These little guys however were not destined to be pets, they are destined for the freezer. And yes that sounds very harsh when they are such cute little fluff balls.
Originally "Bubble " was sitting on 6 eggs but one got broken and 3 were not fertile. So now we will have to wait for our other bantam to go clucky again because we really want about 10 chickens for the freezer.
We have been discussing the idea of raising meat chickens decided for a while now and have decided that now is the time to give it a go. We both like to eat meat and we believe that learning to raise and butcher our own chickens in an ethical way is a skill we should learn.
I grew up on a hobby farm and we used to butcher our own chickens and turkeys so I am not completely unfamiliar with the process but I am not sure that using an axe to remove heads is the method I want to use. I suspect it would not be the safest method and am concerned about it not being a clean kill so to speak.
I have been looking at different methods of butchering chickens and there seems to be a lot of information on the Internet but I would really love some thoughts from those of you who have undertaken this process before.
What method did you use?
Do you have any tips?
Hi Fiona - they are so cute. I'd never thought about bantams for meat birds. We did try (early on) with bought 'meat' chickens, but found they were too tough after scratching around so much. The only solution seemed to be locking them up more and we didn't like that idea. Maybe bantams would be more tender, not sure. (My Little Banty is such a good mum, I couldn't do that to her - and yes she def is Bubble's twin!)
ReplyDeleteRe the killing. I'm an absolute squib and DH does that - I won't even go close. Lately it's only if they have to be despatched for other reasons. I always call out 'be gentle' as he walks towards the chook pen with the axe .. lol.
Don't know if you watched the Gourmet Farmer series? If not, it's worth getting out on DVD (library). He has a good method which involves putting the head in a funnel and using a sharp knife. Yuck I know, but it is quick.
sorry for the ramble..... enjoying the rain?! cheers Wendy
Hi Wendy Yep the rain is driving us nuts! I should clarify these are full sized chickens being raised by our bantum. Yep have got the gormet Farmer DVD and that is the method I think I could use but I want to look at all my options.
DeleteWe don't have any birds but have been talking about it... Starting with laying hens and then eventually meat birds. I'm interested to see what you decide.
ReplyDeleteKathryn I will keep you posted
DeleteHi Fiona, we also plan on getting some chickens for meat too and my hubby has agreed he will be in charge of the messy side of it. It's not harsh - just part of the road to self-sufficiency, but I will have to try not to get attached to the meat chooks. Sorry I have no advice but the method mentioned above sounds quite good - The Gourmet Farmer can't be wrong! Good luck
ReplyDeletePs Congratulations on your year of Blogging - somehow missed that post xx
Mel it probaby be hubby who does the beheading but I am the one who will have to do the plucking and gutting.
DeleteI would love to get chooks some day, but all I have for now are childhood memories of headless chooks running around the yard after my uncle cut their heads off and me crying because I wasn't allowed to take one to school for show and tell !!
ReplyDeleteSL yep I have those memories too, minus the show and tell and tears
DeleteI'd love to do the chickens for meat thing too but just can't bring myself to go there yet...you are so sensible and brave though.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little too entrenched with them as pets now i think (as you saw on my last post, lol!)
I thought the Gourmet Farmer had lots of good tips around chickens too so perhaps worth a look.
Good luck...sorry your other bundle didn't make it!
Jode yes being attached is hard which is why these ones are going to be raised specifically for that purpose. That way we will not loose sight of the plan.
DeleteIts strange I eat chicken but I couldnt eat one that I saw running around. Is it really true that they still run around after their heads are off? The only chicken I see is in a package at the grocery store. New York US
ReplyDeleteLisa yes it is true that they run without their heads it is just the nerves. I will be posting be posting about this journey, don't worry i will warn you if the pictures are grafic.
Deletesuch an interesting post!! good luck! I am glad someone else does this stuff..my kids love chicken!
ReplyDeleteWe have layers and meat birds. And we're now in a place where we are ready to breed off the meat birds to get our freezer up and running. We will be using "the killing cone" after looking at all the options. The breed we are using for our meat are Light Sussex's and they are twice the size of our white leghorn layers.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't gone down this path yet, Fiona. I did happen to see a really interesting documentary a while back on ABC that featured 'the cone', as mentioned by others above.
ReplyDeleteIt looked like a humane way of dealing with the situation and was well thought out in regards to confinement and clean up.
Good luck - please keep us posted. :)