Nervous Novice - Butchering advice?

[joone]

Hi! I'm new to raising birds for meat and am wanting to butcher my first batch of chickens soon. I've done a lot of reading and research (including on this forum!) and am determined to do this, but am still pretty nervous -- I've not butchered an animal before (besides an emergency cull of a bird that was suffering), and I want to make sure the process is as painless as possible for the birds. I do know that I prefer chopping the head off as opposed to slicing or breaking the neck.

So things I have questions about:

1. Does anyone have any advice for dealing with nerves?
2. How do I keep the bird from flapping around/its neck stretched out so that I can make this a simpler process? (On the emergency cull I stuffed it into a bag, but my partner had to hold it for me -- I guess I want to know how I can make this a one-person job).
3. I don't have a ton of muscle -- is there a particular axe/hatchet/machete brand that has a good weight to help with the cut and is easily sharpened? Bonus points if it comes sharpened (used a small hatchet before and it was. Not a good experience and the blade was impossible to get/keep sharp).
4. Any recommendations for sharpeners and processing knives/equipment?
5. Not a concern now because it is cold where I live -- but how do you keep flies away when processing during warmer months?

Thank you for any and all help you can give!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Does anyone have any advice for dealing with nerves?

Nerves is mainly about the unknown. My suggestion here is to practice so you have confidence you can do it. Maybe get a length of old hose to practice cutting.

How do I keep the bird from flapping around/its neck stretched out so that I can make this a simpler process? (On the emergency cull I stuffed it into a bag, but my partner had to hold it for me -- I guess I want to know how I can make this a one-person job).

That's not nearly as bad as you imagine. Hold the feet with one hand and the hatchet in the other. m Just lay the bird down, it will probably get real calm quickly. One trick I've learned is to drive two large nails in the wood at a 45 degree angle. maybe 3/4" apart at the base and 1-1/2" or so apart at the top. Gently lay the head/neck in there and gently stretch it out. Do not pull hard at all. This is more to hold the head still than to stretch the neck though you get some of that. Again, practice this ahead of time with a live chicken. You'll see how easy it is.

After the head is removed it will flap around but that's just an involuntary reaction.

1. I don't have a ton of muscle -- is there a particular axe/hatchet/machete brand that has a good weight to help with the cut and is easily sharpened? Bonus points if it comes sharpened (used a small hatchet before and it was. Not a good experience and the blade was impossible to get/keep sharp).

You don't need a ton of muscle and the implement does not need to be heavy. A little lighter is probably good so you can control it. An axe is probably too heavy to handle with one hand, a machete is probably awkward because of the length unless you are really used to handling them. I use a hatchet I already had but I can sharpen it with a file. If you are buying something a meat cleaver like butchers use might be a good idea.

One of the tricks with this is that you want to cut into the grain of the wood, not across it. If you use the top of a stump the blade will dig down into the wood so it goes all the way through the neck. If you cut into the side of a log or sawn lumber it can bounce instead of sink in. You often do not remove the head. You will probably kill it but it is not as clean.

Any recommendations for sharpeners and processing knives/equipment?

I don't have a make and model handy but I use a knife with a replaceable blade. You can sharpen the blades but I don't want to do that while I'm butchering. If you search for knives hunters use to clean and skin deer you can get some options.

One very handy piece of equipment I use is a set of poultry shears where I cut into bone. I cut mine into pieces while I process so I have several cuts like that. If you are keeping the carcass whole you won't have many, maybe just cutting the feet off. The poultry shears sure helps keep my knife sharper.

1. Not a concern now because it is cold where I live -- but how do you keep flies away when processing during warmer months

With my set-up that's not much of a problem. I don't have a lot of flies around where I raise or butcher them. Flies are drawn to the smell of decaying meat (or poop) so they can lay their eggs in it. I'm not out there long enough for the blood and offal from the first one I butcher to develop that smell that attracts them. I have a few weeks between processing batches so that smell goes away. I use a lot of water to rinse everything down and try to keep things clean. I think that helps keep the smell down for the following few days. Some people can have a problem with flies but I don't.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Hi! I just did a thread chronicling my first experience with raising and processing meat birds. I actually just processed them the other day. You may find my thread useful. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ney-of-raising-cornish-x-in-the-city.1547611/ I'll also be adding one more post later this week as a kind of "review" of the whole process, and what I thought I did well or would change.

