It was 8 weeks and 1 day after their hatch day that my little flock met the knife and the freezer. In the end I butchered 16 birds in about two hours. Our family has been talking about the butcher day for a long while and our girls were really ready for it. They ran around, helped with catching chickens, and played in the yard.
The Process
The Catch
The birds were sort of hard to catch. I liked that we kept the birds in their normal pen. They were mellow, but used to staying in the pen. They didn't like to leave. We coaxed them out with a bit of feed.
The Cone and Kill
I hung the killing cone and blood bucket from one of our raspberry posts. I also put a piece of cardboard around the killing zone, so the neighbors wouldn't have to watch.
The Scalder
The scalder was rented from the Mason County Conservation District. It was really nice and kept the water between 145 and 147 degrees. We dunked the birds about ten times and checked their readiness by pulling a wing feather.
The Plucker
All I can say is the Featherman plucker is the best thing in the world! It turns a fully feathered bird into a rubber chicken in about a minute.
The Evisceration
I followed the advice from a ton of blogs and YouTube videos. I went easy on the knife and did more tearing. I started with the feet, then the head, made a small incision above the neck, pulled the esophagus and crop free, made a small incision above the vent, tore open the cavity, pulled out the guts, cut around the vent and presto change-o (I didn't save any of the organs, it was another part of the process that was a bit too much for me).
The Chill and Freeze
Once the birds were cleaned, we tossed them in a large rubber made tote to chill. I bought 8 blocks of ice and it seemed to do the trick. All 16 birds fit nicely in it and were chilled really quick. I was surprised how warm they were before the chiller and how tight and firm the birds got once chilled. We stacked the birds on our cleaned butcher table and stuffed them in freezer bags. THE END Just kidding. I am going to do one more post about what I would do differently and what my plans are for the next go round.
Oh my... They went from pretty little chickens to the dinner table in no time! That plucker is really is something. Just think, back in the old days, they had to pluck them all by hand. What a great experience that we're glad you shared with us. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kelly! I really learned a lot too. Butchering without a plucker would so much more work. I like work, but not that kind:)
ReplyDeletehey buddy! just catching up - i was thinking about you on your "big weekend." you did a GREAT job! and wow on that plucker! and i loved that the kids were there in the thick of the action.
ReplyDeleteyour "to do next time" list is really good also. you'll work out what does best for your situation. you might do some "staggered" grow outs for instance have a couple batches of chicks several weeks or a month or so apart - this worked for us be we had to separate them.
GREAT WORK!!! i hope you are proud of yourself - i am!
:-)
Strolled in from OFG's blog. Nice work, and great post! Enjoy the fruits of your labor...
ReplyDeleteA nice job worth watching and wishing it was me, The chickens look healthy before and after..
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments!
ReplyDelete