Promised Land Homestead

Chickens in the Freezer

This morning we finished the last of the meat chickens.  We had six left to process, and it took all of 2 hours.  This is the process.  They start out in the killing cone.  It's just an inverted metal cone that keeps their wings in against their bodies so they're not flapping around.  I still had to put a rope over the top because they'll kick themselves out of the cone in their death throws it you don't.  I learned that last weekend while I was chasing a dying chicken around our yard after it had flapped it's way out.  You can buy a killing cone online for about $30-40 dollars, or you can spend about $2 by making it out of metal flashing yourself.  I cover the edges with duct tape as they can be sharp.

After they've bled for about 5-10 minutes, I take them down and put them in this:  the chicken scalder.  I made it from some plans I found in Countryside Magazine.  It cost maybe $40 to make.  It just consists of a standard plastic shop sink, a water heater heating element, a water heater thermostat, and an extension cord.  It works great at keeping the temperature exactly where I want it.

After scalding, they're moved to the "Fabio 2000", our chicken plucker (named in not-so-fond memory of our old rooster Fabio).  It takes about 4-5 minutes to pluck a chicken with it, but I'm getting faster.

Here's a shot of me using it.  You have to be careful not to let your fingers get hit.  Even with gloves on it can hurt.

This picture has nothing to do with processing chickens, but I thought it would be good to end on an incredibly cute note.