Turkey Processing in WA

[Farmer_Dan]

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I did try skinning a couple of the few birds I've killed over the past year or so since I've started raising chickens, it worked pretty well, but seemed like a bit of plucking made the skinning a lot easier, plus it seemed like a lot of the feathers were through the skin and into the meat causing me to tear the meat a bit while pulling the skin off.

Perhaps a class is what I need to get the process down.

Still it took 5 to 10 minutes per bird and it seems like renting the plucker will just make doing 25 in a day much more realistic for me.

 

[justbugged]

Quote:
I did try skinning a couple of the few birds I've killed over the past year or so since I've started raising chickens, it worked pretty well, but seemed like a bit of plucking made the skinning a lot easier, plus it seemed like a lot of the feathers were through the skin and into the meat causing me to tear the meat a bit while pulling the skin off.

Perhaps a class is what I need to get the process down.

Still it took 5 to 10 minutes per bird and it seems like renting the plucker will just make doing 25 in a day much more realistic for me.

We got faster as the day went on. We did 14 birds in about 3 hours. It would have been faster if we had enough ice on hand. We didn't have any problems with feathers sticking to the meat. We worked together and each of us had parts of the process that we did better than the other person. It's kind of interesting to know that I am tough enough broad to be part of the process. I would someday like to try a plucker. I have a favorite recipe in which I need to have the skin on the bird in order to get the herbs and pepper flakes to stay on the bird during the roasting time.

 

[bucketgirl]

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Have yet to find cheap feed in western WA. Still nearly 18$ for 50# of 20% flockraiser. Do you know something I don't?

May be referring to my deal. I get 1k lbs freshly ground as needed for $350 in Monroe. Right now he is double checking the formula because he is not seeing the growth he wants, but my birds are doing excellent on it. When the I hear more on the analysis I can give you the info if you are interested.

 

[bucketgirl]

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Aren't they great? We always pay an extra day's rent just as a thank-you for the service. The only downside is that long drive, and the fact that the pickup is at a farm store, where I always find so many things I NEED.

Where are you located? We should talk about coordinating our kill days so we can just clean/move the equip once.

 

[sfessler]

Quote:
Have yet to find cheap feed in western WA. Still nearly 18$ for 50# of 20% flockraiser. Do you know something I don't?

May be referring to my deal. I get 1k lbs freshly ground as needed for $350 in Monroe. Right now he is double checking the formula because he is not seeing the growth he wants, but my birds are doing excellent on it. When the I hear more on the analysis I can give you the info if you are interested.

350$ for 1000 lbs of bulk is 35$ for 100# is 17.50$ for 50 lbs. Pretty much the going rate for sacked feed in WA. The value added by it being fresh and/or organic is a variable of course but nothing here I would call cheap.

 

[Farmer_Dan]

Quote:
Aren't they great? We always pay an extra day's rent just as a thank-you for the service. The only downside is that long drive, and the fact that the pickup is at a farm store, where I always find so many things I NEED.

Where are you located? We should talk about coordinating our kill days so we can just clean/move the equip once.

We're near Northgate. We're set to get chicks next week meaning we'll want to slaughter probably about Mid-August (unless my quick math is off)

Will you be processing somewhere around then?

 

[bucketgirl]

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Indeed, we'll be slaughtering around mid-august as well. 50 Freedom rangers hatched around 05/15. We slaughter in Kirkland. (That makes me giggle every time)

 

[bucketgirl]

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Fresh ground, non-GMO feed is probably never going to be "cheap" against commercial feed. They do not compare.

When compared to a similar product I get - whole grain non-GMO layer feed at $27/50lb bag - it's very cheap.

 

[TreasureHill]

I also live in King County, in Renton. I am processing 26 Turkeys for Thanksgiving and found the same difficulties in getting the equipment. I found some in Tumwater and rented it for our needs for this year, but still think a better solution is out there. We are 1 hour and 40 minutes from Tumwater so it will be a long busy Thanksgiving week! Maybe some of us could get together and purchase the equipment jointly, and share it each year? We could also have the group in Vashon Island come out and teach us the finer points of Poultry processing for a fee, so we can do it right. Any thoughts?