What are the basics?

[TheGoldenGirlz]

I’m planning on culling a cockerel I have in a few weeks. He is a 13 week old Buff Orpington cockerel. What can I do to prep him? Should I separate him and have food available 24/7? What materials do I need? Any educational videos that might help me? How should I dispatch him? His size and quality isn’t TOO important, he will be dog food. I have no clue what I’m doing, please help!!

 

[snow5164]

You need to watch utube videos.
You have to learn how to get the guts out the correct way.There is a lot to learn and things to buy ...

Rubber apron
Cutting shears ( they cut bone)
A cooler for ice
A sanitized work surface
Bags for freeezing/storing

 

[TheGoldenGirlz]

You need to watch utube videos.
You have to learn how to get the guts out the correct way.There is a lot to learn and things to buy ...

Rubber apron
Cutting shears ( they cut bone)
A cooler for ice
A sanitized work surface
Bags for freeezing/storing

Great, thank you. I’ll get right on it!

 

[JDN]

I’m planning on culling a cockerel I have in a few weeks. He is a 13 week old Buff Orpington cockerel. What can I do to prep him? Should I separate him and have food available 24/7? What materials do I need? Any educational videos that might help me? How should I dispatch him? His size and quality isn’t TOO important, he will be dog food. I have no clue what I’m doing, please help!!

If you are feeding him to the hounds, I'd use the broomstick method to dispatch him, skin and eviscerate. Put it in a gallon freezer bag or right to the pot.

If YOU want to eat it, I might take a leaf from the French methods and put him in a darkened feeding pen where he has access to dairy soaked food 24/7.

 

[Mosey2003]

I use the broomstick method (cervical dislocation) for ones I eat, if you do it right they bleed out fine. I personally pull until I feel the head pop from the spine, and then give it another tug to take the head off completely. Then I grab the wings close to the body with one hand and hold them over the gut bucket. You want to watch a lot of Youtube videos, it's much easier to watch both the killing and the processing than just reading about it.

Most like to kill on an empty gut, so you provide water at all times, but try to do it first thing in the morning having taken the feed away the night before.

So. I catch up the bird (if just doing one, getting off the roost either after dark at night or before light in the morning and putting in a cage makes it easier, and less stress on the bird), and gently lower the head so that it's hanging head-down, holding the legs together in my left hand. They'll fight a bit at first, then calm down as the blood rushes to their head. Then I put their head on the ground, stick over the back of the neck close to the head, step on it and pull. Let it drain and quit flapping (the nerves still fire after death). Then I swish really well in a bucket of cold water because it's easier to deal with wet feathers, dry will fly all over and stick on you and the meat.

Next, I slit the neck skin down the front of it to the body. Pull up some skin by the point of the breast in the middle of the bird and make a slice across. Stick hands into the slice, open it up, and pull the skin towards the head and feet. Then continue skinning over the wings (I cut the last two joints off, terrible to skin), get the crop cut out, cut the legs off at the joint and pull the skin over them, then pull the skin down over the back. Cut through the tail carefully, then flip over and open the cavity and cut down around the vent. Pull all the guts out, and you're basically done.

 

[TheGoldenGirlz]

If you are feeding him to the hounds, I'd use the broomstick method to dispatch him, skin and eviscerate. Put it in a gallon freezer bag or right to the pot.

If YOU want to eat it, I might take a leaf from the French methods and put him in a darkened feeding pen where he has access to dairy soaked food 24/7.

I might want to eat some of the good parts but the dogs are getting a majority of it. I’ll do the French method. Thank you!

 

[TheGoldenGirlz]

I use the broomstick method (cervical dislocation) for ones I eat, if you do it right they bleed out fine. I personally pull until I feel the head pop from the spine, and then give it another tug to take the head off completely. Then I grab the wings close to the body with one hand and hold them over the gut bucket. You want to watch a lot of Youtube videos, it's much easier to watch both the killing and the processing than just reading about it.

Most like to kill on an empty gut, so you provide water at all times, but try to do it first thing in the morning having taken the feed away the night before.

So. I catch up the bird (if just doing one, getting off the roost either after dark at night or before light in the morning and putting in a cage makes it easier, and less stress on the bird), and gently lower the head so that it's hanging head-down, holding the legs together in my left hand. They'll fight a bit at first, then calm down as the blood rushes to their head. Then I put their head on the ground, stick over the back of the neck close to the head, step on it and pull. Let it drain and quit flapping (the nerves still fire after death). Then I swish really well in a bucket of cold water because it's easier to deal with wet feathers, dry will fly all over and stick on you and the meat.

Next, I slit the neck skin down the front of it to the body. Pull up some skin by the point of the breast in the middle of the bird and make a slice across. Stick hands into the slice, open it up, and pull the skin towards the head and feet. Then continue skinning over the wings (I cut the last two joints off, terrible to skin), get the crop cut out, cut the legs off at the joint and pull the skin over them, then pull the skin down over the back. Cut through the tail carefully, then flip over and open the cavity and cut down around the vent. Pull all the guts out, and you're basically done.

I have been watching YouTube videos pretty much ever since I posted this. It doesn’t seem nearly as scary as I thought it might be. Thank you for the tips! I’ll update how it goes when I do it in a few weeks

 

[trudyg]

For me, the hardest part is that first kill. I hang him by the feet, using string and a nail on the tree, then use a utility knife to make a quick slice. I'm like, swallow hard and cut. Walk away and come back in 5 minutes or so. The flapping around may break a wing, but I'm cutting that off anyway and it's dead so can't feel anything. I follow Mosey2003's routine once it's dead--took an hour for the first one, start to finish, and the one today only took 30 minutes so I'm getting better.