Our introduction to keeping chickens, the high's, the lows and pics of our journey.

[Bens-Hens]

In this instance, I'm guessing the answer is going to be "With shredded chicken on top of it."

The teenager in me is giggling at holding Mr. Pecker jokes that are a bit unsuitable...

The neighbors puppy just arrived. She's a small little thing, unafraid of anything it seems. Will see how she reacts to our dogs once they're introduced to each other.

I tried so hard to get the kids to stick to the name 'Pecky" but the giggles of Mr Pecker was just unstoppable!

Vehve, puppies are so cute and sweet to begin with, I miss those days. My pup is in the middle of his complete idiot phase... definitely not so cute.
Beautiful photos.

Ben, I just can't imagine cuddling up to an American possum blanket.. they are pretty disgusting looking animals here.

Fancy, you take amazing photos. Thanks for sharing.

My new chicks are doing great, had to put iodine on a couple belly buttons, but it worked. I "attempted" wing sexing yesterday (day 6) and might have 5 Roos and 8 hens, we'll see. I already have 2 Roos, so then we'd have to make decisions too. My polish roo is mellow and sweet, but he's only 15 weeks old. We heard a crow attempt the other day, so hormones are starting a little...

Fancy does have amazing pictures, I always love checking them out. I have a pic which I will post a little later in the post regards the blanket.

Our roos started crowing at 9 weeks.

Earliest we had was two Coronation Sussex at 6 weeks, most were out around 15ish

I recall there was a whole line of "merino mink" products that were incredibly soft and warm. It is a mix of superfine merino wool and possum fur. There are scarves, gloves, hats, blankets. It is one way to make the most of a destructive pest.

Pretty sure it was pure possum, thats what the tag said anyway. My wife won't like me posting this pic as she was not as healthy then as she is now, but the expression reflects the softness lol

Queenstown, 2007

The thought of cuddling up to possum fur - ick. I can't get the image of our possums out of my mind.

After seeing your possum's I'm not surprised!

Oh, we finally started getting eggs from our chickens. I got 1 yesterday, and so far today I've gotten 2!!!

COngratulations! First eggs are such good motivators...you nearly forget how much effort it took to raise them to the age where they can return a few eggs! Great to hear from you Henless.

the three hens that I didn't let raise chicks, have started laying eggs again. I'm really glad because I had a hard time filling orders lately. I'm sure I'll be back to having 12 dozen in the refrigerator again soon though

We are very slowly having some come back online, 5 eggs yesterday but still no more form our Araucana. Baby is still off too. Neither of the three of ours that have gone broody (like....ever) have laid an egg again since!

I had a talk with the neighbor, and apparently Taneli took a bite out of her leg yesterday as well, so he's made the decision easy. Tomorrow morning he's off to freezer camp. Karin wants to do Topi at the same time, sort of an economies of scale argument. So apparently we're keeping Eemeli, the only purebreed. Hopefully he'll mature into a nice looking Speckled Sussex roo.

Then some questions about the deed itself, so if you feel this isn't for you, go ahead and skip the rest of this post.

I'm going to be in charge of the decapitation, and Karin gets to take care of plucking and gutting. We'll have to put together some sort of kill cone, and apparently dipping in boiling water is supposed to make plucking easier. I've only ever plucked a goose once, and after that decided that I'm lazy and usually skin any birds we get, so if someone has any good suggestions about how we should do this, I'm open to ideas. We thought we would do it in the morning when they haven't eaten yet. Or would it be better to starve them for longer and do it in the evening? We sort of would like to keep everything normal until it's time to do the deed. Any pointers on technique, any way to hold the bird when cutting the neck that you've found to be good? I'm going to use a pair of big garden shears for the actual decapitation, somehow I'm thinking it's easier than using an axe.

Then for after we've processed, should I let the meat breathe, or would it be better to vacuum pack immediately? I'll keep it in the fridge for a couple of days anyway before preparing or freezing it. With wild birds it usually takes a lot longer before you can refrigerate, so aging is sort of taken care of already. Any thoughts on cooking time for a 15 week bird?

Thinking about this makes me feel sort of sad, but at the same time I'm happy knowing that he's had a good life up until when he's sent off. This will be a learning process for sure.

