Processed my first chickens today, by myself!

[PJJ]

I butchered and skinned 5 of my cornishX today. I have 9 but got a late start so I only got 5 of them done. I'm so proud of myself! I used to work in a turkey factory wayyy back in 1981 so it's been a while. I never actually worked in the part where they killed or plucked them. I was raised on a farm and was around all the time when the butchering was done but never wanted any part of it. My husband just doesn't have the stomache for it so I figured, why not? I can do this. I looked at a couple of how to websites and went to work. Now I'm glad I did. I'm having surgery tomorrow and won't be able to do the other 4 for a while but I have 5 less to buy feed for now. And 5 huge chickens in my freezer. That's a good thing!:)

Does anyone else on here process their own chickens?

Penny

[Kittikity]

Yes, I did two about a month ago.. Same as you.. I butchered and skinned them.. Congrats on a job well done..

[gardengirl72]

Skinning them is the way to go for the home processor. Too much work to pluck if you don't have the exact right set up. Besides the skin is where all the fat is anyway.

[PJJ]

I LOVE fryed chicken!! However, I haven't fryed any for at least 10 years. We always buy boneless, skinless breasts. I either bake them or grill them.

I have no intention of ever buying store bought chicken again!! I want to raise all of our chicken. I am also planning on getting rabbits when we can get some more raised beds built. I'm going to process them myself as well.

I figured skinning the chickens would be the easiest, fastest way to get them done, and get rid of most of the fat. It really is quite easy to do. You just have to be a little patient.

By the way, I baked one of them for supper tonight. It was sooooo good!!

Gotta love growing your own!!:)

Penny

[Garden Green]

Congrats on that! I bet it was good, too! When I moved from the country to the city when I was younger I noticed the difference. Everything tasted like plastic to me. It's good to get back to better tasting food, isn't it?

[PJJ]

It's good to get back to better tasting food, isn't it?

Yes it sure is!! And they didn't have any food with antibiotics in it. That makes me feel better.


Thanks for the congrats!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Penny

[MamaGigi]

Hi all!

After living in Europe, I fell in love with the feather beds and feather filled duvets. Does anyone collect the feathers after processing for this purpose or can chicken feathers be used for this? Do you have a favorite site to teach you how to process your chickens?

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Goose and duck down is best....

Chicken feathers are too "hard" and lack the downy quality which holds air and form which "fills" those spaces...

Chicken feathers can be ground up and used as compost, or even put out in baskets in spring for nesting wild birds.

I have over 130 ranging chickens and when spring arrives.... or I should say, nesting season, there is not a feather to be seen anywhere... when I inspect nest boxes, chicken feathers line them all, along with twigs, leaves and in some cases dried moss.

Too much structure in a chicken feather to be used satisfactorily as pillow down.

This is also why my water fowl are un-phased by severe weather conditions... they literally paddle through the snow in search of un-frozen water. Best insulation anywhere...

Sincerely,
Fred

www.FredsFineFowl.com

[MamaGigi]

Thanks for the info. Ducks and geese are totally off limits as far as pets here but maybe at our next home! :)

[singhopperfarm]

You don't have to fry chicken to have fried chicken. I saw it on Oprha. You take your skinless chicken and roll in plan yogurt then roll in your flour with the spices and bake till done. Wala unfried chicken. You can cut up patato's and rool in beat egg whites and bake untill done and wala unfried french fries LOL