Help- Meat birds processing Maine

[HoytAcres2017]

We received our Cornish hen chicks in February rather than April due to a mistake from the hatchery. Well, they've all survived thankfully. We typically process them ourselves, however the timing is not ideal as I'm due with baby #2 any day now, and the 2 neighbors who occasionally help us are away.

We have been looking into bringing them to a custom poultry processor but have met roadblocks because of course many don't start operating until June.

We have 30 birds, approximately 10 weeks old and they're getting pretty big. We're located in the Freeport area.

Anyone know of a processor in Maine who has immediate availability? Any other ideas or assistance are welcome! THANK YOU!!

 

[FunClucks]

I had a non-ideal processing situation for my first batch of CX. 20 CX, an unexpected work trip (for a week) come up during week six, a husband who I expected would help me process them, but then didn't, and it was the beginning of March with an outside-only processing setup - ice was forming on my cutting board while processing. The warmth of the recently drained carcass was the only thing keeping my fingers from freezing, so I worked quickly to try and finish before it got totally cold. The running water I rinsed with was causing minor frostbite.

I ended up processing as many as I could during week 5, skipping week six because I was out of town, and then it took me through week 9 to finish them up (while working 40 hrs a week and caring for multiple children under the age of ten after work and on the weekends by myself).

Chickens from weeks 5-7 got processed as skin-on roasts, chickens from weeks 8-9 got skinned, parted out, and I froze similar thickness cuts together. (Roasts older than 7 weeks were too big to fit in my freezer, wouldn't have cooked evenly due to thick and thin areas of the carcass, and skinning saved me at least half an hour of processing time compared to scalding and plucking, and an hour of setup time. So 8-9 wk birds got skinned and parted out.)

I recruited my oldest child to help as a runner, bringing me things from the house I forgot, and helping set up and break down each processing session. He and my middle child watched each other and my youngest.

I looked and looked, but there were no processors near me willing to do chickens, or folks who I could find to help me. So I learned what to do mainly from folks on this site, and just got it done as best I could, and will not be purchasing chicks in January again.

One thing I considered was selling live birds read-to-process on Craigslist Farm and Garden section (livestock sales are legal there, and living CX are still livestock, not food, so they fall under livestock, not food regulations for sales). I calculated up cost of chicks, cost of feed, cost of raising them, and the live weight, and came up with a good price per pound, and then price per bird. So if I hadn't been able to finish before/around 10 weeks, I'd have sold them there, and folks in my area would have jumped on it. If the bottom drops out of your world, and processing these CX is just not something you can manage, you might consider selling them to at least recoup the cost and effort you've put into them.

It's not an easy situation. Good luck!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Call your county extension agent and chat with them. They might know of someone that can help you.

Chat with people at the feed store. They might know someone that can help you or may allow you to post an add on their bulletin board.

Go to the "Where am I? Where are you!" section of this forum and try to find you Maine state thread. Chat with your neighbors.

Not exactly what it is set up for but I'd go to the "Buy-Sell-Trade" section if this forum and start a thread there. Put what you want and your general location in the title. Maybe trade meat for butchering instead of paying money?

Post an ad on Craigslist.

There are people out there that can help you but the problem is getting in touch with them.