A while back, before I made the decision to keep meat birds, I posted a thread with a lot of questions similar to what you just asked. You might want to read through this, because people were SUPER supportive and helpful. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-slaughtering-meat-birds-need-advice.1529194/


Sorry to plug 2 of my own threads lol. But I've been through the whole meat bird thing for the first time very recently and have gotten a lot of advice on here. Anyway, let me try to answer what I can of your specific questions:

1. Check out that second thread I posted. But with my process, my fiance volunteered to kill all the chickens. I was not expecting that. So I kind of got out of that part lol. I did make of point of watching the kills though, even though it was difficult. I think we were both nervous, but we knew that being calm and confident is what is best for us and for the bird. If he was shaky and unsure, it could result in an unclean kill, which could be painful for the bird. We took time to thank all of the birds before we started, and then we thanked each bird individually as we picked them up. But after that, we knew we had to let the emotion go and perform a clean and humane kill.

2. Gently hang the bird upside down by its legs to calm it. It will flap at first, and then calm.

Before all of this, have 2 nails pounded into the stump you are using, but leave them sticking out a few inches. You can slide the neck into there and it will hold the chicken in place for the kill. We had one slip out right after we put him in, but once we calmed him by putting him upside down, he stayed in fine. Also, you may want to put a few nails across so there are different widths, in case you have a bird with a smaller or larger neck.

3. Get something that has a lot of weight to it and has a wider blade. Also, invest in a sharpener. We had to sharpen between every few birds.

 

[Molpet]

I put them in a cut up kitty litter jug, with ankles taped.

Then I pull the head down and remove with a PVC pipe cutter.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I was going to answer, but the above pretty well has it covered.

I'll add just one thing.

It is no courtesy to hesitate. Not to you, not to the bird. Eventually, something WILL go wrong. When it inevitably does, finish the job swiftly. Then (only if you must) feel bad about it. Better still if you think about what went wrong, and make corrections for next time.

 

[BrandonsBirbs]

OP I would like to plug a thread of mine which has many people's experiences and opinions/help on this matter. Please visit it here and give it a good read.

Technique wise I have become very fond of what I believe is called the "broomstick" method for chickens. It is clean, it is easy and I have found it's been pretty hard to mess up (haven't messed up yet!). However, I can understand wanting to behead the bird too, I found that very easy to do to begin with.

The most important thing is that the bird does not suffer, if you miss or whatnot you need to be right back in there making sure you finish the job. Practise technique beforehand, if you feel it is necessary, and if you are too nervous perhaps think about not going through with it until a later date. Give yourself more time to practise and mentally prepare.

Edit: You can also think about and research different ways to knock the chicken unconscious beforehand which may make it much easier for you. I know there are many devices to help you do this I think they're called "captive bolt devices." Alternatively, use a kill-cone as these are meant to be fantastic and very humane.

 

[Jojosine]

We dispatched a bird yesterday and my hubby first tried to dislocate the neck by pulling it forwards and upwards at the same time, but it didn't seem to kill the bird. Luckily we were prepared and had a block and axe ready too, so I used the axe to almost take off the head. It surely must have been dead, but it continued flapping and move its beak for half a minute or so.

Is this normal? It was pretty upsetting as I don't want the bird to suffer.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes @Jojosine . I decapitate (holding the head in my hand) with a very SHARP! knife. I can walk from dispatch to the fire pit 40 foot away at a casual pace and the hanging bird still flaps, thile movement of the head/eye/beak usually stops about 1/3 of the way there.

Its similar to the way a lizard's tail can continue to move after it has separated from the body.

Perfectly normal.

 

[Jojosine]

Yes @Jojosine . I decapitate (holding the head in my hand) with a very SHARP! knife. I can walk from dispatch to the fire pit 40 foot away at a casual pace and the hanging bird still flaps, thile movement of the head/eye/beak usually stops about 1/3 of the way there.

Its similar to the way a lizard's tail can continue to move after it has separated from the body.

Perfectly normal.

Thanks. Anyone who kills a chicken the first time, is in for a shock. But now I know it is perfectly normal, I'll try not to be too upset by it.

 

[BrandonsBirbs]

We dispatched a bird yesterday and my hubby first tried to dislocate the neck by pulling it forwards and upwards at the same time, but it didn't seem to kill the bird. Luckily we were prepared and had a block and axe ready too, so I used the axe to almost take off the head. It surely must have been dead, but it continued flapping and move its beak for half a minute or so.

Is this normal? It was pretty upsetting as I don't want the bird to suffer.

If you're going to dislocate it's head you need to pull hard! It's not as easy as it seems.

Sharpen your axe, go all the way through its neck.

I've had birds flap around for a lot longer than that, after having their heads taken off. It's a strange thing to witness and I can understand it upsetting you. Well done on your first successful dispatching