- Thread starter
- #11
Well the deed is done.
My wife and I processed 5 birds almost by ourselves (my Dad came by to watch and advise).
Killing the birds was not the most pleasent chore but not as bad as I thought. I used a restraining cone and cut the jugular vein. They died as quickly and painlessly as might be hoped.
The butchering process was done far out of sight of the rest of the flock and I took pains to be as kind and humane as possible to the chooks. I took care of them well all their lives and now they will feed and sustain my wife, my son and myself.
Scalding the birds went well. The turkey fryer did the job marvolously.
Plucking the first 95% of the feathers went remarkably fast. The last 5% was a real bear. I couldn't get all those darn little hairs and pinfeathers out! In frustration, my wife skinned all the birds.
Evisceration was faster than I expected. My wife (the less squeamish spouse), did 4 birds to my one.
All in all I think we did well. No catastrophes, no nausea and no cut fingers. I do hope to build that tub plucker though. Without that I can't see how to clean the bird well enough to leave the skin on.
I think I may order some more meat birds soon. I have a big freezer tha could use some filling.
Thanks for the advice folks. With your help we've got an awesome Mother's Day dinner planned!
My wife and I processed 5 birds almost by ourselves (my Dad came by to watch and advise).
Killing the birds was not the most pleasent chore but not as bad as I thought. I used a restraining cone and cut the jugular vein. They died as quickly and painlessly as might be hoped.
The butchering process was done far out of sight of the rest of the flock and I took pains to be as kind and humane as possible to the chooks. I took care of them well all their lives and now they will feed and sustain my wife, my son and myself.
Scalding the birds went well. The turkey fryer did the job marvolously.
Plucking the first 95% of the feathers went remarkably fast. The last 5% was a real bear. I couldn't get all those darn little hairs and pinfeathers out! In frustration, my wife skinned all the birds.
Evisceration was faster than I expected. My wife (the less squeamish spouse), did 4 birds to my one.
All in all I think we did well. No catastrophes, no nausea and no cut fingers. I do hope to build that tub plucker though. Without that I can't see how to clean the bird well enough to leave the skin on.
I think I may order some more meat birds soon. I have a big freezer tha could use some filling.
Thanks for the advice folks. With your help we've got an awesome Mother's Day dinner planned!