Where do you guys get slaughtering supplies? Scalpel/ really sharp knife, killing cone, etc?

[eviemethugh]

Our killing cones are the brand little giant. We got our knives from webstaurant but I don't remember which ones they were.

 

[Jobot]

Not really because of the way the handle is designed, the space is plenty big between the two parts of the handle to spray out no problem.

This is the first folding knife I've used in about 18 years for that exact reason. I think within the next few years everyone will use some version of these knives they are that great

Really? That sounds awesome! My husband was super reluctant. But it sounds like these things will do the job!

 

[Rock Ranch]

Are you talking about the actual butchering or the processing? For the actual slitting necks part, I found this time around that I really enjoyed using a utility knife with "ultra sharp" blades. A blade went through 4-5 chickens easily and I'd change it out. I found that using my processing knife to slit the necks killed the blade pretty quickly because of the feathers, but the utility knife really helped me be confident with each cut, which is a big deal for me (I'm a wuss and would totally lose my nerve if I made a bad killing cut!).

So you have two knives one to kill and one to process? If so I like the idea.

 

[havery]

So you have two knives one to kill and one to process? If so I like the idea.

Yes, I used the utility blades to kill and our regular knife to process. It was much, much easier. We did 19 birds and I used 3 utility blades (so a small package) and we only really needed to hone our processing knife a couple times throughout the day.

 

[sideWing]

The best knife u can get is called

Havalon

They have scalpel replacement blades

+1 to this. I had a rooster get attacked and had to harvest it unplanned this week. It took me all of 5 min to get the job done with this knife. I didn't pluck it though since I didn't have time.

 

[bobbarker]

I'm new to the site and to my own egg layers, but my father-in-law and I have been butchering birds for 5 years now (50 or so per year), and he fabbed our killing cones out of sheet metal (available at any Home Improvement store in the duct work or HVAC areas.) The cones were attached to a tall sawhorse which puts the chicken heads at around belly level for me.

For removing the heads, feet, and general outdoor butchering, we each use a sturdy boning knife, which we've gotten from Cabela's, Gander Mountain, Culinary Supply stores, and LEM (http://www.lemproducts.com). If you keep a sharpening steel nearby, you won't need to worry about changing blades and things like that. I usually give mine 3-4 sharpenings through 50 chicken necks, and it continues to go through cleanly and quickly. My Father-in-Law also has a small scraper that he uses for getting the lungs and such out of the chest cavity.

Indoors, the ladies use boning knives for all the processing, and again, just keep a sharpening steel on hand to touch up the blades as they need it.

The nice thing about this method is that we don't have to worry about running out of blades, or having disposable supplies that keep the costs higher. If you're only butchering the occasional old layer or nasty roo, it may not be as cost-prohibitive to use disposable items, but this works well for us. (As an aside, the same processing equipment gets pulled out a few other times a year when we harvest an animal hunting or have a good fishing day, so getting multiple uses out of the items is another benefit to us that may or may not apply for you.)