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Post by gracielagata on Nov 13, 2017 13:59:15 GMT
So we'd said when we would butcher out the 3 yr+ hens and the excess hatched roosters when we started with chickens some 4 years ago. It never happened. Sure, some had to be killed or culled for their own health, but I just had my dad shoot them, as in those moments I never had time to deal with the processing right then. And honestly, I had no desires to butcher a chicken for the first time without making my husband be there to help me, which he never could be when the injured birds needed dispatching. Well, a friend gave me 4 ten month old Speckled Sussex this weekend- 3 pullets and a cockerel, except we already had a 3 year old mutt rooster we'd hatched for our backyard breeding program. SS are my all time favorite breed of chicken, so the ability to now have those and breed them for future hatched egg layers!... well, Greater the mutt had to go if he couldn't get along with the newly arrived and aptly named Spot the Rooster. Which he quickly proved he couldn't. Nothing major, just stupid annoying things that made me worry he might one day send Spot over the chicken pen fence into the jaws of our waiting dog, as this is how he got rid of his brother Lesser the Rooster a couple of years ago. It wasn't as hard to do as I thought. I was hoping some here may have some answers to a few questions I had related to minor issues we came across. 1) We kill coned him and my husband slit his throat. Except he still wiggled a bit after the slitting, even though he was spurting blood. Is that normal? And he barely fit in our vinegar bottle kill cone! Online many seem to use those. I am guessing most birds killed for meat are bigger than his half-Polish crested skinny-ish self was, did we just need to stuff him in there more? How do they fit their bigger birds in?! I was kind of delicate in the task, as it felt rude to just jam him while he was still alive. We all deserve respect, even if I am about to slice your throat. 2) Where is the best spot on the neck to cut it off? Close to the head, or close to the chest? I assume many use the neck for broth and keep it, but if he will just become a stew bird, his neck isn't needed for that, I wouldn't think? Plus removing it allowed me to get my hands in from both ends to disconnect all the innards to pull them out. 3) We got the neck/chest hole cut and then his vent cut, without having nicked anything, though it wasn't perfect. When you are pulling the innards out, you do just that- pull a decent bit, right? Since they are all connected inside still by the connective tissues and such. I was really nervous to rip open an intestine or something, so I was pulling and working it loose fairly delicately until I could feel where things connected to safely separate. I had to stop overthinking it and really feel what I was feeling to find where to break the membranes inside. And I am glad I have tiny hands, because he wasn't a very broad breasted bird! 4) I didn't realize that plucking the large feathers was so gross!! The gooey material- protein and blood?- that came out all gooey with each feather was just plain gross! I think it was made worse by the fact that he was finishing growing his feathers from the molt, so it was all the ones still encased in the wax tube that were really gross. They pulled out just fine, but were like the grossest pimples I have ever seen. Gimme dead people, but don't make me watch those gnarly zit popping videos! Yelch! Anyhoo, this was mostly meant as a way to share in the community of people who do this too, as I was quite proud of the fact that we finally did it! We buy half a cow each year, and I watched them butcher it this year, but it's a bit more intimate with the chickens. My friend has a friend with an excess of cockerels, and she plans to come over this week so we can kill and butcher those ones together. I am hoping I can bring myself to catch and kill a couple of our old hens. My husband won't be here to help/'make' me do it, but I know my friend will have no problems reminding me it isn't a big deal.  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2017 14:33:38 GMT
So we'd said when we would butcher out the 3 yr+ hens and the excess hatched roosters when we started with chickens some 4 years ago. It never happened. Sure, some had to be killed or culled for their own health, but I just had my dad shoot them, as in those moments I never had time to deal with the processing right then. And honestly, I had no desires to butcher a chicken for the first time without making my husband be there to help me, which he never could be when the injured birds needed dispatching. Well, a friend gave me 4 ten month old Speckled Sussex this weekend- 3 pullets and a cockerel, except we already had a 3 year old mutt rooster we'd hatched for our backyard breeding program. SS are my all time favorite breed of chicken, so the ability to now have those and breed them for future hatched egg layers!... well, Greater the mutt had to go if he couldn't get along with the newly arrived and aptly named Spot the Rooster. Which he quickly proved he couldn't. Nothing major, just stupid annoying things that made me worry he might one day send Spot over the chicken pen fence into the jaws of our waiting dog, as this is how he got rid of his brother Lesser the Rooster a couple of years ago. It wasn't as hard to do as I thought. I was hoping some here may have some answers to a few questions I had related to minor issues we came across. 