With the Whiz Bang Chicken Plucker built and operational, it was time to start thinning the flock. Ultimately, we eliminated almost half our existing flock without decreasing overall winter egg production. Some of our oldest chickens, and thus the ones who laid the fewest eggs, were among the first to be captured.
These three hens have been tried and sentenced to death. They are awaiting execution in their shared cell. They know their time is short, and try to escape every time the executioner opens the cell door. However, only one successfully makes good on the attempt. The rest meet their fate and the executioner's axe.
Once beheaded, I hold the chickens over a bucket to collect the blood. Always good to drain them before moving on to the next step.
Here, you can see the entire set-up, including the chicken plucker off to the left side. Notice the guineas in the background serving as witnesses for the executions.
The deceased is submerged in water that has been heated to 150 degrees Fahrenheit for scalding, making the feathers much easier to remove. They are kept submerged for about forty-five seconds.
Then, into the chicken plucker they go, to spin at high speeds while the rubber fingers remove the softened feathers. Within thirty seconds, the chicken is naked and ready for butchering.
As you can see, the chicken plucker does an excellent job of removing the feathers. Just look at that chicken now.
Finally, dad dices and slices the chicken, removing the entrails, feet, and neck to leave us with a ready-to-cook whole chicken that we freeze. Since these chickens are nearing a year old, they are tougher than store bought chicken. Store bought chickens only reach their sixth week of life before they go through this process. Since we wanted the eggs, our chickens are older and tougher, therefore must be cooked either in a crock pot all day or put into soup.
Some of the hens still possess eggs that are in various stages of life. Most of our hens had approximately a dozen eggs in production. As you can see here, they are of varying sizes, from tiny little blips to fully formed eggs already shelled. This chicken would have laid an egg that day.
Whenever we butcher chickens, though, we end up with a bucket full of offal, unused chicken parts. Lovely, aren't they?
I've made a few of the chickens already. This was the first one, which I simmered in the crock pot for about ten hours with carrots, celery, and spices. It turned out quite well and wasn't tough at all. For better presentation, here it is on a plate.
Nice and tasty. Well, that is our chicken butchering process. Hopefully it didn't tax your digestive system too much and you were able to keep your dinner down. Until next time, stay green!
These three hens have been tried and sentenced to death. They are awaiting execution in their shared cell. They know their time is short, and try to escape every time the executioner opens the cell door. However, only one successfully makes good on the attempt. The rest meet their fate and the executioner's axe.
Once beheaded, I hold the chickens over a bucket to collect the blood. Always good to drain them before moving on to the next step.
Here, you can see the entire set-up, including the chicken plucker off to the left side. Notice the guineas in the background serving as witnesses for the executions.
The deceased is submerged in water that has been heated to 150 degrees Fahrenheit for scalding, making the feathers much easier to remove. They are kept submerged for about forty-five seconds.
Then, into the chicken plucker they go, to spin at high speeds while the rubber fingers remove the softened feathers. Within thirty seconds, the chicken is naked and ready for butchering.
As you can see, the chicken plucker does an excellent job of removing the feathers. Just look at that chicken now.
Finally, dad dices and slices the chicken, removing the entrails, feet, and neck to leave us with a ready-to-cook whole chicken that we freeze. Since these chickens are nearing a year old, they are tougher than store bought chicken. Store bought chickens only reach their sixth week of life before they go through this process. Since we wanted the eggs, our chickens are older and tougher, therefore must be cooked either in a crock pot all day or put into soup.
Some of the hens still possess eggs that are in various stages of life. Most of our hens had approximately a dozen eggs in production. As you can see here, they are of varying sizes, from tiny little blips to fully formed eggs already shelled. This chicken would have laid an egg that day.
Whenever we butcher chickens, though, we end up with a bucket full of offal, unused chicken parts. Lovely, aren't they?
I've made a few of the chickens already. This was the first one, which I simmered in the crock pot for about ten hours with carrots, celery, and spices. It turned out quite well and wasn't tough at all. For better presentation, here it is on a plate.
Nice and tasty. Well, that is our chicken butchering process. Hopefully it didn't tax your digestive system too much and you were able to keep your dinner down. Until next time, stay green!
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