Processing Chickens (Intro)
When we initially started with chickens it was for eggs, manure and a bit of entertainment. With two years down we have more eggs than we can eat. We sell our surplus eggs to offset feed costs and preserve those we don’t sell (ie: freezing liquid eggs, water-glassing).
Our first year of layers included a pair Black Australorp roosters who spent their time bullying the hens and chasing the little folk. After trying everything to break them of this we ended up taking them to a local processor. They ended up becoming the most delicious chicken tacos and soup!
Last year our layer flock grew and we branched out into Buff Orpingtons. We ended up with another pair of roosters that reached maturity. While not bullies like last pair, these buffs did display aggression toward the littlest workers. We tried everything to break them of the habit to no avail so they had to go. Rather than going with a processor we ended up researching a ton and processing the two Buff roosters ourselves.
We started with some basic knowledge of breaking down whole chickens in the kitchen. We supplemented with books (see links below) and lots of YouTube videos (embedded below [GRAPHIC BUT HELPFUL]).
Reading List:
Get these used if you can! I found some great deals on these books on sites like Goodwill Books.
- “Butchering Chickens: A Guide to Humane, Small-Scale Processing” by Adam Danforth
- “The Ultimate Guide to Home Butchering: How to Prepare Any Animal or Bird for the Table or Freezer” by Monte Burch
- “Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game: Beef, Veal, Pork, Lamb, Poultry, Rabbit, Venison” by John J. Mettler Jr., DVM
GRAPHIC VIDEOS OF CHICKEN PROCESSING BELOW!