Butchering help

[Zeegirl]

We have a mixed flock of chickens. Six months old. We had three roosters and we decided to butcher and eat.
We gve a killing cone, but something is not working. I have watched numerous videos and butchering books with detailed pictures. But I feel like I am doing something wrong.

When I go to kill the bird, I feel like I am not finding the artery. I slice quick and deep. I am using a fishing filet knife. Sharpened for the occasion. The knife was purchased from my local farm store, specifically recommend for chicke butchering. When I slice into the bird, blood comes out as I would expect. But the chicken doesn’t die. It’s not just that it is flapping, which I know that birds do when dead. But I can still feel a pulse. And the bird open and closes its eyes. It takes me many minutes to keep cutting until it is really dead. What the heck am I doing wrong? It is bleeding out fine... so it seems. But I don’t seem to be killing it quickly or humanely.

After the butchering is complete my chickens still had quite a bit of dark blood, like clots, on the neck.

 

[Conan]

It's difficult to assess what may be wrong without a video or photos.

There are a heck of a lot of opinions out there regarding humane butchering. You might consider looking up cervical dislocation, or, if you're good with an ax, head removal. I've always gone with the latter, and I've never felt like the birds suffered. Best of luck, and I hope you find something that works for you.

 

[Molpet]

I use a pvc pipe cutter. Like this, a lot of hardware stores carry similar
https://www.theisens.com/products/a...IDEcqxxwJcrguyCe4VNep95rVbcB2vl8aAr6REALw_wcB

 

[ColoradoPip]

I use a pvc pipe cutter. Like this, a lot of hardware stores carry similar
https://www.theisens.com/products/a...IDEcqxxwJcrguyCe4VNep95rVbcB2vl8aAr6REALw_wcB

Do you put them in a cone first? Thanks!

For those using an axe, do you put them in a cone afterward to bleed out?

 

[Conan]

Do you put them in a cone first? Thanks!

For those using an axe, do you put them in a cone afterward to bleed out?

If I had a cone, I'd pop them in after lopping their heads off. Seeing as I don't, I just hang them upside down, and let them bleed out.

 

[Molpet]

Do you put them in a cone first? Thanks!

For those using an axe, do you put them in a cone afterward to bleed out?

Usually I put them in a cone... I have several sizes that my birds don't fit properly in..... soooo I usually use a cut up kitty litter jug as a cone.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I bind their feet with wire loops (not tight or anything its for afterwards). Then I ring their necks immediately followed by chopping head off with a hatchet. The ringing kills them and chopping opens up for bleeding out.
The wire loops are hooked onto a chain draped across the woodshed so the bird can flop all it wants without bruising the meat.
Whole process takes 10 secs if that.

 

[Morrigan]

For those using an axe, do you put them in a cone afterward to bleed out?

Yes, that's what we do, with a bucket underneath to catch the blood.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

So you might not realize from descriptions but it takes real time for a brain to die. First the body needs to pump blood out of the body and brain and then the brain has to stop working. THEN you stop getting a pulse. You may just be finding that the reality, that it takes a minute or so for a chicken to actually die-die of blood loss, is longer than you were expecting. Fast but hardly instantaneous. People favor cutting the veins only BECAUSE you still get that pulse. It bleeds the bird out more thoroughly because the heart is pumping all the blood out of the body.

You may want to try cervical dislocation and removing the whole head, which tends to send the brain into shock and cause death in seconds instead. It tends to be a bit messier cause the bird is flailing around dead while bleeding out but you KNOW the bird is dead and it's proportionally much faster. You may also see more (but not many) bloody veins inside the chicken when you piece it out.

I use a pair of heavy kitchen shears and do the whole head.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Yes, that's what we do, with a bucket underneath to catch the blood.

No, i hang them from a chain or wire. They flop while suspended so no bruising can occur