People keep telling me I need to post pics, but I don't know how. It would be better than a description in this case perhaps. I don't have an actual shackle, but this is what I do.
First I need to explain that I have an area to slaughter and clean my birds. Under my house there is a nail hang at my chin level with a piece of rope......2 strands hang down.
First thing I do is get a bird that I have had without food.....only water for a day and hang him by the legs. I might hold while someone else ties.
Then I put a large bucket or foot tub under the bird on a stool.
Then I slit the throat and allow to bleed out. I might hold the bird still if I don't want to have a bloody mess afterwards.
Then I start plucking the wings first and then go to the very bottom (top for me) of the legs and work my way up (down for me). Note: the animal is still warm. If it gets cold its harder.
Then I break the neck and cut off the head.
I then cut a single leg off and dislocate the leg joint, leaving the bird hanging by a single leg and exposing the vent area.
I pluck the vent area and inner legs and I then begin cutting arount the anus, carefully. I include a portion of the skin around the abdomen to give me more working room and start removing the inside carefully.
By the time I have the gizzard out, I pull out about a 7 inch piece of gut to hang out and cut it off, while I clean out the gizzard.
I am careful removing the liver and I cut close to the liver so the spleen doesn't color the liver green. It is hard to remove the liver intact, depending on the size of the bird.
After that, I just do the best I can removing everything else that is inside the bird. The esophagas is sometimes a problem.
Then I cut and remove the remaining leg. (my husband finds humor in me forgetting the chicken feet)
I put the bird in the outside sink and ......this is something I found I like doing.....I cut the bird in half and remove the entire neck and vertebral column in one piece. I just like the way it looks to BBQ a chicken that has been cut like that. Also I like to have a few spines with my gizzards, livers and hearts for soups. I did 4 roosters about 5 or 6 days ago.
Now if I had shackles for both feet, I could probably completely pluck the bird before cutting, but I like the leg hanging down when I am removing the insides. So I might undo one anyway at that point. Also if I had shackles, it might be easier to restrain the bird if I am alone, but other than that, I think I would do pretty much the same.
Now all that being said, I might be completely changing the way I do my slaughtering, because just this morning I ordered "fingers" and a book explaining how to make a homemade plucker.........although I think I can put one together anyway with a PVC pipe, cap, and drill and a few other things, but the way I clean birds is the easiest I have come up with. The memory of holding a hot wet chicken over a table covered with newspaper and the smell is not a good childhood memory........although at least my parents taught me how to take care of myself.
