Butchering home grown chickens

[The Butt Man]

I tried something new today. I butchered 6 of my own chickens at home. Although we have about 60 chickens, I only had 6 meat birds just to see how the process would go. I think it was a success and will start raising more chickens for meat. Can’t wait for them to go on the smoker.
Cc broiler at 9 weeks. I waited until they were 11 weeks old before butchering.

 

[chef jimmyj]

11 weeks?What they weigh, 6-7 pounds each? They look great. No tears or bruises. You have to hand pluck? What are you feeding the 80 layers?
I have 9- 12 week old birds heading out to the new coop this weekend, I hope. We have 4 Gold Laced Wyandotte Pullets, 4 Black Jersey Giant Pullets and a Jersey Giant Cockrel. I'm already itching to place an order for a dozen more of a few different types. MRS, J, is not happy...JJ

 

[The Butt Man]

11 weeks?What they weigh, 6-7 pounds each? They look great. No tears or bruises. You have to hand pluck? What are you feeding the 80 layers?
I have 9- 12 week old birds heading out to the new coop this weekend, I hope. We have 4 Gold Laced Wyandotte Pullets, 4 Black Jersey Giant Pullets and a Jersey Giant Cockrel. I'm already itching to place an order for a dozen more of a few different types. MRS, J, is not happy...JJ

They were probably in the 6 pound range. The two roosters were closer to 8 probably. I did pluck them by hand. I dipped them in scalding water and that made it very easy. That breed grows very fast but will end up with a lot for health problems if not butchered soon. This causes a problem because they won’t live long enough for us to hatch and raise more.
We are considering getting some Jersey Giants as meat birds next. Supposedly those are ready to butcher in 9 months, but we will be able to keep a couple hens to keep the cycle going. As far as feed, we give them chicken scratch, laying pellets, and they free range during the day.

 

[chef jimmyj]

From my research, the Jersey Giant was developed to compete with Turkey sales during the holidays. Roos can dress out at 13 pounds and Hens at 10. My JG's are 12 weeks old and are around 5 pound already. We got all the birds at a couple days old and handled them frequently. They are all super docile now. The big Roo will perch on my shoulder and fall asleep. At 3 weeks, I would have 4-5 sleeping on my chest watching TV. Same with my wife and kids. You get pooped on once in awhile but mostly the solid kind that's pretty dry. I would highly recommend the Jersey, especially if you have small kids...JJ

 

[smokerjim]

looks like you have some good eats there,

 

[The Butt Man]

From my research, the Jersey Giant was developed to compete with Turkey sales during the holidays. Roos can dress out at 13 pounds and Hens at 10. My JG's are 12 weeks old and are around 5 pound already. We got all the birds at a couple days old and handled them frequently. They are all super docile now. The big Roo will perch on my shoulder and fall asleep. At 3 weeks, I would have 4-5 sleeping on my chest watching TV. Same with my wife and kids. You get pooped on once in awhile but mostly the solid kind that's pretty dry. I would highly recommend the Jersey, especially if you have small kids...JJ

I have four small kids (12 years down to 1 year old) they all love chasing our chickens around. It was neat to see our 2 oldest kids taking part in the plucking process. As much as they love our chickens they still enjoyed helping.

 

[smokerjim]

great to get the kids involved, most kids don't even know where meat comes from, they think it comes from the grocery store.