Killed My Meat Birds

[krawnden 1,036]

Apologies in advance for the hideous formatting of this post. Something to do with me not resizing the photos properly. So bear with me!

 

I've just killed my meat birds at exactly 100 days old. Had 15, smallest hen dressed out at 5lb 10oz, largest cockerel at 9lb 4oz. Average weight was 7lb 11oz and the cost per bird all in (cost of chick, chick crumb and all feed) worked out at £6.72. So less than £1/lb for free range birds with terrific flavour.

 

To start out I stun them with a sharp whack to the head then upside down into a traffic cone so their head hangs out the bottom. Then cut their throat and bleed them into a bucket underneath -

Wood shavings in the bucket and spread all around on the floor to soak up the blood.

 

Then I scald them in a metal dustbin with a fire underneath. I hang a sugar thermometer into the water so I can make sure the temperature stays correct - too hot and you'll cook em, too cold and the feathers won't loosen enough. You can see where I've put a mark on the thermometer to show me exactly where it should be. This picture was taken after I was all finished, by which time the temp was falling.

Once scalded hang them up over a builders bag strung up to keep it open. They don't take long to pluck completely. Me and the Mrs do the job together and all in from start to finish I reckon it takes a couple of hours to kill, scald and pluck 15. End result at that point -

Next step is to remove the feet. You can just cut them off but if you do that you're left with a leg full of tendons which I hate. Better to pull the feet off and pull the tendons out with them. I cut the leg about 1cm below where the feathers stop just to break the skin, then crack the leg at that point -

Now get a loop of binder twine, feed one end through itself and put the foot through the noose you've created. Now pull it really tight so the twine gets wedged right into the gap you opened up on the leg -

Hang the bird up by the one leg. Here you can see what happens if the twine slips out of the gap you made in the leg. If this happens slide the twine back down into the gap and pull really tight to make sure it's forced tightly into the gap.

 

Now get an old towel, wrap it round the leg and pull down. Make sure you pull straight down, completely perpendicular. And don't yank - pull steadily and just keep pulling with more and more force until the bird just comes completely free of the foot, leaving the foot (with all tendons attached) hanging from your hook -

 

When you've done them both the bird will end up looking something like this -

 

Once you're all done you'll have a big pile of feet, all with tendons attached -

Don't chuck em away - they make great scooby snacks for the mutts.

 

Then off with the heads, gut and bag up for the freezer. Job's a goodun.

 

 

[Guest Navek]

Good do that mate I Do pheasant legs exactly the same

[Lenmcharristar 9,183]

good job mate, what kind of breed did you use for meat???

[jonah. 775]

Top job, like the way you've dealt with the tendons.

[krawnden 1,036]

good job mate, what kind of breed did you use for meat???

 

I get day old JA787 from Poulet Anglais in Spilsby. They're similar to a Ross Cobb but don't go off their legs like the Ross Cobbs do. I used to keep them longer - probably about another 35 days, killing them just before Christmas. Found by doing that they really pile on the weight, with the hens averaging around 8lb but quite a few to 9lb, and the cockerels anywhere from 10 - 14lb. But one of my kids has gone off to Uni and the other one's become a vegetarian so it seemed pointless growing them on as big as that this time. There's only so much chicken me and the Mrs can eat between us!

[Chicken_man 1,651]

Good post that! Step by step, you can't go wrong. Used to keep turkeys and did them in much the same way. Do you string/tie/ dress for the oven?

Atb

[krawnden 1,036]

Chicken_man - no, I've never bothered tying them.

[Chicken_man 1,651]

Ok mate! Just wondered.

Atb

[Lenmcharristar 9,183]

 

good job mate, what kind of breed did you use for meat???

 

I get day old JA787 from Poulet Anglais in Spilsby. They're similar to a Ross Cobb but don't go off their legs like the Ross Cobbs do. I used to keep them longer - probably about another 35 days, killing them just before Christmas. Found by doing that they really pile on the weight, with the hens averaging around 8lb but quite a few to 9lb, and the cockerels anywhere from 10 - 14lb. But one of my kids has gone off to Uni and the other one's become a vegetarian so it seemed pointless growing them on as big as that this time. There's only so much chicken me and the Mrs can eat between us!

thanks mate

[CHEVINFOX 3,537]

has anyone tried one of these https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC051HphyvY

[keepdiggin 9,223]

forget the dogs chicken feet are lovely

[krawnden 1,036]

has anyone tried one of these https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC051HphyvY

A few years ago I seriously contemplated making something similar but never got round to it. This looks a cheaper way of doing it from what I had in mind. Maybe I'll give it a go for next time....

[Rabid 1,936]

Very good post, I spent years doing my birds tendons like that, until I was lucky enough to get a puller, love the idea of the washer/plucker, but I can imaging it would fair knock the bird about, looks almost too easy to be that simple with no problems.

 

Always looking for new ideas, with about 30 meats to do, and now another 27 turkeys, I must love work.

 

How do you guys go about the scalding, temps etc, as I have never tried it but heard it makes a huge difference.

[krawnden 1,036]

Water needs to be between about 62 - 68 degrees C, hence the sugar thermometer to make sure it doesn't get too hot or cold. I use a dustbin stood over a fire. If you start with cold water it'll take a couple of hours to get up to temperature. But much faster if you use hot water to begin with. You want the bin about 2/3rds full of water, though if you're doing really big turkeys you might need a bit more. But don't overfill or the water displacement as you dunk the bird will flow over the top of the bin and put your fire out! Hold the bird upside down and completely submerge it so all the feathers are in the water. Waggle it about a bit and after 20 - 30 seconds or so lift the bird out and try pulling one of the primary wing feathers. If it slides out really easily it's ready. If it doesn't slide out easily, dunk it for a bit longer till it does. Then hang the bird up and vigorously rub up and down with both hands - loads of feathers will come out in the first few seconds. Then just pull off whatever's left in great handfuls. It's ridiculously quick compared to dry plucking by hand. The finished product won't look as 'pristine', so if you're selling your birds you might want to just try it out with one or two beforehand to see what you think. But once it's cooked you can't possibly tell the difference. For me, only doing them for home consumption, it's a complete no-brainer doing it this way. Dry plucking by hand would take waaay longer.

[Teckers 615]

Would that temperature be the same when doing ducks krawnden? cheers