Dispatching order of sequence please

[Munch]

Hi have read so much on dispatching I think I know how to do pretty much all of it but what I am unsure of is when you drain the blood.

Is this done during hanging or dressing.

I know this maybe a little bit of a silly question to most but we are only a couple of days away from our first dispatch and we need to be confident we are getting it right.

1. Dispatch (obviously!)
2. pluck? how long after
3. Hang? how long for, with feathers or without, drain blood or not?
4. Dress
5. nom nom!

I hope you can shed some light.

Thank you x

[OverWyreGrower]

When we've done turkeys, we have slaughtered, plucked warm - whilst the blood is draining - and then hung. We hang the turkeys for a week, but I suspect chickens you may only need to hang for a day or 2?

Dress after hanging then freeze/eat etc

We let the carcasses drip into a tray/box filled with sawdust, then it can be tipped fairly neatly into a binbag....

[Nicos]

This is what I do.....

Dispatch - then drain blood immediately

Plucking is easier when the bird is still warm- you can plunge it into hot water prior to plucking for a couple of minutes. I find this makes plucking much easier.

I draw/dress the bird straight after plucking- and then leave in the fridge for about 3 days before freezing ( I've never quite felt like eating them so soon after 'doing' them)

Peeps do things different ways- so you're going to get a selection of methods on here!

Best wishes on the first time- it DOES get a bit easier- but it's never nice. ( until you eat them!)

( make sure you have a VERY sharp knife- it makes the whole process quicker)

[OverWyreGrower]

( make sure you have a VERY sharp knife- it makes the whole process quicker)

An absolute must!!

[Glutton4...]

We wrapped a little kitchen towel around the head, and tied a plastic bag over them, as soon as they were dead. Then plucked them straight away, whilst warm. They were rigid by the time we'd finished, so we hung them until they relaxed, then fridge/freezer/pot, as required.

Didn't fancy wet plucking, as my Dad had advised me it far more messy.

Also, just as a matter of interest. My Dad has despatched dozens of game birds in his life, but said the cockerels were the hardest he had ever done by hand, and he is strong. Keep a cleaver handy at despatch time, just in case...

[Munch]

Thanks everyone.

Im now having a minor panic (not unheard of for me )

I dont know where to hang, I was thinking my basement as it is cold and dark, will that do, dont have an old fridge..... barely have a fridge big enough as it is!

Will the basement do?

[OverWyreGrower]

Ours hang in the garage, on a rigged up pole over a couple of pairs of ladders....

[Munch]

Thanks, phew........... so much to do and so little time.... he is making a blinkin racket!

We have seperated him from the girls and he is not happy about it! He is in a small run in the same enclosure but we have made it so he cant see them! Cock a blinkin doo!! all the time, I can hear him up the road! lol

[RichmondHens]

Anywhere cool will do. If you are worried about flies, put them in a black bin bag first and make sure there are no gaps where you tie the bag up that flies can get in.

[Snadger]

Before dispatching I set up a metal bin I have at the allotment and line it with a bin bag. Pluck the bird whilst it is still warm and do the extremities like wings/legs/neck first as these areas cool down fastest leaving the breast and back til last. The plucking is done over the bin bag and the head,feet and innards go in as well. Its then an easy matter to dispose of.

[jessmorris]

Hi Munch,
I take my boys out of the coop for dispatching at night, when they are supposedly relaxed, also so I don't alarm the other birds.

Be careful when you gut the birds that you don't pierce the gut near the vent when you cut around around the vent. You also need to loosen the windpipe etc from the neck so you can pull it out from the body cavity. I've only drawn bantams and boy do you need small hands! The fresh livers are good quicly fried in butter!

Good luck! I've only dispatched 3 birds, plucked one, gutted two and butchered two, so only a beginner. The killing does get easier, the more organised you are, the easier it is. They flap like buggery, and we had one that ran about headless, but I think this is rare!

Best of luck,
JM