That time, well plan it out, be well prepared and swift of hand.

Personally I use the knife and bleed method as the axe can waste a fair amount of the neck, which we use as dog food. Cone is a great tool. Hot water blanch makes a BIG difference to plucking. Two plucking makes it quicker for noobies, but if you plan to skin it you don't need to bee too fussy.

If you are short on freezer space Gordon Ramsey has an excellent YT video on how to part a chicken out. We would leave in the freidge overnight, then freeze or cook. Make sure everything is well clean before and after processing.

Be very careful with this, please check to see whether your shears are screwed together tightly. In my garden shears, there is a small gap between the 2 blades and that small space can cause the death not to be clean. It causes bone twisting instead of a clean cut. It's something you can't un-feel in my experience :-( The best I have found is an extremely sharp fishing knife.

this lady uses a very sharp knife and has an interesting technique. she puts a lot of effort into comforting and relaxing the hen before culling. she hand-plucks.

this video uses a kill cone, more of a mass approach to processing. uses automated plucker

The older the bird the longer it should be rested after butchering. My older males I rest in ice salt water or applejuice for 4-5 days before cooking. My 10-12 week olds I rest and ice bath for 2 days. If i am doing cornish hens at 6 week or younger I rest for 12 hours. each age group has its own muscle development and needs to be butchered or soaked or rested it own special way.

Cooking 12-24 weeks you need to low slow roast with moisture for longer time. 160 degrees for a few hours ..I like to soak the chicken in milk over night before baking. (information from byc user DMRippy)

another helpful link: http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

I agree, heaps of video's to read, a lot of it is personal choice but I wholeheartedly agree about the shears. If they are not in good condition and properly adjusted it will not be a clean removal.

I've got a brand new pair of these: http://www.fiskars.fi/Piha-ja-puuta...s-SmartFit-Pensassakset-teleskooppivarsi-HS86
They should get the job done, and offer enough momentum. All the axes I've got are a bit dull, and I don't know where I've put my stone. Plus, I don't have a good chopping block. I once killed a goose with a bad knife, and that was a bad experience, mainly for me because I quickly snapped it's neck after I discovered the knife was no good. I've since learned that you need a proper knife, but I think the shears will be better suited, I want a quick and clean decapitation. With a knife I'm worried it leaves more room for hesitation since I know the bird.

That's 160 in Celsius I'm assuming? I was sort of thinking doing it in a pot with maybe some thyme, garlic, carrots and applecider.

I'll check the videos in the morning, now it's time for bed.

Low and slow mate, that will be F. We have done some roasting, and I have also done a pretty good crispy chicken dish posted some time ago in here (I posted a pic of it so if you wanted to see it probably best to scroll through the image folder until you see crispy chicken)

Those do look like nice shears, just eyeball the gap in between the two blades. if there's space there, you're going to have a bad time..

Sorry, 160 degrees in Fahrenheit. Silly American here ;-) I think that would be about 70C?

Yep, I concur, good sharp knife on standby, or even some very sturdy kitchen scissors, just in case the shears don't go to plan.

 

[katbriar]

Vehve- you are right that there is little worse than a dull knife. But you can get it sharpened or use the broomstick method.

I like to restrict feed for at least 12 hours. Makes for fewer leaks from either end.

After you've dispatched the bird, wet with a hose or dunk repeatedly in a bucket of regular temperature water. An already wet bird will scald quicker and it gives you a chance to knock the worst of the "dirt" off.

Dunk the bird in the scald water up and down, swish around, and check to see if it's ready to pluck by pulling on a large wing or tail feather. If it slips out easily the bird is ready to pluck.

Once scalded, finish plucking BEFORE it cools. If it gets cold it will be very difficult to pluck. Remove all the large tail and wing feathers by pulling sraight out. Then start at the bottom of one leg and with a sweeping motion of the thumb side of your hand sweep against then grain of the feathers and they will come out by the handfuls. (I think it's really worth the effort when you get to eat crispy roasted chicken skin!)

I'll edit this post in a bit to include one if my favorite instructional websites. I'd also recommend heading over to the "processing day support group" page for lots of suggestions, discussions, and answers. Including how to use the broomstick method of killing.

