Well we did it!

[gvntofly05]

My hubby and I just slaughtered and butchered our first chicken! It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. My dad is a hunter so I grew up helping butcher deer, ducks, geese and such. So I knew the butchering part would be easy. It was the actual culling I was worried about. I think the anticipation of knowing what we were going to be doing today was the worst part. Once it was done and I actually started skinning and cutting out the meat it felt no different than doing a goose. I am so proud of myself!

The chicken is now in the brine awaiting the grill tomorrow! I am sure that once I taste the difference I will never by store chicken again.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Congrats!! We did our first one ever (for either DH or myself!) last summer. We ended up doing 20 of 'em! I can't watch the culling part. Once the head it off and not moving, I am fine, but until then? Ehh....no thanks. I know the birds if I see their face. The plucking part is much easier than I thought too! DH and I joke that couples who can butcher/pluck together, stay together.

You'll love the taste! YUMMY! How old was the roo? We have dual purpose breeds, so we butchered between 16-20 weeks. The roos legs are much tougher than store bought, but MUCH tastier! I have heard younger roos aren't like that, but I haven't had a younger roo. Let us know what your thoughts are after grilling the meat!!

 

[gvntofly05]

It was actually a 6 month old pullet! I know most will think I'm nuts but I got way to carried away with the amount of chickens I have and when I hatched my BC Marans hubby said I would have to get rid of some from the coop to make room. We thought about selling them but chickens don't seem to sell to easily where I live. So we said lets just butcher them!

 

[BarkerChickens]

Your DH sounds like mine...except he and his best friend are the ones that went on a chick buying spree last spring (57 chicks! and his best friend only took 10 of 'em!). I told him that I don't want to get rid of the hens since we can sell eggs, but butchering the extra roos was ok. Now he wants to get rid of hens.

No way! I'm way too attached at this point.

Future chick hatchings are all dinner or being sold...regardless of gender.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Very good. Just today my sister-in-law spoke to me about fresh chicken meat. She is a lab tech and has these fears about buying store bought meats lately. I don't consider it an easy chore, but I'm glad I was taught early on how to do that kind of thing. My story is similar to yours. Dad hunted and farmed. So did Grandpa.

 

[gvntofly05]

Yeah my DH doesn't care whether it's a roo or a hen. His theory is that's why we have a couple of roo's and an incubator, to keep a steady supply of meat and eggs. I figured since I am going to be working on perfecting my flock of BC Marans I am going to have to cull some hens that just don't make the cut in egg color and standard. So I may as well get used to it now

 

[gvntofly05]

Quote:
Yeah I haven't been too keen either about store bought meat lately. I quit buying it 2 months ago and up until yesterday hadn't eaten any meat in 6 weeks! DH just bought me the 575 watt Kitchenaid and the meat grinder for grinding our own chicken meat. It will be the only meat we will be eating, unless I get some deer or goose from my dad. Now I can return the favor with some great chicken though!!

 

[gvntofly05]

Well we grilled the chicken this afternoon and I have to say it was the best tasting chicken I have ever had! The breast meat was firm but tender and so juicy. The leg quarters were a little tougher than I am used to but the flavor was unbelievable! I can't wait to slaughter more and share it with family and friends!

 

[BarkerChickens]

Quote:
In the future, you can use the breast meat for grilling, but slow cook the legs!! We have also done the beer can up the butt method. Delicious!!! I am glad you liked your first butcher!! Just don't let your chickens hear you say you can't wait to butcher more!!

 

[laurenandtoby]

Good job! We butchered about 7 of our roos right before Christmas, since we had gotten straight run chicks. Still have at least one in the freezer.

We also experimented with guineas. We had heard they were good "watchdogs" and also eat a lot of fleas and ticks in your yard. But I found that after a few months I just couldn't stand ALL THAT NOISE! Those are the noisiest birds I've ever seen. So we ended up butchering or giving away all of them. And it is so peaceful and quiet around here now. The other funny thing is that guineas are so dumb they make our chickens look like rocket scientists.

We have had a bobcat coming into our farm and picking off our hens, so we had to keep them in their house most of the time now. We only let them free-range when we are home.

Anyway, I'm rambling now, but the guineas were absolutely delicious and not really that gamey tasting. "Tastes like chicken."