How to raise Backyard Chickens: Re: [CHICKENS-101] Re: How to kill a chicken

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Re: [CHICKENS-101] Re: How to kill a chicken

Hahaha!! The $200 turkey. Done that sort of thing myself. That first egg in the spring after I fed them all winter and carried water out there in zero weather through 2 ft. of snow-----I fry it in butter, and sit down and eat it allll by myself! Probably cost more than $200 at the current price of feed!

Yes, I know. I can buy a chicken in the store for 5 bucks, take it home and put it on the table, as is. Depends on how determined you are to eliminate any "added attractions", and how much energy I have.

I used to do it. It was SO satisfying to know that I grew everything on the table for supper, including the herbs for seasoning. I even had a goat for milk and cheese, and made my own bread and picked fruit off my own trees. But that was when I had 2 girls and a healthy husband to help. And to eat it all.

Guess I'm getting lazy. Too hot----actually it's not all that hot, 80's, but it's awfully humid, which is worse for me.

If you have animals, you are tied to them. You have to take care of them, or see that somebody does, have to keep providing food, and it's a problem in the winter. I'm in the north, you can't even consider going to Florida for a week or two unless you can do something with them.

Except for chickens. In the summer you can leave them with a big bag or two of feed and a couple of big water dispensers and they'll be fine. In the winter you can leave feed and pay somebody to stop in with water, or sell them, or give them away, or knock them off and stick them in the freezer and buy more later. They're a lot easier to unload than bigger animals.

I do like my chickens though, the fancy roosters and the big old laying hens that are so sociable, come sit on my foot and "taalllk" to me. Eat any leftovers I bring them, get all excited about it. Blue eggs, huge dark brown eggs, pink eggs, all kinds. And the Silkies are actually the best layers. They'll keep going late in the fall when the days get short, the weather gets cold and the others quit.

Diane S.

----- Original Message -----

From: DBO

To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, July 04, 2013 11:35 AM

Subject: [CHICKENS-101] Re: How to kill a chicken

Diane,

Thanks for the step by step instructions. Someday I am even going to try it. I watched it done once and determined that for a chicken that is dressed and ready to cook at the super market, is worth the price just for butchering and dressing. We have a meat butchering faculty near where I live but it cost around $6 and I can buy one at Costco roasted and ready to eat for less. Besides that, they were forced to shut down for a while and then determined that 'by law' they could not butcher a chicken, turkey or wild game unless they quarantined it live for 2 weeks on their premises first (that in itself eliminated their butchering wild game business).

I have had several chickens butchered there before so one year I bought a half grown 4-H turkey from a friend's kid for $25 and then finished raising it and then went to go have it butchered. They had just re-opened and I wasn't aware of their new sanctioned requirements. I didn't make the 2 week quarantine period before Thanksgiving. I was having 25 relatives coming from all over and they were told we would be having this wonderful fresh free range farm turkey. The next nearest place that did butchering was 2 and a half hours away. By the time I factored in the cost of the turkey, feed and then time and gas to drive to have it butchered, I must have had $200 into that turkey! I was a real squeamish city-slicker at the time and never could have butchered it myself but time has passed and I think I am ready to give it a try. I don't think you can say you are a real chicken farmer until you have done the deed at least once. The time is near.

Thanks again for the instructions.
Jennie