Eta- here's the site
http://ramblingredneckmom.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-process-chickens-at-home.html?m=1

 

[vehve]

Fiskars is Finlands oldest company, they've been making kitchen and garden tools for over 400 years, and the quality of their products is in accordance with that heritage, there's no gap, nor will there be. I just don't like the slowness of the bleeding method, but I'll keep an scalpel blade handy just in case.

Ben, that looks like a soft blanket, she looks so happy with it.

Kat, thanks for the link, that's a really detailed description. I think those instructions will come in handy.

The dishsoap in the scald water, won't it give off a taste? Fairy chicken, yum. Well, I suppose not.

 

[vehve]

Well. I suppose I should listen to you guys more. Taneli is dead now, but the shears didn't completely decapitate him. I got the jugular nicely with the first cut, so I didn't attempt to do another cut, but maybe the knife would have been more of a sure thing. Now we're bleeding him out and I'm heating the water for the scald.

 

[Fancychooklady]

My favourite tool for hedging is my fiskars, and I have a lot of hedges.

 

[cwrite]

Fancy - are all your pullets huddling in that one pic because they see your fiskars coming?

The pics with them sitting on the hedges are sweet. We have a lot of what I expect were supposed to be hedges on our small property, but are instead far too many huge lilly pilly trees. I've been hacking them back for four years now & have finally found a use for them. I chop off a few large branches, hook them behind one of the perches in the run & let them dry out for a couple of weeks. Then I put gloves on & strip the dry leaves off the branches. We used leaf litter that had accumulated to start & I've been doing this ever since with no end of tree branches in sight which is crazy. I haven't needed to use anything else in the run. All I need is a patio wood burner & I can use the ash in the run too.

Go & have a stiff drink Vehve. I know I sure would need one after that kind of job!

 

[vehve]

Fancy, seems like the Fiskarses are doing a pretty good job keeping the hedges trimmed. Once again, lovely pictures. I really' like most tools Fiskars makes, there's a lot of thought behind them and they're well made. I think we've got about 20-30 of their products. The town of Fiskars is a nice place to visit if anyone ever has a lapse of judgement and travels to Finland. The company also owns substantial amounts of forest around there, which is sort of a private national park resembling arrangement. We went on a kayaking trip there last summer, it was beautiful.

cwrite, I'm thinking of starting a deep litter in fall, once these maples start shedding their leaves. It's been a huge problem, since they compost really badly, but I'm thinking the chickens might appreciate it if i cover their run for the winter and keep adding dried leaves throughout the snowy season.

It's a bit too early in the day for a drink, but I'm fine. Karin is a vet, so I've assisted her quite a few times with tricky patients, and I'm familiar with euthanasia as well. I was a bit worried how it would be taking the life of a healthy bird that I'm familiar with, but all in all it was a pretty positive experience. Much better than when I wounded my first goose and it fell down from the sky right on top of me, breaking it's wing and leaving my left arm useless for almost a week. Killing that one (I had too light of a load in my shotgurn) was a less pleasant experience.

Then to our processing, I'll post some pictures too, but I'll put them in the spoiler tag so those who don't want to see the pictures can just ignore them.











We started with luring him with a bit of corn, his favorite, so he got a nice last bite to eat before his time came. I had rigged up a spot to hang him upside down, and it worked pretty well. Like I said, the hedge shears didn't take the head clean off, but I got the jugular on both sides and broke his neck in one swift cut, so it was quick, he only twitched for about 15 seconds, and I think that was just post mortem muscle spasms. I think the most important thing is to remember to open the shears as quickly as possible to allow for a maximum blood flow, so that you're not clamping the wound and making it slower.

The warm water really did the trick, plucking the feathers wasn't nearly as difficult as my previous experience (that same darned goose). We washed him with a bit of soap and cold water first, then held him in 65 C water for about a minute. The soap bath handled the smell pretty well too.

As the picture shows, he wasn't much of a fatty. There was a nice layer of yellow fat around the intestines though. His developed testicle was huge, about 3 cm long. The gizzard was surprisingly large as well. Not much in the breast department, but the legs might have something to nibble on. With the vacuum bag, he weighed in at 1054 grams, so pretty much a kilo dressed. Karin's tool of choice was a scalpel blade, which she felt most comfortable with. I would of have gone with a nice kitchen knife myself, but she has a lot more practice with surgical tools.