1) We kill coned him and my husband slit his throat. Except he still wiggled a bit after the slitting, even though he was spurting blood. Is that normal? And he barely fit in our vinegar bottle kill cone! Online many seem to use those. I am guessing most birds killed for meat are bigger than his half-Polish crested skinny-ish self was, did we just need to stuff him in there more? How do they fit their bigger birds in?! I was kind of delicate in the task, as it felt rude to just jam him while he was still alive. We all deserve respect, even if I am about to slice your throat. Not that I am a professional at this, but I have found that I have to work their head through the hole and then grab it from the bottom and gently pull it a bit the get a decent bit of neck out. Also, if you really compress the wings and push them carefully further in the cone after the head pulling thing. And, yeah, mine will turn their heads to watch me after I cut their throats, it's a little creepy. 2) Where is the best spot on the neck to cut it off? Close to the head, or close to the chest? I assume many use the neck for broth and keep it, but if he will just become a stew bird, his neck isn't needed for that, I wouldn't think? Plus removing it allowed me to get my hands in from both ends to disconnect all the innards to pull them out. This is pretty much up to you. What do you like or want? I cut it off where I can easily do so with the cleaver since that is the tool that I've got. I still have no problem gutting. At the neck end, I carefully seperate the crop from the skin around it if it's empty so I can easily pull it through. If it's full, I just cut the whole shebang off. Not the way you're supposed to do it that way, but that's what works for me. 3) We got the neck/chest hole cut and then his vent cut, without having nicked anything, though it wasn't perfect. When you are pulling the innards out, you do just that- pull a decent bit, right? Since they are all connected inside still by the connective tissues and such. I was really nervous to rip open an intestine or something, so I was pulling and working it loose fairly delicately until I could feel where things connected to safely separate. I had to stop overthinking it and really feel what I was feeling to find where to break the membranes inside. And I am glad I have tiny hands, because he wasn't a very broad breasted bird! Here's how I do but there is no one right way. I cut from near the anus up the breast bone and then up each side of the breast bone. I have big hands and need the space. I then reach in as far as I can, grab what I can (I try to get the wind pipe at this point, but it depends on the size of the chicken vs my hands) and pull it out en masse. I then carefully use the intestines to provide a bit of traction/pull to make it easier to cut around the anus. Then everything is out in one mass. I usually have to go back in to scrape lung and stuff off the back area and I usually have to back to get the wind pipe and crop out, too, although sometimes it does work to get it all out at once. 4) I didn't realize that plucking the large feathers was so gross!! The gooey material- protein and blood?- that came out all gooey with each feather was just plain gross! I think it was made worse by the fact that he was finishing growing his feathers from the molt, so it was all the ones still encased in the wax tube that were really gross. They pulled out just fine, but were like the grossest pimples I have ever seen. Gimme dead people, but don't make me watch those gnarly zit popping videos! Yelch! Yeah, that is a bit nasty but normal and it is worse when they are growing new ones in. Did you scald first? It does make a difference.
Anyhoo, this was mostly meant as a way to share in the community of people who do this too, as I was quite proud of the fact that we finally did it! We buy half a cow each year, and I watched them butcher it this year, but it's a bit more intimate with the chickens. You should try a cow. We butcher ours every year and then take it in to get cut, since it's WAY cheaper if we do this. I am short enough that I actually have to crawl in it to get stuff done. And they are WAY more attached to their innards and sometimes I can hang off it them and not get them out. My friend has a friend with an excess of cockerels, and she plans to come over this week so we can kill and butcher those ones together. I am hoping I can bring myself to catch and kill a couple of our old hens. My husband won't be here to help/'make' me do it, but I know my friend will have no problems reminding me it isn't a big deal. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2017 16:03:22 GMT
Tallpines, it is faster and easier to chop the head off but the cones do mean less bruised meat. I don't always have a problem with that but it did happen sometimes if I don't hold the body down. If I only have a couple to do, I chop the head off. If I have several I use killing cones since I can do three at a time.
