Questions about the CX I just processed

[canesisters]

Such as?????

 

[vfem]

I'm so glad this second batch was so yummy! I have 4 CX that are 9 weeks now. They'll be processed in about 1-2 weeks. They are not growing out very fast for me. I got them at 3-4 weeks old and they were the 'runts' of someone else's group. (Except for big Bertha, she's a monster!)

We got the killing cone up on a pine tree out in the woods. We flip them upside down into the cone with a bucket underneath for draining. Hubby just takes an ax to the head. We should be able to get through and process all 4 under an hour. I no longer pluck feathers though, we just skin them now. Most of us don't like the skin here anyways. Trying to be healthy and all!

 

[ducks4you]

BYC (link below) is just the BEST place to go to ask about butchering. I found a sticky thread there that was really helpful. To eviscerate I cut like you would for a hysterectomy, one slice across under the ribs, and a cross slice from the anus up. One unrelated site on butchering that I saved on my computer was written by a man with big hands. He said if HE can get his whole hand inside the cavity...ANYBODY can! I'm getting good enough to break the membranes and getting the whole "package" out intact.
One more thing. People will tell you if you break the gall bladder you have ruined your meat and need to toss it. Baloney!! I've done that several times. I just thoroughly rinse everything if that happens. I eviscerate in my kitchen sink bc I always have hot or cold water there. One side is for getting extra feathers off--I always skin mine--and I pull the innards out on the other side. I like to butcher in multiples of two bc both dogs get an equal number of heads that way.
Happy chicken eating!!

 

[MontyJ]

Such as?????

Such as,

1. Never use a new garden hose for processing,
2. Chill the birds in ice, not ice water,
3. What that slimy goop is.
4. Don't pull on the gizzard to disembowel.
5. It's very possible to remove the lungs with everything else if you can get ahold of the trachea.
6. Plucking is nothing compared to eviscerating (in terms of time consumption).
7. How you remove the crop depends on what the birds is going to be used for.
7a. For a roasting bird, cut down the back of the neck and peel it down to get to the crop.
7b. For a fryer, cut across the top of the breast just under the neck to access the crop.
8. The crop is stuck to the breast with something similar to super glue.
8a. If you get the esophagus free from the neck, pull it down and away from the crop while pulling the breast in the opposite direction. The crop peels away much easier.
9. For reasons science cannot explain, chicken poop smells even worse after the chicken is dead.
10. When plucking, use neoprene coated gloves. The feathers strip right off.
11. Even a novice like me can fully pluck a properly scalded chicken in 2 minutes or less.
12. Chicken claws are incredibly sharp and will cut you open in a heartbeat. (Experience there.)

Most of that is probably common sense to those who do it all the time, or are old hands at it. To someone like me, who has never done it before, it has been a learning experience.

 

[canesisters]

Hum - that's funny. It seems that I have learned all of this on the internet.

(Thanks for sharing all this Monty, we've all learned from your experience. )

 

[MontyJ]

Touche, Cane. You got me there.

Actually, you have all learned from my inexperience

 

[ninnymary]

Monty, it was a fascinating thread to follow even though I know I will never have cx.

Mary

 

[bj taylor]

when I process my first chickens i'm going to have these instructions written down in bold BIG letters & posted on the wall in front of me.

 

[baymule]

Touche, Cane. You got me there.

Actually, you have all learned from my inexperience

Yeah........like take a drink from the hose BEFORE you wash the chickens with it!!