Butchering Chickens

[MadTripper]

I butchered my first chicken today. *It went fairly well although I don't really have a good setup yet. *For those that remember I had ordered the "Special Assorted Bargain" from Murray's back in August. *They are all different and some are quite crazy looking. *I picked the largest one which was the color of a Red but had feathered feet. *I put a cone together by riveting a piece of aluminum flashing and hung it from the silo.

Overall, it went well but I definately need to get a better setup. *I have some sinks and a good area in the basement but have to finish a few things up before I can construct everything.

Tripper

[bee_pipes]

We are new at this too. About the third session we had things arranged. We do the killing, scalding and plucking outside, then come in and do the dressing in the kitchen sink.

My wife has a large steel bowl and a waterbath canner. We use the pot from the canner for a scalding bath and the bowl for collecting plucked carcasses. We have an old grill stand the last owners left here - it's sort of a portable table now - to hold the bowl and tools next to the killing tree. A stump next to the tree is used as a chopping block, utility shelf brackets on either side of the tree hold the beheaded carcass up over a bucket to bleed. We can bleed two at a time right now, I can see two more brackets being a good thing to double production. After bleeding out, they go into the scalding pot. Next, back to the hook on the killing tree and we pluck them.

I noticed afther two or three times that the oil in checken feathers will soak into your hands from plucking. It's not a horrible smell, but it is a strong smell and takes a few days to wear off. You don't really notice it unless you eat a sandwich, potato chips, other finger food, etc. Someone gave us a box of latex gloves and now I try to wear those for plucking. It's no big deal, I'd just rather not be reminded two or three days later that I plucked a chicken.

Are you composting? The feathers, blood and unused organs can go right into the compost bin. A little water in the bicket will help to keep the blood from clotting before you dump the bucket.

Congratulations and welcome to the club. There are a lot of folks in this country that will no longer take responsibility for the food they eat, and are even upset when reminded the steak, chicken, etc. was once a living thing. Give them the best life you can while they are alive and dispatch them as quickly as possible when their time comes. Next year turkeys, right?

Regards,
Pat

[AlchemyAcres]

Here's a link to a pretty good tutorial...I love the foot powered sprayer idea, very clever and handy!!!

http://butcherachicken.blogspot.com/2007/09/introduction.html

He does do a few things the hard and slow way, IMHO, but it's just a matter of personal preference.

I think it's mucho easier to loosen the crop by cutting the skin down the back of the neck, pulling the skin forward to expose the crop, instead of cutting into the front. It's easier to see it, easier to remove it, faster and there's no threat of cutting it and leaving pieces.

He mentions the problem with 'stuff' shooting out of the vent when opening up the rear end.
I like to cut between the vent and the tail, carefully cut the skin around the vent and pull the vent and end of the intestines out and away from the bird before atempting to remove the innards. That eliminates the problem of stuff squirting all over the tail end.

Many folks complain about home butchered birds being tough.
I'd never ever ever soak the birds in iced water, it cools the bird too fast causing whats called "cold shortening". It shocks the muscles making them tough.
I chill the birds in ice alone, they cool down relatively slowly. There's no problem of promoting microbial growth as long as the inner breast is cooled to 40 degrees within 4-5 hours.
I leave the birds on ice for a total of 24 hours in a well insulated cooler before freezing, etc.

It's a shame they throw away the feet and giblets.
The feet make excellent stock!!!
I put them in the scalder for a short time and the outer skin peels off much the same way as a gizzard lining.

I checked out his other blogs, some excellent info there too!

~Martin :)

[Deberosa]

He has the same kind of sink I have - except mine is a double sink with the enamel drain boards on each side. *I got it at a salvage yard for $5 and put it on a 2 by 4 frame. *I don't have the drane and hose set up so nicely - lots of ideas.

He wouldn't pull the head off of one of those dark cornish chickens so easily! *The white cornish heads do pop off with no problem. *Kurt would be able to kill them simply by snapping their neck with the weight of their body, but the Dark Cornish simply won't work that way.

Times are changing for backyard processing! *I remember 4 years ago this woman e-mailing me from a forum wanting pictures of me killing and cleaning chickens! *That was a little too wierd for me, something about her didn't ring true, *but at the time there wasn't much on the net about how to do it.

Here is a picture of our setup - the bathtub was here when I moved in so it's the scalder now with a wood fire under it. ;-)

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/deberosa/MVC-035F.jpg

[MadTripper]

I've read some of that guy's information before. He does a nice job of documentation and illustration's as well.

I have plans to build a nice work area in my basement for butchering, canning, brewing and so on. I'm still working on organizing since we moved in last Jone.

I also grabbed the motor and right angle gears from a beat up washing machine I hope to use for my whizbang.

Thanks for the links and info.

Tripper

[MadTripper]

We finally cooked the chicken this evening. I made a big batch of chicken gravy over biscuits and it came out great. As I stated before the breast meat wasn't large but the rest seemed to be a nice quantity.

Tripper

[bee_pipes]

Don't confuse real chicken for the chemical freaks they sell in the grocery stores. Commercial poultry raising is an industrial operation, meant to maximize dollars spent. They have a certain margin of quality they set, and everything is done to make more chicken on less labor and expenditure.

