Butchering Chickens and Turkeys on the Farm

Monday was the big day!  The day we had our first big butchering extravaganza.  We butchered 95 broilers and 9 turkeys.  We were blessed to have lots of friends come to help us with this big project.  

NOTE: I did my best to keep this post approved for sensitive viewers

 

We had a family of ten people come on Sunday night, they were traveling through, and stayed to help us with our butchering.  They were experienced which was a great help.  The weather was about 30 and snowy when we started.  The driveway was slippery, but I am aware of only one wipe out.

The snow was pretty as it lined the trees.  The young guys went back and collected the broilers.

Paul was outside early getting the scalding pots heating and the plucker set up.

We had worked very hard to get the garage all cleaned up.  We knew the weather was predicted to be cold and snowy.  We set up all the things we could inside.  Unfortunately, the heater broke the week before our butchering frolic.  

Here is how we set it up.  The small table by the door was for removing any feathers the plucker missed.  The white table with the cutting boards on it was raised up so that the eviscerators could stand and work.  We had one person who just removed the legs and the oil glands.  We saved all the feet for broth.  I am planning to can it. The brown table on the lower right was for the older people who prefer to sit while working.

Paul did an amazing job with our sink set up.  He ran a water  hose to the beams over top and put on a splitter.  That made it so that we had two hoses that the QC  (Quality Control) people could use to clean the birds.  We used two old stainless steel sinks in a metal frame and had room to set in two roaster pans, one at each end to hold the birds to be checked and then the ones to be weighed when they were finished.  The sinks had pvc pipes underneath that were angled and connected  then the pipe ran out underneath the garage door to an area which could absorb the water.

We had brought up two picnic tables which were covered in plastic.  They were for the cleaning of the birds before they went into the scalder.  We used an enzyme cleaner and a hand brush.  The birds needed very little cleaning.

The boys brought up the broilers in our trailer which they pulled with the ATV.  The broiler pen was a couple hundred feet from the butchering area, so this was the easiest way.

Everybody stood around and watched as the first birds were done.  We were so blessed to have so many people willing to help.  We had a couple friends from church as well as a couple families that we have gotten to know through other butchering days we have helped with.  Our birds were treated well.

The boys built a little holding pen that the broilers were put in as they waited their turn.  Then they could be getting more while the rest were processed.

The young girls wandered around the farm and enjoyed the softly falling snow.

Dad stopped by to inspect our set up.

Karen ran the plucker.  The plucker pulls off the feathers very gently and in about 45 seconds you go from a fully feathered chicken to a bird that looks like this.  Such a labor saving device!  It eliminates the most tedious part of bird processing.

My DH, as a farmer, who would have thought it?!!!, He stuck around most of the morning and helped carry birds.

The evisceration table

We had a big container outside the garage to cool the birds as they waited for further processing.  We had frozen a lot of ice before our butchering day. 

Evisceration is the process of removing the birds insides.

The QC station was where all the birds are double checked to see that everything that should have been removed was actually gone (feathers and internal pieces and parts).  The birds are also given a good washing at this point.

'Grandpa', part of the overnight contingent, did the job of weighing.  He was meticulous in trying to get everything weighed out exactly right!  The birds were given a number that was attached by rubber band to their leg.  The number and weight was then recorded on the computer so that we could see how much yield we actually got and what our price per pound actually was.

The birds went from the weighing station into a large can lined with plastic filled with ice water so that they would chill.  We started at 8:30 in the morning and all the birds were cleaned and cooling by 3 PM.

We really appreciated the inside help as well.  Several people heated hot beverages and put out snacks, heated lunch and kept an eye on the younger children.

Our help left about 4 PM.  The temperature had dropped throughout the day and everyone was worried about icy roads.  We still had to cut up the birds that we wanted in pieces, and put all of them in bags.  It took us until after ten to get that done.  We all felt like human popsicles by that time.  It was down into the low teens.  It was a long day but worth it.  We are now really looking forward to having our own chicken wings for part of our Christmas Eve dinner appetizers.

