One of the hardest things to do when trying to be a self sufficient homesteader and put healthy food on the table that has not been contaminated with chemicals is when it is time to butcher some of the livestock you have raised to do so. It is time to process the chickens. I have 28 happy healthy chickens to process. My first thought is I will give them away or sell them because I can afford to buy meat and don't have to do this. Then I remind myself I have been raising happy healthy meat to supply nutrition to our bodies that has not been loaded up with hormones, antibiotics, etc..... So, it is time to set up the butchering station and get busy processing birds that will supply our bodies with healthy protein, amino acids and other important nutrition. I also have a turkey that I am going to process. If I had some helpers that would be great. I do understand why many farms have farmhands living in small cottages on the farm to help out. It is hard work homesteading and getting all the farm work done even with a farmhand to help out. I will let you all know how it goes. It will take me a couple of day's because I am going to first organize the freezer, get the butchering station ready and then start processing.
My goats at this very moment are hooten and hollering up at the front pasture. I went out to see what is going on and they are talking to the goats that belong to the gentlemen that lives up on the main road. Between my goats and the ones up the road it sounds like a goat riot outside.
18 comments:
Girlie,
I know what you mean. We no longer have any pigs or goats. What we did not find a home for went into the freezer. We still have around 30 hens and 2 turkeys. We had help with our butchering process and split the hogs. The family that helped us too all the manteca but left us a meat grinder for our sausage making. Now that is what I call great bartering.
Let me know how it goes. I am wondering about processing chickens myself. I would not do more than two a day because plucking them takes so long without scalding them first.
Take care,
Mal
I agree with you, the butchering IS the hardest part. :(
Glad you decided to butcher your own birds. There's no better feeling than having a dinner that you raised in a humane manner and knowing exactly what is going into your family's body.
We have only processed chickens at this point. It is work, but the meat has a sweetness to it that we did not taste in store-bought. Our first batch we scalded and removed feathers, the meat was moist...the 2nd time we just skinned them since we do not eat the skin anyhow and it is MUCH less work, but the meat proved to be much dryer. We are looking for more efficient ways all the time so I look forward to reading your update on this!
Susan
Remember, your food was grown with love. They had a much happier life than the mass production cruelty that happens and ends up at the grocery store. Your is an act of love... for all sacred food. Good going. Yes we skinned as well and it went very quickly. Next Spring, it will all begin again. You are in touch with the circle. Fantastic.
Since I have a very small farm, I have not gotten to the butchering. But my dad raised rabbits when I was small. He had 5 girls and we played with the rabbits and cried when Dad fed us rabbit and gravy for breakfast. Eventually, he just turned them loose.
Growing up we did pick the chickens and turkeys.
I am with you too. We butchered some this past weekend and I have a hard time every time.
It is an internal battle and one I close my eyes and force myself through it.
We have seven more old hens, and two roosters, but my husband is recovering from back surgery so I am waiting for my oldest to come home to assist. I find it very helpful to have an assembly line of folks and we chat and work while being serious, also appreciating that we are filling our freezers with free range, all organic foods.
Jennifer
I am raising backyard chickens, but have been researching processing chickens for a while. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos and came across nightmarish methods, but this one family had a system set up for their chickens and I was incredibly impressed by their teamwork and professionalism. I also wrote a blog entry all about what I had researched. I am including the link to that family farm video, if you'd like to watch it, which I'd recommend beause I am just like you with DREADING it, but wanting to KNOW where my chicken meat comes from. Anyway, I hope the link pastes correctly, I took it from the blog I had written several months ago. I will be reading your blog and learning from your experience as well!!!! EEEEKKKKK!
http://youtu.be/xgo6Qlaff_4
Lana
It's definitely got to be one of the toughest parts. You've worked hard on raising healthy food for your family and its just part of the cycle. Hope it all goes well.
I haven't had butchered chickens for a couple of years now. I sure do miss that taste of home raised chicken. My hubby does the butchering of chickens. I don't mind de-feathering or gutting them, I just can't kill them. Hubby always apologises to the birds. Explaining to them that "I don't want to do this, but she is making me!"
Good luck with the butchering, and I hope you have a lot of help. It just goes quicker that way.
We don't have chickens yet. I already know that will be one of the hard parts of owning a farm.
~Lynn
While I do name my hens, I do not make pets of my chickens and I do not allow my granddaughter to get "too friendly" with the meat birds either - that way when it comes time for me to sharpen my knife and get busy butchering the birds for winter meals no one is grumpy or sad. My sister made pets of all her chickens (3 dozen), turkeys (20+), and pigs (2) and could not butcher any of them! Her husband found homes for all of them and the new owners had to promise not to kill any of them ...
Chickens wouldn't bother me too much...I used to help my grandparents with that work. But what I would have a problem with is processing anything cute and furry...like a goat or rabbit!
I totally understand what you mean. I have not gotten to the point where I can raise animals for meat. I may not get to that place ever. Or,maybe not until I have to anyway. I wanted to share something I heard once that made me see the process of raising animals for meat a little differently. A man who was very concerned with the humane treatment of the animals that he raised for meat said that his animals have a wonderful life and one bad day.
We plan to raise chickens for meat next spring. I already know up front, we will have to pay someone to process them for us. It's not the thought of killing our birds, etc, but the fact that hubby and I are both very weak stomached and squeemish... At least we will still have the happiness of knowing where our food came from and that the birds were raised by us, humanely.
Keep us posted on how it goes!
Enjoyed your post AND everyones comments they left.
We are hoping to raise chickens in the future and I am not looking forward to the killing part. (That is where my husband comes in-) I am thinking we will skin them, as I remember the horible smell before of our neighbor scalding his chickens and plucking out all of those feathers.
My husband and I just moved to Panama to homestead with my parents. We have one outside helper 5 days a week, but still my husband and I can work from sun up to sundown and there is always more to do. I wish we had a couple cottages on our land for those extra helpers you were dreaming about!
With warm regards Rose
There's nothing as good as homegrown! We raise our own meat birds as well as laying hens. My hubby hunts, so we eat organic moose and butcher it ourselves. Can't say that I like the butchering, and I can't eat it for a few weeks after it's done...but once I have gotten over it, there is nuttin' better! Hope your butchering goes great!
My husband grew up with his family raising and butchering various creatures (chickens and rabbits mostly), so thank goodness for me he's used to it. Freezer organization is crucial! Best of luck :)
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