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Author Topic: I managed it!  (Read 8354 times)

melodrama

  • Joined Jun 2011
    • Forfar
I managed it!
« on: September 20, 2011, 02:27:05 pm »
I did my first chicken kill today.  From our Hubbards, there were 2 males that I thought looked about right, had a friend come to show me the right way on one bird and then I did the other myself.  I plucked and gutted one and plucked the other which is still hanging.  I was feeling so nervous about it this morning and woke up early worrying.  thankfully I think I managed very well, it was clean and quick (the killing not the cleaning). On the first one I ripped the skin  >:(  when plucking but managed not to on the other.  I am very pleased with myself as it was the quick killing that was making me nervous as I didn't want to cause undue stress or pain to the bird.  I think I achieved that and am now looking forward to cooking them up and tasting them.  They weighted out at about 4lbs 11 -5lbs.  As i am a first timer can you guys please tell me if that is decent enough?  The girls are a little smaller so am going to give them a few more weeks.  Thank you.
Melanie
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melodrama

  • Joined Jun 2011
    • Forfar
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2011, 02:30:55 pm »
should have mentioned that was the dressed weight (though Im sure you all guessed) x
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Miss Piggy

  • Joined Mar 2011
    • Cardigan Bay, Ceredigion
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2011, 02:47:03 pm »
Well done Melanie, you've just achieved what I hope to do in the near future, probably next spring. I'm nervous and havnt even got the birds yet. Sorry cant help on the weight but sounds not bad to me. Hope they taste divine. At least you know they have had a healthy happy life. :thumbsup: :chook:
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Bright Raven

  • Joined May 2010
    • North Shropshire
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #3 on: September 20, 2011, 03:13:39 pm »
The weight is about the same as mine. You should feel really proud of yourself. Now you get to enjoy the taste of real chicken.
The meat will be much more dense than supermarket offerings, even the free range stuff. I also think there is more colour in the brown meat which tastes quite different from the white. Don't forget to boil up the bones for soup stock. Well done!

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Julia xxx 3 acres and a day job!!!! Chickens, Turkeys, Sheep, Pigs, Veggies and Homebrew. Husband, son, pets, chutney and music.
If I am here it's because I am putting my feet up!

jaykay

  • Joined Aug 2012
    • Cumbria/N Yorks border
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #4 on: September 20, 2011, 05:26:24 pm »
Well done! It's never a nice job but knowing you can do it efficiently takes away a lot of the stress.
My dual-purpose (Sussex & Wyandotte) cockerels kill out betWeen 41/2 and 5 lbs and I think that's fine  :)

The meat is wonderful - much 'gamier' than supermarket cottonwool chicken  ;D
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SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
    • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #5 on: September 20, 2011, 07:28:50 pm »
Well done Melanie. 

Quite a lot of you are too young to know - but what they taste like is WHAT CHICKEN USED TO TASTE LIKE WHEN I WERE A GAL!

There, I've said it.  Who cares, police officers have looked like schoolkids for years now.
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Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
    • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #6 on: September 20, 2011, 07:56:10 pm »
Don't let the hens run on too long or they will get fat and you'll be removing lumps of yellow fat from inside the body cavity (hope no-one's eating scrambled eggs for tea  :o). Also our last ones were laying at 13 weeks and that didn't make cleaning them very pleasant.

I'm sure you will enjoy proper chicken, though.
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Greenerlife

  • Joined Mar 2009
    • Leafy Surrey
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #7 on: September 20, 2011, 08:02:19 pm »
Well done!  not sure if I could actually do it myself.
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knightquest

  • Joined May 2010
    • Birmingham
    • Knight Pet Supplies
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #8 on: September 20, 2011, 08:24:24 pm »

Well done Melodrama  :trophy: Very impressed.

Quote from: SallyintNorth on September 20, 2011, 07:28:50 pm
Well done Melanie. 

Quite a lot of you are too young to know - but what they taste like is WHAT CHICKEN USED TO TASTE LIKE WHEN I WERE A GAL!

There, I've said it.  Who cares, police officers have looked like schoolkids for years now.

That is such a funny post!

Ian
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Ian (me), Diane (my wife) and 4 dogs. Ollie (Lab mix) , Quest (Malamute), Gazer and Boris (Leonbergers)

Dizzycow

  • Joined Dec 2010
    • Fife
  • .
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #9 on: September 20, 2011, 08:51:15 pm »
Well done, I'm impressed!
What method did you use? I'm very cross that I can't bring myself to do the job.
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jaykay

  • Joined Aug 2012
    • Cumbria/N Yorks border
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #10 on: September 20, 2011, 09:48:52 pm »
I wring (pull and twist actually) cockerels necks and use a broomstick for drakes and ganders.
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melodrama

  • Joined Jun 2011
    • Forfar
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #11 on: September 21, 2011, 08:59:39 am »
I dislocated the neck and then cut the arteries.  It wasn't nice, as you would expect, but at least I knew it was quick and clean and they didn't really know what has happening to them.  My daughters birthday is on Thursday so we are having friends over for our official tasting  ;D
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Sylvia

  • Joined Aug 2009
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #12 on: September 21, 2011, 10:19:20 am »
I've been killing my own poultry  for about forty five years and I still have to steel myself and have a large brandy beforehand :chook: :chook:
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CrunchyKat

  • Joined Jul 2011
    • Gower
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #13 on: September 21, 2011, 10:51:33 am »
Well done :thumbsup:
 So far I have dispatched 2 cockerels and 2 ducks, all with a broomstick. It's not a pleasant job but the first was definitely the worst.
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Buff Orpingtons, French Copper Black Marans, Light Sussex, Black Rock, husband x 1, children x 6, cats x 2

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
    • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: I managed it!
« Reply #14 on: September 21, 2011, 11:26:50 am »
When you start to enjoy it, it's time to stop IMHO  :)
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