Tips for butchering/processing alone??

[KikiDeAnime]

If you can afford it, a plucker may be worth your money! 1 chicken will be plucked in about 30 seconds. Maybe with this, your dad may want to come and help with that part.

If I could afford it, we'd already have a plucker but unfortunately I don't currently have a real job to pay for one.

 

[NatJ]

You mention doing the biggest ones first. Does that mean I should start with the ones I plan on selling? Because we're only keeping 2 for ourselves and selling the rest to people nearby who want this kind of meat bird.

In that case, I'm not sure.

I was just thinking that some meat birds die when they get too big, and that it might be nice to let the smallest ones grow a bit longer.

If you do them all within a few days or a week it will not matter much.

But if something interrupts you and the last few wait for several weeks, then butchering order could make a difference.

 

[Compost King]

You mention doing the biggest ones first.

The reason why people do the bigger ones first is because if any of them are going to suddenly die on you it will be a largest one and best to get them out of the way ASAP. This really only applies to CX. If you are still doing Red Rangers or other smaller broilers then do the ones you want to do first for what ever reason you find suits you best.

 

[Tre3hugger]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...inners-overview-setup-cost-and-results.75951/

 

[charthorn]

My killing cone is an old traffic cone, used it for years and it works great. Plucking isn't that big of a deal. Just get a good scald on them and the feathers come right off.

 

[Camofry]

I am in my 3rd diagnosis with lung cancer with mets to my liver this time and I managed to do 49 cornish crosses alone. Granted it took me 2 days but I got them done. It is definitely a job doing them alone but it is doable. I will be doing 50 more in the spring if everything goes right. Getting a pattern is the key.

 

[aliciaplus3]

Fresh water at the killing/ plucking/ gutting location preferred with a spray nozzel on a hose so you can keep everything clean. My kids help me and we can do 20 in 3 hours with a plucker, we still hand pluck less than 10 becsuse it takes time to set up the plucker and clean it.. biggest thing when plucking is a good scald. 150 degrees water (we use a meat thermometer to get the temp right and a outdoor propane burner to keep it where we want it) I like that with a canopy and some tables we keep all the mess outside. Much easier to spray off a tarp than clean the kitchen. Good sharp knives and a sharpener handy. We use shrinknbags to give the end product a "finished" touch for customers.
If you are unsure start with the ones you plan to eat so that you have a little practice under your belt for customers birds.
You can do this. Don't let others opinions dictate your path

 

[Anycockildo]

I cut a hole in the bottom of a big folgers coffee plastic can, for my kill cone. For me, it worked well processing the 4 birds at the same time, I had the kill area, set up my dipping pot on my fire pit, and threw the heads, feathers and offal in the fire. birds were all stacked on before and after cardboard. bagged the livers and hearts for the cats, the necks and feet for soup washed and bagged the processed birds with the hose. After the kill site I was able to work comfortably from my chair.

 

[Parront]

I will weigh in here, that you can do it alone! Sometimes, it is faster alone, I talk too much if I have company!
When you are learning what you want to do, you will be slower, don't put any expectations on yourself and take your time. I do not use a cone at all, I tie the feet together with string, hang them from a hook at the right height, and use a wire coat-hanger to hook a bucket of water (or dog food when I had dogs, they love it) to the underside of the beak & stretch them out. About the weight of the bird in the bucket, the bucket catches most of the blood, hose nearby to wash down the concrete patio. Let one bleed while you tie up the next one, let him bleed while you hose things and untie the first, take them both to the scald pot, which needs to be the right temp. Just do 2 at a time, then decide if you are ready to do another 2.
Colored birds can have pin feathers that show, you might decide to let them grow out more if the first couple have a lot of pin feathers which would take a long time to make a pretty, sale-worthy bird. Lots of people do not like the texture of an older bird, sounds like you know your customers tastes and preferences. But, for my neighbor's first time with a home grown cockerel, only 12 weeks old, I told her to cook it in the crock pot -- even though I consider that just the right age to BBQ. She loved it in the crock pot! You just can't put a store bird in the crock pot and get good flavor and texture like a home grown bird has. I did not give it to her until I had aged it 3 days in the frig, so that she would not have a bad experience her first time cooking a normal chicken. I give them to my neighbors so that I do not get any crowing complaints about my flock. I am glad you have some folks to sell them to!

 

[wolfwalker]

I do it all myself also. It takes about 7 hours to do 25 chickens with hand plucking. I usually start at 7 and am finished up and cleaned up by 12, so It takes 2 days. The next batch that I get this late fall will be done differently. I hope to have a drum plucker by then.

As to tips, I use to killing cones and pluck the two previous while the next two drain.

Everything gets plucked first, then in stages I take the necks off, then remove organs wash and toss into tubs of ice water.

Then a final rinse and bag, before shrinking the bags.