We kept the neighbors kids away until we had removed the head and feet, but then they got to witness where food comes from. It was a pretty nice learning experience for them, they took it really well (the boy is 9 and the girl 6). They were already aware of Taneli's impending doom beforehand, it was their mother he had bit (and he had tried attacking the boy and Karin too, trying to nail them with his little beginnings of spurs). The boy even said yesterday, that he thinks it's time for him to go.

The rest of the flock followed the procedure with a mixed vibe. After Taneli took his last breath, it took a whole ten seconds for Topi to mate one of the girls, so he seems happy with the arrangement. I think they're a bit puzzled about his demise, since he was the one who kept guard the most. Veera just went in her nest to lay again, so she doesn't seem that shook up. I don't really know how a flock of birds handles the passing of a member, they are pretty smart animals after all.

I think I'll keep him in the fridge for a day or two before freezing him, but we probably need another one before we can make this into a proper meal. I'm sort of leaning towards cooking him in an Italian or French way, or maybe like I do with gamier birds, but I might consider Ben's recipe too, it looked pretty good.

 

[Bens-Hens]

My favourite tool for hedging is my fiskars, and I have a lot of hedges.

Careful trimming that one mate...might get more than expected!

Well. I suppose I should listen to you guys more. Taneli is dead now, but the shears didn't completely decapitate him. I got the jugular nicely with the first cut, so I didn't attempt to do another cut, but maybe the knife would have been more of a sure thing. Now we're bleeding him out and I'm heating the water for the scald.

I had a similar experience the first time I used an axe, I didn't have a block and it just didn't happen well. I have stuck to the cone and knife since.

Then to our processing, I'll post some pictures too, but I'll put them in the spoiler tag so those who don't want to see the pictures can just ignore them.

We started with luring him with a bit of corn, his favorite, so he got a nice last bite to eat before his time came. I had rigged up a spot to hang him upside down, and it worked pretty well. Like I said, the hedge shears didn't take the head clean off, but I got the jugular on both sides and broke his neck in one swift cut, so it was quick, he only twitched for about 15 seconds, and I think that was just post mortem muscle spasms. I think the most important thing is to remember to open the shears as quickly as possible to allow for a maximum blood flow, so that you're not clamping the wound and making it slower.

The warm water really did the trick, plucking the feathers wasn't nearly as difficult as my previous experience (that same darned goose). We washed him with a bit of soap and cold water first, then held him in 65 C water for about a minute. The soap bath handled the smell pretty well too.

As the picture shows, he wasn't much of a fatty. There was a nice layer of yellow fat around the intestines though. His developed testicle was huge, about 3 cm long. The gizzard was surprisingly large as well. Not much in the breast department, but the legs might have something to nibble on. With the vacuum bag, he weighed in at 1054 grams, so pretty much a kilo dressed. Karin's tool of choice was a scalpel blade, which she felt most comfortable with. I would of have gone with a nice kitchen knife myself, but she has a lot more practice with surgical tools.

We kept the neighbors kids away until we had removed the head and feet, but then they got to witness where food comes from. It was a pretty nice learning experience for them, they took it really well (the boy is 9 and the girl 6). They were already aware of Taneli's impending doom beforehand, it was their mother he had bit (and he had tried attacking the boy and Karin too, trying to nail them with his little beginnings of spurs). The boy even said yesterday, that he thinks it's time for him to go.

The rest of the flock followed the procedure with a mixed vibe. After Taneli took his last breath, it took a whole ten seconds for Topi to mate one of the girls, so he seems happy with the arrangement. I think they're a bit puzzled about his demise, since he was the one who kept guard the most. Veera just went in her nest to lay again, so she doesn't seem that shook up. I don't really know how a flock of birds handles the passing of a member, they are pretty smart animals after all.

I think I'll keep him in the fridge for a day or two before freezing him, but we probably need another one before we can make this into a proper meal. I'm sort of leaning towards cooking him in an Italian or French way, or maybe like I do with gamier birds, but I might consider Ben's recipe too, it looked pretty good.