You, on the other hand, are raising real chickens. Your chicken will taste better, and unless you have some of the meat breeds, will look like a normal chicken. I think the breed Deberosa raised were meat chickens. They sounded like broadbreasted turkeys - large breasted to the point that their breasts interfered with normal life. If you want birds that sit around like slugs near the feeder and get winded walking to the waterer, that's the way to go. If you want real chickens that can eat bugs and lead a normal life (and taste better) get used to smaller breasts.

Sounds like you did a bang up job. How did it feel to eat something you raised and took responsibility for slaughtering?

Regards,
Pat

[MadTripper]

The dark cornish birds are originally from England and were apparently a combination of old English Game chickens and Aseels from India. (This is info per Murray's latest catalog). They are supposed to be a great meat bird that will manage well under rough conditions (not that I provide rough conditions) which implies they can forage just fine. They also aren't one of the new super hybrids that can't get out of its own way. I am particularly interested in these birds because of the description.

As far as the meal last night I had a sense of pride knowing I had raised the bird and provided a solid meal. It definately tasted better than store bought which is a plus and thinking back on the requirements to get it from chick to plate was an enjoyable undertaking. I suggest anyone with the capabilities do the same.

I do have 21 chickens left which are a wild combination of fancies and standard breeds. I'm hoping to get 5-7 decent laying hens and butcher the rest although I wouldn't mind having a good base to start my meat birds. I think I have 1 or 2 dark cornish but I have to go back out and look at them. They are definately different but then again, I have a crazy mix.

Tripper

[FirestarterKY]

I love eating my own chickens.....
Cleaning day though is a mess.
It's really nice to have found a group of people that live the way we do!
Ya, I always say, if people had to kill and clean the meat they eat, people would eat a ot less meat, ya think?
I have to order a whole bunch of new chicks this year, for meat, what do you all suggest makes the best meat breed?
Thanks!

[Deberosa]

I love eating my own chickens.....
Cleaning day though is a mess.
It's really nice to have found a group of people that live the way we do!
Ya, I always say, if people had to kill and clean the meat they eat, people would eat a ot less meat, ya think?
I have to order a whole bunch of new chicks this year, for meat, what do you all suggest makes the best meat breed?
Thanks!


I chose Dark Cornish - my evaluation on them is on some other recent posts here. I also have an article with pictures on my blog. Also on there is an article about guineas that you mention in another post. Guineas are great for tick control!

deberosahomestead.wordpress.com

[MadTripper]

I was looking at my chickens yesterday and I'm quite sure I have a dark cornish hen and rooster. Perhaps I'll take some photos and see if I can get help identifying them. If this is the case, I lucked out and will isolate them soon to produce my meat flock.

Deb, did you get any eggs from these birds?

Tripper

[Deberosa]

I expect mine will be laying soon but they were too young last fall. I need to get the nesting areas set up because I want them to breed.

[Kathey]

We generally get 20 - 25 fryers each spring (for meat) and a few layers for eggs all year long.

Butchering day is not fun, but not too bad. And that's from a city girl who never plucked a chicken in her life until this past summer! I even had my 15 year old son helping.

We currently have 9 layers and keep our extended family supplied with eggs as we can't eat them all! *G*

[FirestarterKY]

Ya, I was new to all this too, past city girl, but it all felt so natural.
I like to keep at least 20 for laying because I sell my eggs to naturalists that will pay an arm and an egg (lol) for a real natural egg.
Do you all loose chickens to the wild?
I"ve lost about 10 this year to coyote and hawks.
I didnt want to blame what I didnt see....but saw the coyote sneaking up one day and literally had to take a hawk off one of my chickens one day.
Living natural is WILD! LOL!

I guess if we had no freezers we would be killing only as we needed, huh?

Y'all have a great day!

I often read in here, WSHTF.......I understand that totally, there is something inside me too that sais "get ready".

[MadTripper]

So far I haven't had any predator issues. We have a bunch of hawks that fly around all summer so I'll have to see what happens this year.

As it stands, I'm only butchering as needed. That will change when we get our freezer.

Tripper

[bee_pipes]

We did okay for 2 years, now something is getting the guineas. The last month or so I have been keeping the dogs penned up. The neighbor was complaining that the dogs were running his deer off. I'm trying to be a good neighbor, but it seems like something has gotten a little ballsy now that the dogs are not running the woods during the day. Must be a racoon. I understand possum will kill everything it can get ahold of and come back later for scraps. Whatever it is, it climbs the trees and fetches down a guinea. Last night we lost two of them. Today we get a haveahart trap for coons.

Chickens are locked up at night, but guineas and turkeys want to roost in trees. We have the turkeys confined at the moment, but the guineas are a disagreeable bunch and raise hell in the chicken house with the rest of the birds when confined.

So far as butchering what is needed - we like to do batches. If we're going to set up the scalding pot and such, might as well make it worth our while. Also, the age of the birds don't always lend themselves to waiting. Doing it today, rather than two weeks latrer might mean the difference between a fryer, roaster or stewing chicken.

As Martin said in an earlier post - we cool them for 24 hrs then freeze them.

Regards,
Pat

[gardenfay]

bee pipes; just wondering
once you catch a coon in your live trap, what do you do with it then??

[bee_pipes]

He's a goner. The live trap just gives me a chance to be sure a guinea didn't spring the trap. A .22 to the head, then "into the compost bin with you, my pretty!"

Regards,
Pat

[Deberosa]

I would guess you have a racoon, they go up the trees after my peacocks. Of course the other thing that gets my guineas sometimes is owls - especially the younger ones.