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WARNING! Anyone of a nervous disposition turn away now!
Prepare for an epic!
I have been hatching eggs knowing full well that on average 50% will be cockerels.
Thats why I only hatch dual purpose breeds so that unwanted cockerels can be fattened up and used as table birds.
I have never killed a chicken in my life up until today!
I will run through the process so that anyone in a similar predicament to myself will have an idea of what to expect and try and give you an idea of my emotional state.
It has to be said that although I've never killed a chicken I've killed and prepared rabbits and also prepared pigeon, pheasant, ducks and geese.
First of all I must tell you that I have four cockerels which are surplus to requirements and aren't allowed at the allotments anyway (next to a housing estate.
All cockerels were born from a single hatch on 27th february this year. Only yellowlegs had started crowing to date and being that he was a big bird it was worth killing him and prepairing him for table use.
OH is still burying her head in the sand so won't have him to eat at home. Sunday is usually BBQ day at the allotments so the deed had to be done today.
First of all I placed a bin bag in a metal dustbin to take the feathers, entrails and head and wings.
Calmly went into the run and picked up yellowlegs and took him down the allotment away from the other birds. Took him into my shed and hung him upside down by his feet. He tried to rear up and peck me a few times but after 10 or 15 seconds hung limp with his head down. I then, whilst holding on to his feet with my left hand put my fingers around his neck and head with my right hand. He was very calm and placid at this time and so was I.
I then stretched his neck until I felt a pronounced snap then a bit more just to make sure. He started flapping but I just held him in this position for 20 second or so until he went limp. I now know that the extra pull after the snapped neck was unneccessary as I tore the skin on his neck and must have just stopped short of pulling his head off.
I am a fairly strong bloke and it still took quite a bit of effort on my behalf to achieve this.
Emotionally the only slight worry I had was that I hadn't killed him as his mouth was gaping with what I can only assume was a nervous reaction.
He died humanely and everything went according to plan so emotionally I was bereft of bad feeling at this time knowing I had done the right thing.
I hung him over the bin bag and proceded to pluck him as I had been told it was easier when he was warm. After plucking I cut off his head, wing ends and legs with a filleting knfe (it's all I had)
I then cut a slit at his back end and pulled out the majority of his entrails. I then turned him breast down and cut lengthwise down either side of his backbone and took this out with the neck. I must have been feeding him too well as there was a thick layer of fat which I removed.
I then turned the carcass over breast facing up and pressed down to flatten him out in a butterfly shape.
I cut along the back of the keel bone and took this keelbone/cartilage out. I then split him in half and have two good sized pieces each incorporating a breast a leg and wing.
I then cleaned our ant gummins that were left inside, trimmed the fat and skin around the edge, pulled out a few remaining pin feathers with pliers and rinsed each half under the tap.
I had some salt at the allotment so rubbed that into the skin and bagged both halves into a sealed plastic bag ready for the barbie tomorrow.
I bundled the bag of feathers and other waste products into my wood burning stove and with plenty of logs added had a really hot burn which will get rid of everything.
I then had a thought..........I have a full herb bed at the allotment so gathered some lemon balm,rosemary, sage ,thyme and oregano and added all this to the plastic bag with the chicken in and shook it all up. After sealing bag I locked it in a sealed cupboard I have in greenhouse and left it to marinade over night.
For being such a young bird he had a lot of meat on him which should be very tasty.
I still have no remorse and just look on it as something which I had planned but wasn't sure I could carry out. I sometimes think we are all more hardened than we give ourselves credit for. His mates don't seem affected by him not being there, in fact I think they appear to be a little bit more laid back without him bullying and crowing.
I now feel much better about hatching eggs as I know I can give both hens and cockerels a good life and get eggs and a chicken dinner out of it at the end.
Prepare for an epic!
I have been hatching eggs knowing full well that on average 50% will be cockerels.
Thats why I only hatch dual purpose breeds so that unwanted cockerels can be fattened up and used as table birds.
I have never killed a chicken in my life up until today!
I will run through the process so that anyone in a similar predicament to myself will have an idea of what to expect and try and give you an idea of my emotional state.
It has to be said that although I've never killed a chicken I've killed and prepared rabbits and also prepared pigeon, pheasant, ducks and geese.
First of all I must tell you that I have four cockerels which are surplus to requirements and aren't allowed at the allotments anyway (next to a housing estate.
All cockerels were born from a single hatch on 27th february this year. Only yellowlegs had started crowing to date and being that he was a big bird it was worth killing him and prepairing him for table use.
OH is still burying her head in the sand so won't have him to eat at home. Sunday is usually BBQ day at the allotments so the deed had to be done today.
First of all I placed a bin bag in a metal dustbin to take the feathers, entrails and head and wings.
Calmly went into the run and picked up yellowlegs and took him down the allotment away from the other birds. Took him into my shed and hung him upside down by his feet. He tried to rear up and peck me a few times but after 10 or 15 seconds hung limp with his head down. I then, whilst holding on to his feet with my left hand put my fingers around his neck and head with my right hand. He was very calm and placid at this time and so was I.
I then stretched his neck until I felt a pronounced snap then a bit more just to make sure. He started flapping but I just held him in this position for 20 second or so until he went limp. I now know that the extra pull after the snapped neck was unneccessary as I tore the skin on his neck and must have just stopped short of pulling his head off.
I am a fairly strong bloke and it still took quite a bit of effort on my behalf to achieve this.
Emotionally the only slight worry I had was that I hadn't killed him as his mouth was gaping with what I can only assume was a nervous reaction.
He died humanely and everything went according to plan so emotionally I was bereft of bad feeling at this time knowing I had done the right thing.
I hung him over the bin bag and proceded to pluck him as I had been told it was easier when he was warm. After plucking I cut off his head, wing ends and legs with a filleting knfe (it's all I had)
I then cut a slit at his back end and pulled out the majority of his entrails. I then turned him breast down and cut lengthwise down either side of his backbone and took this out with the neck. I must have been feeding him too well as there was a thick layer of fat which I removed.
I then turned the carcass over breast facing up and pressed down to flatten him out in a butterfly shape.
I cut along the back of the keel bone and took this keelbone/cartilage out. I then split him in half and have two good sized pieces each incorporating a breast a leg and wing.
I then cleaned our ant gummins that were left inside, trimmed the fat and skin around the edge, pulled out a few remaining pin feathers with pliers and rinsed each half under the tap.
I had some salt at the allotment so rubbed that into the skin and bagged both halves into a sealed plastic bag ready for the barbie tomorrow.
I bundled the bag of feathers and other waste products into my wood burning stove and with plenty of logs added had a really hot burn which will get rid of everything.
I then had a thought..........I have a full herb bed at the allotment so gathered some lemon balm,rosemary, sage ,thyme and oregano and added all this to the plastic bag with the chicken in and shook it all up. After sealing bag I locked it in a sealed cupboard I have in greenhouse and left it to marinade over night.
For being such a young bird he had a lot of meat on him which should be very tasty.
I still have no remorse and just look on it as something which I had planned but wasn't sure I could carry out. I sometimes think we are all more hardened than we give ourselves credit for. His mates don't seem affected by him not being there, in fact I think they appear to be a little bit more laid back without him bullying and crowing.
I now feel much better about hatching eggs as I know I can give both hens and cockerels a good life and get eggs and a chicken dinner out of it at the end.
So bang goes that then! Hope you enjoy him tomorrow.
We've got a monsoon here, hope you get better weather.
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