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Post by Woodpecker on Nov 13, 2017 16:46:50 GMT
All I know is that my grandpa used an axe to cut off their heads and yes as Tallpines, said, I have vivid memories of the chickens running round the back yard with no heads! I couldn't eat chicken until I was about 20 years old. Those headless chicken memories just got to me😕 |
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Post by gracielagata on Nov 13, 2017 17:41:15 GMT
@redfish, Cone: Yeah, I think we were just gentle with him to not hold tight enough and push deeper, as we took a couple of tries and got it worked out, but it felt so mean handling him harder, even though we weren't abusive or anything. And yes, he did open his eyes as soon as my husband lt go of his neck, as if he was contemplating lifting himself out or doing some sort of exorcist move, lol. Cutting: You go up the whole breast, as in separate the bird into to halves at the chest wall? I suppose it doesn't matter much, since most old backyard birds need long cooking, right? I'd planned to pressure cook it down to shredded chicken and broth for soup. Feathers: Yep, he was very much scalded. Not overly done, but they did pull out MUCH easier than I ever thought they would. Downright buttery, lol. I just didn't expect the goop. Cow: Ha!! I can only imagine. Watching to butcher do it looked similar. He just got up on a platform and stood inside the empty cavity and cut it in two with a heavy saw. Nutty! Tallpines, I don't mind the cumbersome yet, as it is all new and clunky still. We tried your way once, and the dang super sick hen took off running because even though my husband did enough swings to sever internally by some people's ways, it didn't work, obviously! lol Then when he axed, she slunk her head short and he just got her eye area, took a few more swings.  And by the rear legs?! None of my chickens have front legs, I want some of that breed!  I think next time we may just chop the head fully off while in the cone. My friend's mom-in-law does that with a pair of heavy pruners. (!) Woodpecker, Yep, I would like to avoid headless chicken Olympics! lol. |
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Post by gracielagata on Nov 13, 2017 17:43:27 GMT
And I meant to add:
I ended up having a mild mental reaction to the whole thing:
I dreamed that some of our other hens that like to hang out in the corners of the pens and scratch, and sun, and sleep decided to pluck all their feathers off while there.
All these naked floppy hens sitting in the pen corners plucking themselves, clucking and waving at me with their featherless, stubby wings and their now long-looking floppy necks. Ugh. LOL.
That was interesting... not. LOL
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2017 18:00:00 GMT
@redfish , Cutting: You go up the whole breast, as in separate the bird into to halves at the chest wall? I suppose it doesn't matter much, since most old backyard birds need long cooking, right? I'd planned to pressure cook it down to shredded chicken and broth for soup. No, there's just a bit of a hole where the windpipe and such come out through the chest, not big enough to get a hand through. It is enough to pull the windpipe and an empty crop through. When you did this guy, was his crop full? I found it easier to figure what I was doing when I could clearly see the crop, although it can add an extra step to the process. I pretty much separate the crop from the skin, sort of peeling it away with the help of the knife. If its not full and you did it right, you'll be able to pull it through the neck hole when you pull the innards out. If it's full, I cut it off as it will not fit through the neck hole. For me, this was the hardest part at first. I screwed it up but just rinsed the bird well and we were good. In fact, my first bird had an empty crop and I couldn't find the dang thing until I'd cooked it. When I'm done, I have a bird with a large opening in the belly, a small, natural opening in the neck and an inch or so of neck. But the standard way of doing things is not the only way. If you like how you did this one, run with it. The only really important part is to not get intestinal contents all over the carcass and get it clean and cooled. Oh, one more thing, don't freeze or cook for a day or two to let the rigor mortis leave the meat. Home grown, active birds tend to be tougher than store anyway. If you cook it before rigor is gone, its bad! |
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Post by Woodpecker on Nov 13, 2017 22:45:39 GMT
gracielagata, It must have bothered you some. I don't blame you. I admire your courage to be able to pluck the feathers even! I couldn't even watch my mother do that. Till this day, I wear rubber gloves, just having to pull the insides out from a store bought chicken or turkey. I tell ya' ...those headless chickens running around left a lasting impression on me.🙄
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Post by gracielagata on Nov 13, 2017 23:13:40 GMT
gracielagata , It must have bothered you some. I don't blame you. I admire your courage to be able to pluck the feathers even! I couldn't even watch my mother do that. Till this day, I wear rubber gloves, just having to pull the insides out from a store bought chicken or turkey. I tell ya' ...those headless chickens running around left a lasting impression on me.🙄 Hehe. And thanks. Yeah, I know in the end I am fine. It's funny. For me the bother isn't that I am killing something. It's that I could easily just have let him live on and said no to the other rooster, thereby not having any need to kill him. I do just feel plain old guilt because in my mind there was no 'need' to kill him, he did nothing wrong; he could have just kept living, annoying me for being his proper rooster self. I obviously still haven't wrapped my brain fully around the idea of raising my own meat animals, lol. I wear/wore gloves, just because being an EMT I am used to that, plus it's good practice to feel around without being able to fully feel. In the house I don't wear them for anything, cooking wise. Aside from jalapeno peppers- I pull out all my protection then- including my goggles! Yeoch! |