For those interested:  We raised Freedom Ranger Broilers that were second generation raised on non-GMO feed.  We got them from the JM Hatchery (AKA as Freedomrangerhatchery.com) out of Pennsylvania.  We bought 100 poults and ended up with 95 birds.  They seemed really healthy and were excellent free range birds.  They were still able to fly a few feet off the ground, and would range for several hundred feet from their pen during the day. We only put food in their pen at night, the rest of the time they were on their own.  We butchered them at 11 weeks.  They yielded 4-6# carcasses at that point.  When we do them again, we will get an earlier start.  You really don't want to be butchering chickens in November in Ohio.

This Week in Review

This week in review is more like the last two weeks in review. We have been working hard and keeping busy here on the farm.  I have been enjoying JoAn's updates from the Philippines, I hope you have also. Their internet is down currently.

Here's what's been happening...

We have had  some company.  These were some of the children of a coast guard family who are driving cross-country to their new station in Kodiak Island, Alaska.  We had a good time.  The children enjoyed running, fishing and ATV riding in the back field.

I have been busy building a spiral rock herb bed.  It has involved a lot of lifting of big rocks, but I really like how it has turned out.  I got the idea from my fave gardening book, 'Gaia's Garden' That I cited previously.

The chicks and turkey poults, baby turkeys, are doing well for the most part.

They seem to be getting along pretty well together.  I need to get the turkeys out so that I can feed them a little turkey grower as they need some extra protein than the chicks.  They grow faster then.

We went to the eagle scout ceremony and graduation party for our friend the D-man.  He had worked really hard to complete his Eagle Scout rank.  His parents were very proud.  

This was their third son to attain that rank.  Way to go guys!  You da Boss!!

They had a very nice cupcake arrangement instead of a cake for his party.  This worked very well.

The kitchen in the old house is coming along nicely.  My DH has almost finished all the flooring.  He is tiling it.  It does look similar to the new farmhouse as we used the same cabinets and granite counter tops.  The flooring is different.

Elizabeth went out and did a photo shoot in the rain.  Everything looked so green and shimmery in the rain.

The pond was dancing in the rain.

The fields are turning green.  We plan to disc them up and plant them next week.

The biggest challenge the last couple weeks has been to keep the starlings out of my garden.  Starlings are small black birds that are not a native species and are deemed a nuisance.  They have been killing my tomato, eggplant, basil, and pepper plants.  I have been so frustrated.  I look out and they are biting off a big piece of the plants and then flying off with them.  I finally put posts around the garden and connected them with fish line around and above the garden.  This seems to be working OK.  I have only seen one in there since I did that.  I had to replant many of my tomato plants!  Hopefully, I will be able to harvest a crop this year.

Here is the finished herb bed.  I got the plants in yesterday.  I was a little scared to do it early as I was concerned that the birds would attack them also.  

All the herbs in my bed are perennials.  The rocks should confine their spread.  I am really excited to have this bed completed.  I will let you know how it works out.

My other project, was to build potato beds.  I put pallets together and then put about 5" of aged manure in them.

We put the potatoes in and then covered them with another 5" of dirt.

We put up the fourth side and screwed it in place.  The idea is to keep them covered and every time they grow up above the dirt a good piece you recover them.  They then will form potatoes all along the plant.  In the later summer, when it is time to harvest them, we will pull down the one side and just sift out the potatoes.  At least that is the theory.  I will let you know how that works out also!

We have been grateful to have our friends the Almonds over to help us with our outside work a couple days lately.  Their children are very hard workers and it seems a job is always easier if you have someone to share it with.  

The hammock is now set up and the temptation is to take a break and enjoy the view.  We frequently work until dusk, but we always pause to enjoy the sunset.

Random Things

The junior high basketball season is officially over.  At the end of the season, we had a parent vs the team game and a potluck.

