On Thursday I slaughtered chickens for the first time! I'm wishing I'd taken my camera because my family likes gross things like that. My chiropractor told me he had six roosters that he needed to get rid of, and didn't have room in his freezer for them, did we want them. So Jason and I went over (he lives just across the highway from us) Thursday night expecting to just pick them up. Well, they weren't dead yet. They were just 6 or 8 weeks old. It takes that long to tell if they're male or female, I guess, and too many roosters in one yard cause problems. His daughter caught them in a big net. Then he showed Jason how to hold it by its feet, put his foot on its head, and pull the head off. Then they just threw the body off to the side to let if flop around and bleed out, and threw the heads to the dog. Ew. They finished catching and killing (I couldn't do that part) and then he showed me how to skin them (Jason couldn't do that part, so we make a great team). It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was kind of like skinning a chicken from the store, except that the skin was covered with feathers, it was warm, and the skin actually comes off more easily. And the guts are still inside. That was gross. After we skinned them, his daughter (she's 12) did the gutting. She's been doing it her whole life, and likes that part for some weird reason. There wasn't as much blood as I thought there would be. It wasn't bad. And we took home 6 fresh tiny young chickens. I haven't cooked them yet. I've been told by lots of people that fresh young chicken is the best, and there's a noticeable difference from store chicken. It'll take 3 of them to feed us, they're so small. I'm looking forward to it!
-Mindy
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9 comments:
Yick! There's something I'm just not sure I could do unless I was starving to death. I had a hard time eating Dummy and I didn't even see him slaughtered -- just the thought of knowing them alive... Kind of a cool memory, though, if you can do it!
Now speaking of that chiropractor...does he have you less crooked yet?
Reminds me of my youth -- only we did it differently.
When I was in the 56h-7th grades, my Dad -- still a farmer at heart -- raised at least 50 chicks, sometimes more than that. He built a brooder and we watched them grow to maturity.
Then, it was my job (age 11-13) to chop their heads off with an axe. As Mindy describes it, the bodies were then thrown aside to let them flop all over the place.
But, since our chickens were older than the ones Mindy describes, we had to pluck them. If you have never smelled a dead chicken that has been dipped in a 50-gallon drum full of boiling water, and then had to pull those hot, wet smelly feathers off, you have never lived. I must confess that I am not ungrateful that we don't have to do that today.
But, my Mom would sear the chicken meat in a frying pan then bottle the meat and process it in a pressure cooker. There is no better tasting meat anywhere. I loved it.
Our next door neighbor does the same thing... I dont know if I could do it though. very cool experience. :)
Oh, Wow! That's kinda yucky, but a great experience! I would love to know how to prepare a chicken like this, just in case I ever have to do it. Did the kids help?
Yes, I'm straight now. Still have some pain, but I'm fully functional.
Jonah went with us, but he just played with the live animals. He didn't mind watching though. But as I said, the Dr.'s daughter helped. I should take the kids if we ever do it again so they can learn.
Wait, no pictures?
I know! I'm sorry! I'll take pictures next time.
If you guys want alot of fun, try skinning a Prairie Grouse. You cut their head off and they RUN! I had to chase one all the way to the creek (about three blocks from the house) before it fell over and started kicking like the chickens do. But i will have to agree with Grandpa, all birds with feathers still attched stink in boiling water. Kinda like boiling Squirrel or Rabbit to get the meat off the bones for dumplins but thats another story.
oh keith. you better watch out. Your countriness is showing. hahaha :)
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