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Post by gracielagata on Nov 13, 2017 23:22:37 GMT
@redfish , Cutting: You go up the whole breast, as in separate the bird into to halves at the chest wall? I suppose it doesn't matter much, since most old backyard birds need long cooking, right? I'd planned to pressure cook it down to shredded chicken and broth for soup. No, there's just a bit of a hole where the windpipe and such come out through the chest, not big enough to get a hand through. It is enough to pull the windpipe and an empty crop through. When you did this guy, was his crop full? I found it easier to figure what I was doing when I could clearly see the crop, although it can add an extra step to the process. I pretty much separate the crop from the skin, sort of peeling it away with the help of the knife. If its not full and you did it right, you'll be able to pull it through the neck hole when you pull the innards out. If it's full, I cut it off as it will not fit through the neck hole. For me, this was the hardest part at first. I screwed it up but just rinsed the bird well and we were good. In fact, my first bird had an empty crop and I couldn't find the dang thing until I'd cooked it. When I'm done, I have a bird with a large opening in the belly, a small, natural opening in the neck and an inch or so of neck. But the standard way of doing things is not the only way. If you like how you did this one, run with it. The only really important part is to not get intestinal contents all over the carcass and get it clean and cooled. Oh, one more thing, don't freeze or cook for a day or two to let the rigor mortis leave the meat. Home grown, active birds tend to be tougher than store anyway. If you cook it before rigor is gone, its bad! He had a full crop- that was pretty cool to see! It did help with landmarks a bit, actually. My husband did cut the crop open while it was still attached, so we just emptied it carefully away from the bird and then cut it out. He actually opened it on purpose, because he worried about cutting or squishing it uncontrolled accidently. Pulling it through the neckhole- you mean downwards into the gut to come out the anus made hole? Separating things from the skin in that area of the neck was a tad difficult, definitely. So how do we disconnect the windpipe to pull it through at the neck? Isn't it connected to the innards by membranes? Or when we pulled/cut the neck out did all of it go with it, and I didn't realize? Keeping the intestines from being torn open was high on my priority list. It is still rinse-able should that get messed up, right? He is still chilling in the fridge, ha! I knew to get past rigor mortis before freezing. Now the next thought- what cooking method is best? I was going to just throw him in the pressure cooker and cook him down for soup or similar. Today someone told me to never cook an old/homegrown non-meat bird that way. That to roast it long and low, sealing in juices and such first, especially. What are your guys' thoughts and experiences? Thanks again everyone! |
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Post by Maura on Nov 14, 2017 14:22:12 GMT
We wrapped their wings to their bodies and hung them upside down by the feet. The neck and head were free. Works fine. After letting the bird bleed out, I put the it into a pot of hot water for a little bit. The feathers come out very easily.
My favorite way of killing chickens is to load them into dog crates and take them to the poultry processor. I return later in the day and discover they are all gutted, feathered, and dead. Then, they go into the refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking or freezing..
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Post by gracielagata on Nov 14, 2017 22:14:43 GMT
@redfish, I did some googling, and pressure cooking looks like it will work just the same as a low and slow concept. I found blurbs/blogs/article from people who usually did low and slow, but then experimented and tried PCing and it worked out just as well, if not better, since you can also use the bones for broth better that way. I mean, isn't that equally the function of the PC: cooking the tough cuts into tasty and tender oblivion? It just does it faster. Maura, Hehe. Yeah, I don't think we will ever do it that way, since we won't have very many to do at a time. Tallpines, Feathered... kinda like when we 'worm our horse/dog/cat/chickens,' when really are DEworming them? But I imagine order makes a difference when you do it! |
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Post by gracielagata on Nov 15, 2017 0:48:02 GMT
Tallpines, Oh, I know! I knew what you meant on the reverse order. I love the English language and how we say things, but yet can mean the complete opposite of it. I've always loved words like (de)wormed, (de)feathered, unravel (when do we ever ravel?!), overwhelmed (when are we ever whelmed?!).... So my brain stuck on that part for my fun lame laugh moment.
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Post by Maura on Nov 15, 2017 17:30:12 GMT
Hey, made you think!
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