Be Ye Separate

Warning! Graphic photos on butchering

Blessings!

   Well, as promised, I finally compiled my photos together on our butchering day and wanted to post them before I completely forget:)

   These photos are really how it was done from start to practically finished so if you are squeamish, leave now. Otherwise, it's just another day on the farm:)

   The first thing to do is to calm the chicken before placing it in the killing cone. This does several things. It keeps the animal from bruising itself and even breaking bones both before and after it's been butchered.

   As I said before, we had never butchered this way before so I was really interested in trying it. I must say it was a lot less stressful for the people too:) In our old way we would simply swing the bird dizzy then place on a stump and swing the hatchet. This way is much calmer although a little more intensive.

   Once the animal is in the killing cone you have to find the arteries on both sides of the neck and cut carefully, as my friends husband is doing here (my friend is NOT hiding from it, she's calling to the children to bring another one over)The wheelbarrow of wood shavings soaks up the blood and makes for a much cleaner butchering. Once the arteries are cut (not as easy as it looks) with a VERY sharp knife, the animal simply bleeds out with very little movement. There are characteristics that happen throughout that you begin to notice as the butchering has a rythm to it.

   One must hold the animals feet until it stops moving which isn't as dramatic as when you butcher it on the stump. I found it to be much more tolerable and controlled.

   Once the bird is done it is taken to hang on the fence for about 10 minutes or so to finish draining. I was surprised at how little blood there was during the fencing time. The way the butchering is done makes it much cleaner, as I said before.:)Once the bird has hung long enough it is dipped in hot water (140*F) for 45 seconds to loosen the pin feathers and make plucking MUCH easier. You can see me on the right, sitting down (my legs were so tired) and miss Sarah on the left also sitting. Bending over that table to pluck is hard on the back:)(My friends best friend showed up to say hey for a few minutes as she was visiting folks in the area and she's from out of state):)

No one gets out of it...EVERYONE has a job to do:)Miss C taking birds to be put on fenceMiss C, catching up another one.Master W. and Miss M plucking away.Many hands make light work:)

Once the bird is plucked it's places in the bucket to the right in iced water to keep cool until the cleaner is able to get to it.

The gutting area is kept separate from the plucking area to keep it clean and rinsed at all times. From there it's packaged and thrown into the freezer:)

That's it! Easy as...well...plucking a chicken!:)

We will be doing it again soon as we still have another 34 chickens to go! It was a very productive and educational day for me. Next time I will try the butchering part. About the time I finally got the nerve to try it was over (isnt' that the way it always is?):P

All part of living a farmsteading life. The children are taught that food doesn't originate in the store, someone has to raise it, butcher it and package it. These children know it's a blessing to know exactly where the food came from, what it was fed and how it was treated during it's life.

The Lord provided us with such a bounty of resources for our sustenance and for this we are truly thankful:)

We'll be making soap again soon and I"ll post the process here when we are finished:)

God be with thee!

Sister Lori

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{ 08:30, Saturday, July 12, 2008 } { Posted by stitchnchick }

So nice to have all that help! We have yet to try it on our own, though both my husband and I have helped to process turkeys and have the basic knowledge of what to do. Someday, we'll get brave! :-)

Amy

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{ 13:03, Saturday, July 12, 2008 } { Posted by LivingSimple }

We have always butchered our own, but we too use the hatchet...This is a really neat and clean way to do it...the next batch we butcher we will try it this way...Next we want to try our hand at butchering our own pigs...We shall see..thanks for sharing.

~Kris

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{ 14:55, Saturday, July 12, 2008 } { Posted by haflinger }

Hi Sister Lori nice pictures.. That is alot of work.. We would take our to a buther house.. They do it sort of the same way but they put the chickens in a big drum and it spins fast then they come out and a butcher will cut the throat..
When we take them to the butcher they do it all even bag it.. U just bring cooler to take home they supply the ice...
Have a nice weekend..
Blessings SIster Brenda

Interesting Photos

{ 14:58, Sunday, July 13, 2008 } { Posted by ReginaS }

Wow I nenever thought about how much work went into buthchering chickens. Thanks for sharing and the devotion was great. I get the Beside the Still Waters and I just learn so much from it.

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{ 08:35, Friday, July 18, 2008 } { Posted by Jean8926 }

It sounds like you have the process down well! What a blessing to have that opportunity to get food and teach the children. I look forward to raising our own chickens for eggs and meat soon. My husband is going to build a coop so we can start out with a few and learn as we go. Do you have any suggestions for books to read to get started?
Jean Unger

~~~Blessings!
I was raised in the country where my parents did all this and the one book that I was given by them was the same one they began their homestead with was Raising Small Livestock. It was and is invaluable:)
Another book I picked up almost 30 years ago was The Manual of Practical Homesteading. Also invaluable:)
Both of the books were written at a time when homesteading was a movement not a "lifestyle" so much of what they offer are advice about homesteading in a natural environment (I'm an old hippy:P) Using natural resources, being organic and common sense approaches to it all.
If nothing else I highly recommend those two books. They are out of print but I find them now and then at second chance shops, used bookstores and have even seen them on paperbackbookswap.com now and then. I believe the library also carries them:)
Hope this helps...God be with thee!
Sister Lori


Edited by SisterLori on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 10:59