Well I DID IT!! Pithing vs. Hatchet.... Graphic pics****

[Slinkytoys]

The only question I have: Is the particle board you are using sealed? If not, a couple of coats will help with the contamination problem.

Good work, aren't cha proud!!! Fresh meat humanely raised and dispatched.

Carrie

 

[Punk-Rock_Chicken]

Great work/pics! I am uncertain on "pithing" though? I see you put them through a bleach bottle upside-down with their head poking through the bottom, and you have the knife in their mouth, right? Do you just push through to the brain? How does this help in plucking? I have a couple I am about to cull, and was curious about this. Is it fast?(killing) I think that I want to try it, but at the same time, I think it would feel wierd not having a headless chicken running all around the yard! LOL

 

[myke]

I found that after looking at this photo

I was able to determine where to stick the knife. Scrambling the brain is key to a quick kill. You know if you destroyed the brain if blood runs out smoothly. If it is clotting you probably haven't hit the brain right.

As for the feathers, we culled five roos in all and three of us took part (all new to butchering). There was a significant relation in time to death and the ease of removing feathers. The second bird I did died very quickly and the feathers were very easy to remove, my first one less so but still not impossible.

 

[Barnyard]

Guess what I will never be able to do

...... I can cull a sick bird....I just don't think I could cull a rooster to eat. That is why I still have 3 in the backyard that serve no purpose.


To the OP....Great Job

 

[JenEric Farms]

With the pithing method, do you still have to slit the throat to drain the blood or does it drain right from where you puncture/scramble the brain?

 

[Punk-Rock_Chicken]

Quote:
Awesome! Thanks!

 

[NGT ANGL]

What exactly is pithing (what does it entail) and is it more humane than using an axe to chop the head off? I am new to chickens and at this time, I only have my hens and two roos but have thought about getting a few meat birds. Somehow, I just feel that if I am going to eat meat, I should be able to raise and humanely slaughter for my consumption so I am just curious about the process...

 

[Opa]

I've found that an icepick is very effective. I keep it parallel with the beak inserting into the "slot" in the roof, then a slight side to side motion does the job. I then use a sharp pair of scissors to clip the jugular veins.

 

[JenEric Farms]

Okay, this question may sound ridiculous, but which way is most humane for the bird or at least appears to cause less stress:

1. Pithing, then slicing jugular
2. Hatchet
3. Slicing Jugular only

 

[quiltnchik]

Just looked this up and this is what I found on Wikepedia:

"Today, pithing is deprecated and not practiced on animals intended for the human food supply because it may lead to the spread of fragments of neural matter through the carcass."