There was a lot of switching in and out.  The parents had the height advantage and there were some guys who played college ball who were still in good shape.  There were also a lot of parents who kept the game within range for the kids.

The  kids did a great job rotating players in with a good attitude.  They coached themselves and did very well.

Thomas had practiced with the team all season and he finally got to play with them.  I think he really enjoyed that.  His plan is to grow 3 or 4 inches before next year so that he will be tall enough to get to play with the JV or varsity team.  He needs to add a few pounds too.

 Some of the parents were very sore the next day after a few hard falls.  Everybody had a great time and a good time was had by all.  The potluck was very nice too! It was a successful season!

This friday  was the annual Celtic Ball with the Speech and Debate team.  The guys love it!  Usually most of us get to go.  This year I had the bookends with me in Amish country and Michelle wasn't feeling well.  Paul decided he would rather go to his own activity.

 Thomas and T-Bob love to go and do the country dances.  T-Bob danced every dance!  They look good when they get all cleaned up.  One of the rules at the dance is that the guys aren't allowed to ask the same girl to dance more than once an evening unless they are a sibling or in an established relationship.  It is a really fun time.

 Every once in awhile this is what we see out our window.   If you have read my Amish articles, you should be able to identify the type of Amish in this buggy.  Can you do it?

We had visitors yesterday.  It was so nice to see them again.  The Hyltons were in town.  Will wanted to be on the blog!  The visit was duly noted and recorded.  The guys had a good time walking to the back of the property and exploring.  They took Dallas with them and he came back with mud up to his shoulders.

Poor Michelle had to bathe him before he could come in the house for the night.  She scrubbed him down and he smelled purty when she was done.

 She had to wrap a towel around her to protect her clothes.  It was pretty cold out for an outdoor bath.  The temperature was below freezing.  Incidentally, by this morning all the ground was once again covered with a nice bright covering of snow.

The boys have once again been enjoying the heat from the fireplace.  They find it cozy to read or play games there.  So nice!

Tomorrow, we go and pick up our chicks and work on our seed starting and other farm projects as well as the daily chores of getting laundry done, cooking, etc.

A Wonderful Day!

Yesterday was a fun day.  SO much variety and different activities to keep this mama busy.  I had the heartwarming experience of bringing four little boys to the hospital to meet their new baby brother.  They were so excited!  Everyone took turns holding him!

They studied him and wanted to check and make sure he had all his pieces and parts.  They compared his hand to theirs and were surprised at how tiny they were.  They wanted to check out his feet and the umbilical stump.  They wanted to know exactly how that had worked and what was going to happen with it.  So curious!

Grandma and Grandpa got their turn to hold little Liam after the boys had.  The boys were ready to move on after about an hour.  They were looking forward to coming back to the farm to play outside.

The air temp was almost 32 F so the chickens were out and about.

The boys helped us clear the ice so they could go skating or sliding.  They had a blast playing on the ice.  They ran and slid and bellyflopped.  So much fun!

Does it look like he enjoyed it?

The boys helped gather eggs and played with the chickens.  They were fascinated by the way the chickens came over and pecked at their boots to get the snow off.  Our hens are doing amazing laying eggs.  We have 24 hens that are about 2 years old and we are getting 18 eggs or more every day.  I am still planning on getting pullets soon so that when the old biddies get tired there will be some youngsters to take their place.  We just can't do without our eggs!

There was a beautiful sunset as we drove to church for AWANA.

It was inside out upside down and backwards night!  JoAn had her bun in the front and all her clothes inside out and backwards.

So did Ian.  He even had his socks on his hands!  It did make it difficult to throw the ball in game time!  He didn't care.  He is a trooper.

Michelle is working as a Mother's helper for our friend who just had the baby.  She is looking after the four boys.  It is a big job but she really enjoys it!

 She is enjoying holding the new bundle of joy when she gets the chance.  A baby is such a blessing! I got a chance to visit with my sister from the Philippines in the evening and chatted with my niece on facebook.  What a wonderful day!