What age should a cockerel processed?

[Cee]

I have no room for this cockerel.
The last one, I did by myself but I couldn’t get his neck stretched out long enough for a quick chop with my hatchet. It was very upsetting.
Anyone know a trick for a quick death using a hatchet? Without it requiring 2 people?
Or some other method?

 

[Molpet]

Age determines cooking methods

I'm retired old woman and this is what I use.
For a kill cone I use a cut up kitty litter jug and electric tape around the ankles. Have to pull head through the cut out spout , hold so he doesn't pull back in. And cut off the head with PVC pipe cutter.

Non ratching PVC pipe cutter to decapitate

 

[Cee]

thank you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I use the stump and hatchet method. To stretch the neck and hold it steady I drive two large nails in the stump to form a Vee about 5/8" apart at the bottom. Put the head in the Vee and gently stretch it out. As long as you don't pull hard they stay steady.

Nothing wrong with Molpet's method. That's generally called a killing cone method as some people use cones instead of buckets. Instead of the PVC pipe cutters you might use pruning shears or loppers. Instead of taking the head off some people use a sharp knife to slit the throat so they bleed to death. Lots of variations on the killing cone methods.

Some people use the broomstick method. Put the head/neck under a broomstick, stand on the broomstick with both feet to hold it in place, and jerk by the feet and legs.

There are other methods but these are probably the most used. Use whichever method you think you can and get a clean kill.

 

[Cee]

So is the V on the edge of the stump or in the middle. What do you do with the chickens body while the head is in the V?
Trying to create a visual and I can’t.
Do you have pics or a video?

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I use the stump and hatchet method. To stretch the neck and hold it steady I drive two large nails in the stump to form a Vee about 5/8" apart at the bottom. Put the head in the Vee and gently stretch it out. As long as you don't pull hard they stay steady.

I also use the axe and stump with 2 nails as a vee! Maybe I even got the idea from you, @Ridgerunner ? I want to add as advice to the OP that I actually put 3 nails in the stump with different spacings - one vee for smaller hens, and one for the large CX males we process. It's good to have so no one slips out or is too big for the vee.

Also, make sure your axe is SHARP. Processing got a lot easier when we started spending the $8-10 to have a local professional sharpen our axe before a batch of meat chickens.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

So is the V on the edge of the stump or in the middle. What do you do with the chickens body while the head is in the V?
Trying to create a visual and I can’t.
Do you have pics or a video?

Sorry to butt in because I know this wasn't directed toward me, but I can tell you what I do. Put the vee near the edge of the stump, a couple inches from the edge so the rest of the stump can be used to rest the chicken's body on. Hold the chicken by its legs firmly, and carefully put it down on its side on the stump. Once it's stable, gently stretch the head into the vee. You can then adjust the chicken's body by slightly pulling it back to create just enough tension on the neck. Once everything is how you want it, do one confident swing with the axe.

Here's a pic of our stump. Sorry for the feathers lol

 

[Ridgerunner]

I also use the axe and stump with 2 nails as a vee! Maybe I even got the idea from you, @Ridgerunner ?

Maybe, but I got it from someone else on here. I shamelessly steal good ideas on here.

I want to add as advice to the OP that I actually put 3 nails in the stump with different spacings - one vee for smaller hens, and one for the large CX males we process. It's good to have so no one slips out or is too big for the vee.

Also, make sure your axe is SHARP. Processing got a lot easier when we started spending the $8-10 to have a local professional sharpen our axe before a batch of meat chickens.

I'm grateful for the photos and descriptions, a visual really helps.

So is the V on the edge of the stump or in the middle.

On the edge so you have room to lay the body down. I use 6" long nails and put them about 5/8" apart as they go into the stump and are about 1-1/2" apart at the top, so an actual Vee.

What do you do with the chickens body while the head is in the V?

I also hold onto the legs. After the head is off the chicken will flop around. That bothers some people, they may try to put it into some kind of restraint to stop it from flopping around. I just let the legs go and let it flop while I go do other things to get ready for the next steps.

I cut into the grain of the wood, like the top of a stump. That way the blade sinks in enough to take the head off cleanly. I tried using a 2x12 but it did not work well. That is cutting across the grain of the wood. Instead of sinking in, the blade bounced back. It still killed the chicken and mostly cut the head off but a strip of skin was usually still attached so the head stayed with the chicken. And I did not like that bounce, felt it may not be as safe as the blade sinking in.

 

[Molpet]

Maybe, but I got it from someone else on here. I shamelessly steal good ideas on here.

Yeppers we all steal and share the good ideas on here.

 

[Cee]

Thanks everyone. MUCH appreciated.