| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Ashpea |
Posted - Jun 25 2007 : 11:26:54 AM
Hi all!
My husband and I are really new at this, sorta jumped in headfirst!
We have 6 broilers and 3 pekin ducks that are near 8 weeks old. We bought them for meat, and now the time has come.. and we are having trouble finding clear, detailed (with pictures preferably) resources for killing and processing chickens and ducks.
I have looked at many different websites, but we don't want to skin them, and there seem to be many different thoughts on dunking in hot water. Temperature, whether or not to dunk in cold water all seem variable! Is there a VERY GOOD book someone can recommend to me? Also, something geared toward small scale hobby farms would be great, as we never plan to process more than 25 chickens..
Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!
Ashley
*A house without a dog is not a home* -Anonymous |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| LJRphoto |
Posted - Jun 28 2007 : 11:51:29 AM
We did meat birds last year. In addition to "resting" the meat before you freeze it you also absolutely have to starve the birds out for 24 hours before slaughter.
We found plucking to be too much trouble and so my husband just started skinning them. When we baked them we just rubbed them down with olive oil and kept the bird covered for part of the cooking time.
I use the term "we" loosely as my husband did 99.9% of the dirty work. I have found that I am no good at the killing part. I just can't bring myself to do it. Here is a link to Scott's blog post about his final methods. Some of it is pretty graphic but its a pretty graphic process.
http://www.betweenthecities.com/blog/ljr/2006/08/01/broilers-no-more/
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." -E. B. White
http://www.betweenthecities.com/blog/ljr/
Also, I think ducks require some different methods. |
| LadyCrystal |
Posted - Jun 27 2007 : 05:24:38 AM
Our plucker is tub style. You can pluck 3 to 4 chickens at once.You place the chickens in it. My husband built it. He used the instructions from the book How to build a whizbang chicken plucker by H. Kimball. He has a yahoo group also if you are interested. They discuss all things chicken slaughter related. Good luck!
Alicia
http://fromcitytocountrygirl.blogspot.com/
follow your dreams |
| windypines |
Posted - Jun 27 2007 : 03:59:45 AM
It is motorized, and has maybe a good dozen or more "rubber fingers", that rotate on a drum. If you get my drift!!!! :) Really cleans up a chicken fast, and not much hand picking needed. You just hold the bird up to it, and pluck away. Michele |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 26 2007 : 8:09:31 PM
How exactly does a plucker work?
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for tying, one hand to hold Nora! |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Jun 26 2007 : 8:06:56 PM
I am planning to get a killing cone this year. Sounds like the best way and I am tired of the chopping block way for sure. A plucker sounds great, but I am the plucker here..haha. I skin about 1/2 and pluck the other half.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
| LadyCrystal |
Posted - Jun 26 2007 : 4:33:57 PM
We use a killing cone. We found that the stump with the nails leads to too much thrashing and causes bruising to the meat. But everyone has their prefered method. We scald with 145 degree water for 45 seconds. then they go right into the plucker. Then we place them in cold water for eviserating. This is where I comein. I clean them out rinse and place in a second tub of very cold water(some times we used ices with this water). Then we put in the frig for 24 hours to relax. Then I cut up and wrap and freeze. We do 100 birds in a weekend once a year for a whole years supply for our family. Good luck. Since we had home raised chicken, it is so dificult to eat store bought.
Alicia
http://fromcitytocountrygirl.blogspot.com/
follow your dreams |
| windypines |
Posted - Jun 26 2007 : 04:32:05 AM
My boys use a stump, with two nails pounded in it. I know ick, but what are you going to do. We let them hang for a bit, and then scald, and pluck. We were lucky to get a plucker, which works great. We do also use a small torch to burn off the tiny hairs you can't pull out. Then cut them up, throw in a bucket of cold water, take in the house, and go over them once more, and package and freeze. We usually do about 50 at a time. Good luck Michele |
| Mag |
Posted - Jun 25 2007 : 3:23:04 PM
Hi Ashley and welcome to the forum.
I would recommend Living with Chickens by Jay Rossier. It covers everything from raising peeps to butchering your birds at home, including the killing cone method. Check it out if you would like and good luck with your birds.
cheers,
mag |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 25 2007 : 2:30:25 PM
Ashley-
Welcome to the forum! I am so glad you found us! I think a lot of the ladies her use a Killing Cone to do the actual killing part.
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for tying, one hand to hold Nora! |
| Ashpea |
Posted - Jun 25 2007 : 12:44:41 PM
Jenny-
Thanks for the welcome, and the tips! I will definetly look into the book. I've been browsing through all the topics, so much great info!
Thanks again!
Ashley |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Jun 25 2007 : 12:32:21 PM
First of all..welcome to the group Ashley! I think you will love it here!!
The Carla Emery book is the best one I know of for detailed instructions like that "The Encyclopedia of Country Living". It is so useful in alot of ways!! I wouldn't want to be without it!
As for the dunking...I dunk mine for about 30 seconds in really hot water..not in cold. After plucking and cleaning out I do put them in cool water for awhile until I put them in the fridge to cool.
My one very very very important (learned the hard way) advice is this:
chill them for 24 hours before freezing or they will be tough. It takes this long for rigor mortis (I know..eww) to set in and the muscles to relax enough to not be tough. I chill mine in my extra fridge in plastic dishpans, and then package for the freezer.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
