Chicken butchering

We found time to butcher about 35 roosters the past week or so. The boys selected the biggest of the roosters two at a time, which I inserted into the killing cones. Once inserted, I cut their throats and let them bleed out for a minute of so. Some folk just simply cut their heads off and let the headless birds flounder around, but I have read that cutting the vein produces a more effective bleed. I prefer having the blood all poured out into one place rather than having it scattered all over.

After the birds have bled, I scalded them in water heated in a large electric pot. 140 degrees does a good job of loosening the pores so that the feathers can be plucked off. I borrowed a plucker from a farmer that I worked for. The rubber fingers rotate and do a good job at removing the feathers. After removing the feathers, my neighbor (some of his boys are pictured) and I cut them up. I checked for any remaining feathers and cut off the head and feet while Art gutted the birds. We have consumed a couple of them now, one of them baked in the oven and another deep fried. Both of them were excellent!

We raised barred rocks, which are combination meat/egg bird. Most of the birds butchered weighed betwen 4-5 pounds dressed. We are gathering eggs now. Yesterday I found 5, which marks the most we have found thus far in a single day.

It is enjoyable to be able to tend some creatures and to use the land that God has given us to provide some of our food. I am elated that our kids have a chance to learn from these experiences that there is a reward for laboring with our hands.