Firstly, nice job with the spoiler tag, have to learn how to do that!

Secondly, aside from not being a clean removal it sounds like it went well for you and Karin. I have to complement you on your first pluck too. A quality job. We first processed a black Australorp around the same age and size and he left some inky type smudges fromt eh new feather quills coming through.

Our kids found the experience very informative as they were slowly exposed to more of the process (still have not seen the first step though) They both eat meat, and have an understanding that someone is out there raising it and processing it for us to buy and consume. Even at that young age, they have an appreciation that "Chicken comes from chickens" as my youngest one day realised.

Speaking of chickens, our girls are doing well. Only 3 eggs today, but considering the state is on a high weather alert that is pretty good! Seems Curly is straight into some nice sized eggs (61g) already, and we have a nice sized pink layer which I am confident is one of the Rock sisters (57g). The third since I had the scales out was from our Wellie pullet at 64g.

 

[vehve]

Careful trimming that one mate...might get more than expected!

I had a similar experience the first time I used an axe, I didn't have a block and it just didn't happen well. I have stuck to the cone and knife since.

Firstly, nice job with the spoiler tag, have to learn how to do that!

Secondly, aside from not being a clean removal it sounds like it went well for you and Karin. I have to complement you on your first pluck too. A quality job. We first processed a black Australorp around the same age and size and he left some inky type smudges fromt eh new feather quills coming through.

Our kids found the experience very informative as they were slowly exposed to more of the process (still have not seen the first step though) They both eat meat, and have an understanding that someone is out there raising it and processing it for us to buy and consume. Even at that young age, they have an appreciation that "Chicken comes from chickens" as my youngest one day realised.

Speaking of chickens, our girls are doing well. Only 3 eggs today, but considering the state is on a high weather alert that is pretty good! Seems Curly is straight into some nice sized eggs (61g) already, and we have a nice sized pink layer which I am confident is one of the Rock sisters (57g). The third since I had the scales out was from our Wellie pullet at 64g.

Those are some whopper eggs, we got a nice 31g today again. Fifth day in a row, with a max size of 33g. And 11 eggs in 13 days. She really started effectively.

Thinking about the technique more afterwards, I sort of like the fact that it took out the spinal cord and both sides of the jugular simultaneously, and you can place the cut pretty nicely. With a knife people usually cut just one side, so you get a lesser flow from the wound. I might even user the shears the next time too, as long as I'm sure to cut from the front again. But those neck feathers sure do a good job protecting the skin.

I've had to learn about the "darker" sides of food production as an adult, my parents aren't big on hunting. Sure, I've been to farms as a kid and so on, but you don't really get to experience meat production that easily. I think it's a good thing that the neighbors introduce their kids to the process. They're sort of semi-vegetarian, in that sense that they actually follow the recommended meat three times a week routine. I'm not sure if I'd be up for that, I tip the scale more on the carnivore side. But yeah, a kid might not need to see the deed itself at a young age. And some are different from others, it's hard to know how someone reacts. Grown ups can be reduced to a puddle of tears too when it's time to put down Rover when he's in too much pain from the cancer. Often it's the men that take it harder. Still, I have to say that in this regard, veterinary medicine is a lot more civilized than the human side. It's tough to witness idly someone spending the last three years of their life hoping for the end to come. I'm sure many medical professionals would agree, even though it's a subject you can't really be honest about publicly.

Yeah, Karin did a nice job with the plucking, she's a bit anal with that since she often needs to remove hair (or sometimes feathers) before patching animals up. It's heartwarming when she tells me that someone has brought their rooster in to get patched up.

I can warmly recommend the hanging the bird from it's feet on a string method, it was really convenient to wash him afterwards, and the feathers let the water in a lot better when your going against the grain.

 

[katbriar]

Vehve- have you ever cut yourself with a really sharp knife, so sharp you didn't really feel it?

That's the thinking behind a sharp knife and a single cut to the neck. The wound is mortal but by the time they feel it they're just really sleepy.

Some think that knife cuts to both sides and the crush of shears to the spine induces much more pain until the bird looses consciousness.

Of course I can't be sure what the chicken actually feels. But I can tell you from experience that I believe it is possible to deliver a cut that is painless. I've done it to myself ;-)