The Meatie weigh-along!

[In His Service]

I am planning to process this Saturday, so i will weigh them before and after the deed.

 

[tgrlily]

Ok.... we had them done! Final weights are about the same -- I fed corn & whole grains since last monday.

Weights after processing:
5 lbs 8 oz, 5 lbs 14 oz, 6 lbs, 6 lbs 7 oz.

I wasn't going to help or even watch, but my husband was so into learning this. I ended up getting my hands in there after all. So glad I was able to "man" up!

My son sat in the car playing games... wasn't ready for it & I was certainly not into pushing the issue.

So--- now I just have to decide whether to do the rotisserie on the grill or use the turkey fryer tomorrow.

 

[backyardmenagerie]

Quote:

Woohoo! Way to go! And what awesome weights you ended up with!
Did you do a day without food before processing, or just feed them up till the end? How long did it take? Was there anything that went differently than you thought it would? Details!
How did you store them? In the fridge, or straight to the freezer? Brine? Are you concerned about rigor, or letting them "rest" before eating? I've seen some people say they eat their birds right away, and others that recommend letting them age a few days, so I'm curious what difference it makes.
I vote rotisserie, but you have enough birds to try one each way.

 

[tgrlily]

Quote:

Woohoo! Way to go! And what awesome weights you ended up with!
Did you do a day without food before processing, or just feed them up till the end? How long did it take? Was there anything that went differently than you thought it would? Details!
How did you store them? In the fridge, or straight to the freezer? Brine? Are you concerned about rigor, or letting them "rest" before eating? I've seen some people say they eat their birds right away, and others that recommend letting them age a few days, so I'm curious what difference it makes.
I vote rotisserie, but you have enough birds to try one each way.

I fed them right till the end. The processing was fast. Put them in the cones, slit throats, bled them out then decapitated them. Used a humongous pot of 150 degree water with dawn dish soap in it. Dipped them till the wing feathers were loose. They have a plucker, so that literally took a minute. Gave them in a cool rinse. The eviscerating took the longest because hubby & I participated. They did the cutting, I pulled out the heart, then everything else! The surprise -- that I didn't lose my lunch.

They're resting in the fridge right now. I'll rinse & put them in huge freezer bags. Tonite I plan on brining the smallest for tomorrow's dinner. Hubby also voted for the first one to be grilled on the rotisserie. I tend to make up my brines as I go along, but I plan on adding brown sugar, chipotle & some cajun spices to this one. I'll dry rub after brining. Since the grill is gas, I'll put some woodchips in a smoker box.

 

[DogandPonyShow]

These things are nuts. 6 weeks on Monday. I'm going to have to move up the processing date - they'd be waaaaaay too big if I keep it on the 21st. Aiming for 4.5-5 lb. dressed weights.

Range: 64 1/2 oz. to 88 1/8 oz. (4 lbs. 1/2 oz to 5 lbs. 8 1/8 oz.)
St Dev: 7.43 oz
Average: ~74.5 oz (4 lbs. 10 1/2 oz.)

Total Weight: 1042 oz/65 lbs.

+50.2% gain from last week.

On Flock Raiser, 12 on/12 off, Meyer Broiler Max vitamins in water, tractor moved daily. Congrats to those who are finished! Can't wait.

 

[In His Service]

We processed 4 of ours yesterday..could not do the other 4 as we were hand plucking and ran out of time.

the final weights:
before after
8 lbs 5 1/2 lbs
8 1/2 lbs 6 1/2 lbs
8 1/2 lbs 6 lbs
7 1/2 lbs 5 1/2 lbs
These were all males. The last 4 are 3 females and one male. I will weigh them when we process them.

I don't know why the first one seems to have lost more weight after processing, my daughter weighed the first 3, I weighed the last one. I was particularly pleased that there was not a huge wad of fat like the whole chickens we buy in the store. In fact almost no fat on them at all. We did not give them any food Saturday morning. Because my daughter and I went to Mother-Daughter brunch at church, we did not process until afternoon. I had hoped to do all 8, but hand plucking went slowly. I think the water was not hot enough, my husband was doing the plucking, but gave up and left it to DD and me. I got the water hotter, and the last 2 birds went much quicker. By that time, the menfolk were hungry, poor little things, and I had to stop, clean up and fix supper.

Mine are on ice, will stay there for 3 days. Then I will prepare them, 2 for cooking and 2 for the freezer. I will probably cook them on the grill...quarter them, then marinate and cook them with a soy sauce concoction...lots of garlic. I will probably fry the next 2.

I will probably make a drill plucker real quick for next weekend, and hopefully before we get a large bunch again I will have time to turn the old washer I got free from CL into a plucker.

I believe if I get cornish x again, when I get them, I will a larger bunch...as long as I have a working plucker or access to one. The actual killing and gutting was not so bad, really. I have learned something about myself...when something absolutely must be done, I can do it.

 

[backyardmenagerie]

Quote:

Great job! I'm surprised by how much their weights changed after butchering, I didn't expect that. And when you make that washer plucker, I want to see pictures! That sounds so creative!

For those of you have finished, I want to see pictures! Before or after cooking, however you think they look best.

 

[Matrix Escapee]

Sorry I missed a lot of weigh-ins guys. i have my hands full right now with a full-time job, and 3 batches CX's (100 in each batch).
I weighed some of our second batch yesterday and they weighe 1.25 lbs.
It's tough to get a good average when you have 100 to choose from and running around.
I think I am gonna be in the same boat as Dog and Pony. Our 1st group is getting big fast. I think we might need to process some in week 6 instead of 7.
I am going to get a bigger scale and try to get back to weighing in.
See everyone soon.
Oh yeah, group three arrived Friday. Hatch date was wed 4/27. Still doing Nature's best organic feed supplemented with Sealac fishmeal and Fertrell Nutribalancer. Birds Rasied in a daily move pen on pasture after 3 weeks old.
Hope everyone is having success and enjoying the process.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Quote:
Two weeks old: Now weighing an average of 1 lb. 6oz. Everything still the same.

Wow week 3 already. Now weighing an average of 2lbs. 7 oz. The smallest is 2lb 2oz, I think it's a hen and I ordered all males, and a couple of real pigs at 2lb 12oz. Of course these two never go far from the food.
They are now in what I call the broiler barn. It is a hoop style building that has a solid front and back for a door and windows and the rest in covered in wire that is covered with tarp and has a solid floor. When it gets hot, I can roll up the sides and let the fresh air in.
Same food and vitamins and they are still under heat lamps because it is still cold here. Today was the first day the light has been off, but I will have to turn it back on tonight because it is only going to be in the upper 40's.

Week 4
I found the little runt yesterday flipped on it's back. Heart trouble I would guess. Go figure.
The rest hit a growth spurt. The average weight is 4 lbs. They are still on 20% feed, unrestricted and Vitamins and Electrolytes in their water. I have always felt that the vitamins make them hungry so they eat well.
The weather here in Northern Ohio is just crappy. All we are getting is rain, wind and the temps at night are still in the 40's. One night it was 38 degrees. I can't stand it anymore. Come on already.

 

[DogandPonyShow]

Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

My dog is a saint. (I needed something for scale...) 42 days old today.