Slaughtering chickens

[dtlyme]

Hi Patti - I love the idea of having my own chickens for eggs & meat, but I KNOW I could not do the killing myself. Do you have someone come do this for you??? If you do, you have much more kahunas than I do!!!

[gardengirl72]

I am equally spineless. I found a guy to do it. I put a video up on it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHsIOBGQVnw

[reneec83]

Hi Patti,
Is it hard to raise them and then eat them. I realize that in days gone by that's what most people did, but I feel like I'd become attached, and couldn't eat my "pet". Do you eat the Bantam's that give you eggs, or do you have ones just for eating?
Renee

[gardengirl72]

Renee, I have egg layers that are pets with names and then I buy meat birds for the freezer who only get names like birthday dinner etc...

[Backyard Permaculture]

I do the same. I hatched a rooster in my incubator and named him Pollo Asado or Asado for short. Buck goat kids have had the name of Enchilado, Taco etc. My bull calf is named T-Bone.

Ron

[gardengirl72]

Makes it easier to think of them as food and not pets.

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Dear friends...

If it's to be food, I suggest not naming the bird. Most people have lost touch with the harvesting of an animal for the table.

I don't live in the city and country kids seem to see things a little differently.
A mean rooster for example, that goes at the back of your legs when your back is turned, is not lamented when he ends up as Sunday dinner.

On the other hand, the little buff cochin bantam, will n e v e r see early dismissal from her wonderful life on the farm!

As Patti said, there are birds destined for meat. This is where breeds come into play also. There are meat birds (derived from cornish stock) that must be harvested at six or seven weeks. These birds are genetically engineered to put on weight quickly and some have the mose efficient feed to meat conversion I've ever seen. Two pounds of feed, one pound of meat.

Now, say you want to keep one of the "meat" birds as a pet? At the sixth week and beyond, it will begin to sit a great deal and have trouble walking around. It simply becomes too heavy to stand. I don't personally raise these birds, but if meat is what you want, then they are the most practical choice. They also have light skin and white feathers which come out easily in the plucker.

Another problem is when someone orders 25 meat chicks and in six weeks has to slaughter them all at once. You must have storage for all these birds in your freezer, or have an agreement with friends to share the harvest.

Say you only want to have one chicken a week? Then birds selectively bread as dual purpose chickens are the answer. They are both meat and egg producers and can live as long as you choose to allow them to. Examples of these would be the Rhode Island Reds, Barred Plymouth Rocks, New Hampshires and so on. But you wouldn't be eating any of those in six weeks.

If you are a softy and can't eat an animal once you get to know it, then don't buy 50 chicks thinking you will harvest half of them... you may just end up overrun with birds (">

I know people like this...

[Kittikity]

I am originally from south Florida.. We now live in central Florida which is an odd mix of rural and city.. All city conveniences nearby, but also areas where there might be a field of cattle.. I love this odd mix.. Combines where I was raised with the rural lifestyle I've always wanted..

Having said that, you could call my kids city kids since we're not exactly in the country.. But I have made a big effort to make sure, as I start my mini farm, that they know where food comes from.. I just a couple weeks ago butchered my first chickens.. As soon as I brought them home, I specifically told my children they were going to be food.. I brought home six rooster and butchered two that first time.. I invited my children to watch.. I told them they could leave anytime they wanted..

My oldest son chose not to watch (was playing on the computer) but my younger son came out.. After I did the first one, he said he didn't like to watch me do the actual kill because of the blood and the flopping.. But he and my daughter watched me skin both the carcasses and didn't mind that part at all.. I allowed them to touch the carcass and see how it felt.. I also showed them what organs where which when I did that part.. A couple of days later I made chicken and dumplings.. Now all three of them keep asking me when I'm going to "make more meat"..

I plan to let them watch when I butcher the first rabbits.. I don't think I'll let them watch when I do a goat though.. I've been working part time at a goat farm and the kids adore the goats so I think that will be hard for them to see.. I will be explaining to them which ones we're keeping and which ones might be meat though.. In the end I may just give them the choice to watch or not.. I don't name the ones that will be food at all.. Its hard enough to think up names for the ones I keep.. :D

But basically, I'm very upfront and honest with my kids about what I'm doing.. They have accepted things very well and I'm very proud of them.. Too many people are just too detached about their food supply.. My own parents are like that.. They don't understand my desire to raise and grow my own food.. But they know I'm going to do my own thing so they don't give me too much grief about it..

Sorry this got so long..

[RogueAPBT]

Great post, Kitti! My son is a city kid, too, but he's beginning to see why I want us to raise our own meat.

Hey Fred, how long will chicken keep in the freezer?

Cheryl

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

The longevity of a raw, freshly butchered chicken in the freezer, is the same as with any store purchased poultry.

IF you are talking about a freshly butchered chicken... then it should not go directly into your freezer... unless you like your chicken tough?

Put a fresh chicken into the fridge first, 24 to 48 hours would allow for rigor mortis to run it's course.. you'll feel the body get stiff and they soften again.... when it is soft again, this is the time to cook it, or freeze. IN a freezer bag, a frozen bird can go the distance, possibly as long as a year?

Have limited freezer space? Consider canning.

That is all I have to say about that ("> thanks for your question!

[gardengirl72]

Great advise Fred. I learned that lesson a few years ago!