we did itttttttt 1st time story.....=D

[chooketychook]

We culled our first roo for the table,it was kinda weird,but much easier and less emotional than I thought it was going to be,my rooster "Big papa" started jumping up at the kids,my autistic son became terrified of him,I didnt want to sell him I really want to "live from the Land" so..my husband and I set about it,first I picked him up and walked around the garden with him giving him a stroke to make him relaxed,once he was relaxed we used some scissors to cut the feathers down around his neck so we could see better,I then gave him some water and layed him on the floor sat down in a chair took my shoes of a gently held him down by the feet and wings,he was still very relaxed,we made sure he didnt see the knife and done the deed...kinda..the first stroke wasnt deep enough we panicked a lil but then we got there it was so peaceful no squarking,little flapping,as he bleed out..feathers were a piece of cake but still had pins
Now the guts was a differant story trying to copy the youtube videos I thought ok y shape cut the anus and pull,NO I was there tugging for a long time once I got the first part out it popped (outside the bird) and poop went all over the place,but we got there in the end,the crop I think we did wrong but got it all out,but all in all it is soooo much easier than you think,and I have a weird lil buzz we grew our own food.
The chicken does not look as neat and tidy as in the store infact it looks like it need stitching back together =/ and theres probebly only enough meat on it to feed a mouse but hey its our mangled tiny chicken =D
Quick question can we put it straight in the freezer? Or is there a reason we are meant to put it in the fridge 1st? If so how many days minimum does it have to stay in the fridge?
Thanks for reading xx

 

[redsoxs]

Glad you folks were able to get the job done - congratulations!
It's good to give a processed bird about 3 days in the fridge. Can be prior to freezing or after thawing. I always do so beforehand so I don't have to worry about it later. Birds are much more tender this way. Enjoy.

 

[chooketychook]

Thanks redsoxs ill leave him in the fridge im just worried he goes off,because when we buy our chickens if we leave them in the fridge longer than a day they start to go off and smell,or is that because store chickens are not fresh?

 

[foamspoon]

Good job I just did my second and third this morning. There is no easy way to clean the out the insides, but reach in and scoop. I used a spoon to scrape anything left inside.

 

[chooketychook]

Thanks hunny and well done to you too =D
I made a real mess of the gutting but enjoyed seeing what was in there (I am a lil strange) lol
I was tempted to get stuck in and pull but I have no idea what the gull bladder? Looks like so was scared to pop it, I ended up cutting everything out slowely before getting in there for a good scrape,this experiance has gave me a big buzz for "Grow your own"!

 

[erinchelsea]

Good for you!

don't worry about it going bad after a few days in the fridge, it's a lot fresher than the store bought chickens and you'll notice practically no smell at all. Even after a week they smell fresh, though I don't usually leave them that long. When we butcher we throw them in the freezer right away, no room in the fridge for a large batch but since they take a couple days to defrost in the fridge anyway they have time to sit and get really tender.

But one chicken, why don't you just eat it rather than freezing?

 

[chooketychook]

Thank you hun,thats a good idea I might leave him in for 48hrs put it in the freezer then let it defrost in fridge before we cook it,oh and we are putting it in the freezer because we had a chicken meal yesterday,a sunday roast today with most likely left overs for tommorrow,if we eat anymore chicken we are going turn into one Lol we want it later in the week once its tender x