Butchering
This picture was rigged for dramatic effect, and I thought it was funny.
This picture was rigged for dramatic effect, and I thought it was funny.Butchering, a pretty picture it does not make. But would look good on the cover of a horror novel. When it comes to butchering your bird, there is relatively few tools involved. Your hands will be important in many different aspects, from catching to the actual butcher, be it done by hand or man made objects.
For the process you will also need rope, and a high enough place to allow your bird to bleed out. We use a tree. A machete, or hatchet can be used. A board, or in our case a piece of railroad tie that has two nails hammered in about 2 inches apart. The most important of all your tools, nerves.
Dressing out/processing your birds.
Depending on the size of your bird you will need either a large garbage can (only thing that would hold our turkey)
or a large pot.
Water and a heat source are needed. Also a place to dress out the bird, such as a tarp on a table
or in the case of our ducks and chickens, a trash bag and a piece of ground. (Another thing on our list to build is a slaughtering house) running water and a hose should be close by. A pair of excellent field shears and knife. Pliers, small torch, instructions if it your first time, a husband or male that is willing to do the dirty work for you, and a stomach made of steel.Storing is a matter of cooking and eating, canning or wrapping for the freezer.
For more on how-to do these things, read Butchering your Rooster, Butchering your Ducks, and Butchering your Turkey.
And please, I already know all the arguments against eating meat, remember I was a vegan for a very long time. So please, no outlandish comments about how evil I am.
Also I am requesting that my fellow homesteaders that blog to please write a list of tools that you use for butchering and dressing out the type of livestock that you keep. Tim, looking at you for rabbits. It doesn't need to be a how-to, just a list of tools, for this is my limit on butchering. Please leave a comment here with the link, thank you.
8 comments:
Phelan I will do a post soon to help you out since we will be butchering a few roosters. But as a quick "aside" here---we don't worry about the feathers. We don't eat skin---so we strip the whole thing off, feathers and all, and throw it in the compost pile. Easy schmeezy.
Monica
Yeah I do the same thing. Hang it up by the feet, and strip 'er down. Very easy.
Thamk you Monica.
hands hands handsy Tim.
I was completely grossed out the first time we did chickens. Tim gave me the holding job while he did the chopping. One got away from me after the chop. YUCK! I don't normally think of myself as having a weak stomach, but I am sure glad Tim does all this work! :)
About the tools for rabbits he uses pretty much the same tools as with the chickens. The only thing different I can think is that he place a small board between the hind legs to keep them spread to make the work easier.
To make it easier to cut heads off I had a board 3 feet long with 2 one penny nails in it a little over midway to the top, wide enough for neck to lay in and body to stay below.I would then place a loop around birds neck, stretch neck and whack. Oh yea the feet are tied too. MOst times I had someone hold feet to help stretch neck and to keep bird from flopping.
Thank you Stephanie. A friend of mine that does rabits explained to me in detail how to kill and skin a rabbit using only your hands. hhmmmm...
Celeste, that is similar to what we use.
nt, we haven't found it too be to messy, gutting is what gets us dirty. I do not leave the skin on because of starage and how some of my chickens will be prepared. If a plan on canning, like I do the bannies, then I do not pluck.
I bought my husband a caponizing kit last Christmas. ( I am just so romantic that way) We have yet to do it. He is a little concerned about death of the bird. The books make it sound so easy, but they do that with most things. I was ready to burn the book when we dressed out a turkey for the first time.
I don't remember the brand I bought, I purchased it from the McMurray Hatchery. It came with a disposable scapel, that annoyed me. For the amount it costs, nothing should be disposable. I have thought about contacting the local extension office and see if anyone there could teach me how to correctly sex and caponize birds. The sexing thing is ridiculous. There are so many ways to do it, yet none of them seem to be working for us. I thought about just buying sex linked birds to make my life easier. But what fun would that be?
If you do get someone to explain it, and you do accomplish it successfully, please, notes and photos (Photos always help if you can't be there in person)
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