TanksHill...Roll on!!

[keljonma]

Great job of family cooperation there G!!

No one barfed.

That is ALWAYS good!


I love the pic of the play house next to the killing area.

 

[Javamama]

Awesome job!!!

ps - I love the killing cones right next to the playset photo

Ha! Kel beat me to it.

 

[Farmfresh]

Amazing job everyone! That is a LOT of birds to process for a first time!!

As for the lungs, you will get to be an old hand at that before you know it. I kept thinking that I was going to buy one of those scoopers, but it kept getting put off. Now I think I can do it faster just by hand and feel.

I give the giblets a final rinse and then drain them and they go straight into the freezer today. Of course they are divided into meal sized portions.

I usually do the same with the feet since I just send them to a friend and that is how she wants them, but I am pretty sure she scalds and basically skins them before she uses them.

It is a great idea to have another look over before packaging them. After they have chilled a while any pinfeathers etc are easier to remove and it is a lot easier to be attentive to final touches when you are not so tired and rushed.

As for packaging ... have you given though as to HOW you are going to package the birds?

We package them like we use them. Backs and necks in one sack for use in making stocks and broth. Jointed birds for frying. Halved birds for BBQ and a few whole roasters. Our best pack is called a 3/4 chicken. It contains half a breast, both wings, both thighs and both legs. It will make either a meal for hubby I and a guest or a meal and a couple of lunches. It is great to be able to just grab a pack out of the freezer that is perfect for what you need that day.

I also double bag my birds with Ziplock freezer bags. That may cost a bit more, but it keeps my valuable meat in peak condition for over a year without any freezer burn waste.

 

[BarredBuff]

Good job!!

 

[TanksHill]

Thanks you guys.

The play house is funny. It just kinda sits there. My girls don't really use it any more. I was going to try and use it for my turkeys but it never really happened.

We only used one of the cones. The one on the right turned out to be way to big. I plan to keep it for turkeys.

I tried to keep the killing up against the hillside. It's the least visible area if someone was to come up the driveway. I don't think the neighbor above could see either.

As it stands everything is still in the ice chest. I had block ice as well so its very cold. I don't have room in the fridge for 22 birds. I think I will let then sit for a day while I slowly pull a couple out at a time to clean up and stick in the freezer.

The feet are in a zip-lock in there as well.

FF I had not thought about cutting and then freezing. That's a good idea. The problem with us is a 6 pound bird from the grocery usually is one meal. With some breast left over. So I might cut up the scrawny ones and combine 2 birds to a meal. Then use the extra breast for a separate bag.

I rolling around the idea of springing for a vacuum sealer.

But I have to tell ya. I am beat. I am not sure if it was from standing on the pavers for such a long time of the drama of the process. But I am definitely not doing much tomorrow.

Well except finish cleaning and freezing the birds.
Oh wait then there's the laundry I didn't get done today.
and the garden chores.

 

[FarmerChick]

Then while they plucked I off'ed another.

now that is a farm gal at work! good for you. great pics and your DD holding that chicken leg like a trophy is funny lol

 

[TanksHill]

Thanks Karen. After a while she really wanted to help gut the chickens. But I said no and had her peeling gizzards instead. A couple times she sat there just saying "I can't believe I am holding a chickens foot". It was actually really cute.

g

 

[glenolam]

Uhh....so where's the kill shots?





Just joking. AWESOME job! Big G and I talked it over today, actually, and decided we were going to wait a few weeks. Ours just don't look big enough. they actually look like yours did.....before the kill.


PS....I know I'm gonna have a cooler full o beer when it comes time to process ours. It's just easier that way IMO.

 

[TanksHill]

Yeah, but those darn things were eating me out of house and home.

Food is really expensive. I was paying about 18 bucks per bag for the game bird crumble. I should have kept better track but I think I went through 5 bags.

Next time I will know better.

Dh has stuff to do tomorrow so I just wanted to get through them.

Does anyone know how long it take to feed out a bird if it's dual purpose? Like a buff orp or some other big bird.

I am trying to plan a better strategy for next time.

g

ps I have video but it kinda amateur. We will save it for another day.

 

[glenolam]

No!!!!! I've got Big G away from the tube so we can watch it!!!