Processed first Rooster

[BarredBuff]

Easier that what I thought, but I would like some tips on processing faster. How can I pluck at a reasonable rate? Axe or hatchet better?(I used a hatchet and it took several licks) What is your routine when slaughtering?

 

[freemotion]

My dad puts them upside down in the cone (gallon plastic vinegar bottle cut) and feels the throat for the pulse, then cuts the carotid artery with a razor knife and they quietly bleed out..

 

[FarmerDenise]

razor knife sounds like a good way to go. I used a hatchet last time. Took more than one whack

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Did you use boiling water for the plucking?

I don't know how to make it go faster than that. I keep a kettle of boiling water and pour it over each area as I'm plucking. The feathers release really easily.

I'm going to have to try a razor knife too. I have the same problem with a hatchet.

 

[TanksHill]

Congratulations!! The plastic bottle sounds like a good trick. I think I am going to try a traffic cone when I finally man up.

g

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Woo!

I used a pair of pruning shears to lop off the head. Snip. Done.

This is a GREAT post on BYC that covers the whole shebang. Very detailed. Warning, it does have graphic pictures. http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=109583

 

[miss_thenorth]

I use one of those yellow exacto knives. for plucking, dip in hot, but not boiling water--I don't remember the temp right now-- for a few seconds and then pluck away. I have 6 roosters that need to go, and 9 old hens, but I am waiting for hubby to get my chicken plucker working. A friend gave us his old and I mean old, chicken plucker, but it needs a bit of work before I can use it.

 

[lorihadams]

We don't have a cone but we use a piece of conduit suspended between two boards and zip tie the feet together over the conduit so they hang. We do 6 at a time and lop the heads off with a really sharp hunting knife. Tried the jugular/carotid(sp?) artery thing and hated it.

My great granddaddy would pound two nails into a stump and place the head in between the two nails and pull gently by the feet and then hack the head off and stand back. That works too.

 

[TanksHill]

Woo!

I used a pair of pruning shears to lop off the head. Snip. Done.

This is a GREAT post on BYC that covers the whole shebang. Very detailed. Warning, it does have graphic pictures. http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=109583

That is the greatest step by step I have seen yet. Thanks for the link.

gina

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Heck yeah! Every one of that guy's tutorials are awesome.