles, slit, and push them deeper into the kill station. Their wings hardly touch the sides when they flap. Then we hang the next turkey and repeat the process while the first bleeds out. We prefer this system much over cones or even hanging from a rope.

 

[yinepu]

I am not understanding this. You talk about the turkeys bruising themselves. If turning the bird upside down calms them, is the flapping of the wings part of the 'death throes'? Is bruising bad for the meat? I am hoping to raise turkeys next year and am trying to understand the world of turkeys. Thanks!

Lisa

turning them upside down doesn't calm all of them.. sure it works on some.. but I have had a few who would freak out and end up breaking a wing or bruising it before slaughter. By taping up the wings with vet wrap they calm down a lot faster (at least it seems that way) and we don't end up with any birds bruising or breaking their wings.
They can also break a wing by flapping them against hard surfaces when doing the "death flap". So taping up the wings protects them in both scenarios.
lol.. plus it helps to keep you from being beat with wings (our hens seem to be "more flighty" than our toms.. even though all are good-natured birds). And if for any reason you have to set a leg-tied-wing-taped live bird down on the ground.. they can't run off or fly away.

 

[katsdar]

So if I can ask how do you sell your processed birds for? I'm guessing you make a profit.

 

[ScottnLydia]

Profit?

I KNEW I was forgetting something!

 

[debir1966]

Happy Thanksgiving!

First time we have ever fried turkey. Juicy! Tasty - very flavorful. A little tougher than I expected... not tough, but not melt-in-you-mouth - however, we free-range our birds so lots of excersize! Husband would like to try cooking the next one for a bit longer and see if that softens it up a little and I want to try roasting because I don't have previous fried turkey experiences to compare to. This was one of the 13 1/2 pound hens. 375 degrees for 52 minutes, internal temp 167 degrees.

 

[katsdar]

 

[katsdar]

Why do you like this more than cones? and is this preference, box over cones just for turks or is it for chickens too?