Well, i butchered my first chicken...

[halo]

Try this:

 

[Tiss]

Thank you! I'm still trying to decide: skin or pluck, skin or pluck. I was going to butcher my 16 wk wyandotte cockerel today, but when I picked him up, he didn't even seem as heavy as a 5lb sack of flour. He got a 2 week reprieve to fatten up some.

 

[jjparke]

Don't feel bad. I've missed a couple times and I'm sure I'll miss again. Just swing again and try to get it done right and fast. I use a good heavy axe so full decapitation usually occurs in the first swing. And I always skin. Plucking was just too much work when we always peel the skin off before we eat it anyway. I love raising, slaughtering,butchering and eating my own chickens. It's very rewarding.

 

[lakeontariochicks]

In my opinion the first time never goes quite right....

We butchered 11 meaties over the course of a week, and even with watching the videos, reading, etc. I thought it could have gone better.
Hubby likes using a thin knife and following Joel Salatin's teachings on butchering, when it's my turn(in the fall) I would rather use a big, sharp axe.
We plucked all but one of the chickens, because we like the skin on the dark pieces of meat. I usually use skinless breasts though, but wasn't sure how easy it would be to skin just the breasts, and not the legs and wings?
Something went wrong with one chicken, I don't think the scald pot was hot enough, so I ended up skinning that whole chicken, and it was so much nicer!

 

[jarcoo0153]

It was hard for me the first time I butchered. I don't like the killing part, but after it is over it ain't that bad! I prefer to use a sharp axe it works great! I use the same stump my great grandmother Matak used during the depression. It has had alot of chickens butchered on it, after all she had 9 kids to feed! I also would rather pluck, I don't care for skinning, but that's my opinion. My 83 year old grandpa is going to help me butcher 7 chickens in 9 weeks. I ordered 10 surprise roosters and got them yesterday, and lost two of my roos and one isn't doing great either. So I hope the rest will survive. I would rather raise them to eat, instead of the hatchery disposing of them.