Where do I find a good step by step article on butchering a chicken please?

[CrazyChickenLadySue]

I need a good step by step article including pictures of exactly where to cut as the books I have are pretty vague and have no decent diagrams or pictures. I only cull our extra cockerels or old birds that have stopped laying but I would like to breed a few meat birds asweĺl. My son usually either shoots them in the head or we axe them as I don't want to hurt them any longer than necessary and I think wringing the necks would as I'm not strong.

 

[Predoggg]

Following

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I found this to be extremely helpful. I printed it out and used it as I did my first slaughter and butcher. It was the only article I found that went into enough detail where I felt confident I could do it.

I also used this video to help me when piecing out the whole bird. He goes kind of fast but he explains things well so I just paused between every step and rewatched things a couple times.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I need a good step by step article including pictures of exactly where to cut as the books I have are pretty vague and have no decent diagrams or pictures. I only cull our extra cockerels or old birds that have stopped laying but I would like to breed a few meat birds asweĺl. My son usually either shoots them in the head or we axe them as I don't want to hurt them any longer than necessary and I think wringing the necks would as I'm not strong.

I like the link posted by @HenriettaPizzaNolan above - very detailed! There are also many great YouTube videos. Not much more I can add to that advice.

There are also many discussions on this site about how best to cull, or slaughter, a chicken. The best method differs for each person for many reasons. I'll just add my 2-cents that I use a killing cone and a PVC cutter tool (single stroke, not the ratcheting kind) to simply cut off the head in one stroke. Before that, I used a knife - extremely sharp. I just gripped the bird's beak or wattles, pulled down, placed the knife blade below the jaw line, hold tight, and made one quick stroke through the neck severing the head.
I hate the axe method. Too much room for error and risk of injuries. And like you, I'm not strong enough nor brave enough to wring necks. You could look into the "broomstick method" as it's bloodless, quick, humane, and easy - or so I've heard.

 

[Kiki]

Here ya go:

How To Process A Chicken At Home


Click on the link above.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

This here seems to be a good video.

 

[CrazyChickenLadySue]

I found this to be extremely helpful. I printed it out and used it as I did my first slaughter and butcher. It was the only article I found that went into enough detail where I felt confident I could do it.

I also used this video to help me when piecing out the whole bird. He goes kind of fast but he explains things well so I just paused between every step and rewatched things a couple times.

Thank you

 

[CrazyChickenLadySue]

I like the link posted by @HenriettaPizzaNolan above - very detailed! There are also many great YouTube videos. Not much more I can add to that advice.

There are also many discussions on this site about how best to cull, or slaughter, a chicken. The best method differs for each person for many reasons. I'll just add my 2-cents that I use a killing cone and a PVC cutter tool (single stroke, not the ratcheting kind) to simply cut off the head in one stroke. Before that, I used a knife - extremely sharp. I just gripped the bird's beak or wattles, pulled down, placed the knife blade below the jaw line, hold tight, and made one quick stroke through the neck severing the head.
I hate the axe method. Too much room for error and risk of injuries. And like you, I'm not strong enough nor brave enough to wring necks. You could look into the "broomstick method" as it's bloodless, quick, humane, and easy - or so I've heard.

Great thank you, I'll try broomstick method next as I don't particularly like being sprayed with blood and it makes the cull seem so much more gruesome. The broomstick method may help me feel happier about culling some of my birds both for medical reasons and for dinner. Many thanks

 

[FunClucks]

The Meat Bird Forum sticky (that post at the top of the Forum that everyone skips over) has links to a lot of helpful information also.

 

[Kiki]

The Meat Bird Forum sticky (that post at the top of the Forum that everyone skips over) has links to a lot of helpful information also.

This:
Thread 'Meat Section Sticky Topic Index' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/meat-section-sticky-topic-index.248648/