I plan to add to this as I go.  I am continually thinking of more I should add. 

Things we use to butcher:

Picnic table, an axe, chopping block, cutting board (we use the formica piece cut out from our kitchen sink hole), sharp knives, HOT water, hot plate to keep water hot, (electrical source and an extension cord), canning kettle for scalding, skimmer to remove excess feathers from kettle, rags, bucket of hot water for hands, rubbermaid containers (for cooling the birds in water) or tubs.  5 gallon buckets work too!  We use a lot of these, gut bucket, etc.  Pliers for pulling the wing feathers, tall saw horse type of thing for hanging, along with nails pounded in and twine tied on the nails for the bird's feet.   Everything is washed down with hot, soapy bleach water and rinsed before using.

Since I believe it's important for folks to know where their food comes from, I took some pictures of our chicken butchering day.  It's interesting the comments one gets when you tell people you butcher your own chickens.  If they've done it before, there tends to be a lot of disgust in their tone, especially if they butchered chickens as a child.  Our senses are more keen when we are small and therefore the smell of wet, bloody feathers is what most are left with after butchering.  Now that smell doesn't bother me a bit and I could actually eat chicken for supper after an afternoon of butchering.

I am also quick to remind people that if you grow it yourself, you know EXACTLY what you're eating!  They may be grossed out by the process, but if they knew how commerical chicken was raised, I'll bet they'd think twice about ever eating chicken again.  I am thankful I live where I can raise my own food.

Here's part of the setup.  The turkeys will be spared until we can find a pot big enough for them!

My husband, Chris with a couple down and about 28 to go!  He's less than excited that I have a camera in my hand!

Off with their heads! 

We use a block of wood with 2 nails pounded in it.  Stretch the chicken's neck between the nails and whack!

Matt is happily waiting his turn!

The chickens are dropped in the buckets attached to the make-shift saw horse.  If you don't drop them in a bucket, they "run around like chickens with their heads cut off", well.......because THEY ARE!  And because they tend to squirt blood all over the place!  I will add here that the sight of which is something that always made me laugh as a kid and I will admit, it still does!  Call me sick, but it cracks me up.

When they quit flopping around, they are then hung to bleed out properly.  (No one likes baked chicken with blood still flowing through the veins!)

Here's my shiny, new plucker, ready to roll!  Once the birds are dipped in hot water to loosen their feathers, the plucker will be put to good use.  I neglected to get a picture of the scalding process.  I have looked around on the net for the proper water temperature to scald, but I haven't come up with anything.  All I can say is when it's hot to the touch, like when you put your finger in the water and immediately pull it out and say, "Ouch!  That's hot!"  Leave the bird in, swiching around for 15 seconds or so.  My FIL says if you leave them in too long it will set the feathers.  I need to study up on this part and get it down to a fine science.

Matt hard at work at the plucker!  You can see the canning kettle to the right, sitting on a hot plate.  That's the scalder.  The little goats are on leaf-eating duty just beyond that and my cold frame sits to the left on the south side of the house.  My flower garden in beyond that big willow tree on the other side of a fence, for those of you who've visited my blog before.

After the plucker, they are passed on to the table to finish the wing feathers and any pin feathers.  Then my husband does the gutting.  I also neglected to get a picture of that process.  You can go ahead and thank me, although if you did a search on the net, I am sure you could come up with instructions with photos!

Once they are gutted, they are plunged into cold water to remove the body heat.  After they cool they go through a final cleansing which includes ripping their lungs out.  Yes, that's correct!  I clean the inside as best as I can and give them a final rinse. 

Did you know chickens have hair?  They do and that hair needs to be singed off.  We use a small propane torch and singe their hairs off.  Back into clean, cold water they go.  When they have finally cooled enough, they are double bagged for the freezer.

The biggest one I weighed so far this year was 10 lbs. 13 oz.

 THE END!