D-day minus 5

[Nicos]

*****DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU GET UPSET EASILY_ CONTAINS DETAILS OF SLAUGHTER *****

Not messy really- unless I missed something- cos she held them upside down together and fastened twine round their legs and hung them from a post. OH said they didn't move at all, just hanging upside down quietly and then she suddenly did the deed one immediately after the other- took about 3 secs to do them both and they flapped for about 10 secs and then the odd twitch.
( sorry folks if it's upsetting anyone)

Then after about 5 mins with a small pool of blood at the base of the post, she unhooked them and plunged them into very hot water. The feathers came off in hand fulls- no tugging at all except for the wing feathers.

OH said it was VERY quick and the birds were calm and quiet but he wants to look into the broom handle method next time ( about 4 months to find out more about it)

I'm very glad of the help-It's never nice having to kill a healthy animal...but i tell you what...not one bit of that bird will be wasted ( apart from the feathers this time)

And yup..I cried myself to sleep that night.

[MaureenHall]

Well done for crossing that hurdle Nicos. I've still got it to come, and although I'm fairly (well 99.9%) sure I couldn't do the deed and would have to get someone else to do it for me, including all the after messy bits, I'll grow on a chook for the pot. I hope you enjoy them

[frias]

Oh heck, I got upset just reading it and I would so love to let one of my girls hatch eggs the next time she goes broody.

[Hilary B]

WARNING NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH!!!!!



They flap. If there is a bleeding cut, the flapping can (and quite often does) produce a sort of random spraying effect. That is one thing to be wary of with the traditional or broomstick method. It is not unknown for a head to come off, and then it REALLY spatters blood everywhere. Shouldn't happen though, unless you pull MUCH too hard!

[HayleyB]

I think If I do this I'll go down the Nicos route and get Baz - my Next door neighbour farming old boy to do it in return for one

[MaureenHall]

Well did you have him for dinner then? And ........................... did he taste good?

[Nicos]

Well did you have him for dinner then? And ........................... did he taste good?

Actually nope- he's in the freezer!!!

Only cos we were told to let him rest for 3 days in the fridge to bring out the flavour ( is that about right????)
Then we had that heatwave and I couldn't face having the oven on heating the house- and we had visitors last weekend -so too selfish to share out his tiny contribution to the meal
Hopefully this weekend ..with home grown spuds and peas and carrots and courgettes- followed by mixed berry summerpudding ( using homemade brioche instead of bread) and cream.
Well that's the plan..supper for 2 with a nice bottle of something!
It'd be the first complete meal we'll have GYO !! ( maybe I could make yog instead of buying cream!)

[HayleyB]

Now that could explain sommat, I got 3 fresh (and I mean fresh) chook legs from the farm shop on Friday cooked it on Friday night and it tasted, umm, well, not right.... Hislordship and CB didn't eat theirs either. It wasn't under or over cooked it just tasted er, er, not right

[Nicos]

I wonder what Hugh FW suggests about the time left to 'mature'?????

[Hilary B]

When we kept chooks and reared meat cockerels (not many, it just didn't work out that way) they were often 'hung' for 48 hours, BEFORE 'dressing'. Sometimes we left plucking until then as well.