KIlled and dressed my own Chickens today

Wow I'm jealous. Most of us will probably never get anywhere near close to that experience. Thanks for sharing!

So you just had a couple of roosters in your backyard?

Thats awesome. I don't know if I have the cajones to do that but grats! Then again, I guess it would depend on how hungry I was.

I took a peak at the blog and saw the goat named Bean! Is that a book character reference?

And have you had goat before?

That's great! Makes one appreciate our food a lot more.  I remember when my mom used to do it.  She used to fold the neck back, slit the throat, then "pump" the heart.

Messy job, done it many times. I used to go in with a group of families to butcher 6 cattle. We converted a 3 stall garage into a butcher shop and went at it. In 6 hours we had everything broken down and in the freezers.

Gunnar, I can't help but make a comment on your use of words. Roosters are male and do not lay eggs.

I've never done any slaughtering myself.  But visiting Vietnam I've been able to experience some of what was mentioned.  I was ok with chickens and rabbits, but slaughting a bleating goat... the cry it makes is heartbreaking.

Gunnar,

It is probably too late this time, but the next time you butcher some birds, save the feet, skin them (not too easy, but managable with pliers), and use them to make stock or add to your stock.  They are relatively fat-free and are chock-full of collagen for thickening soups and sauces.

I have been buying free-range birds locally, not so much for the meat, but because the folks give me the chicken feet.  I have a few gallons in the fridge for winter soups.  I actually added some to my last batch of tomato sauce when I made manicotti and it thickened it nicely.

Collagen from the chicken feet. Hmm.

That reminds me of authentic Pho'. If you make it traditionally, one would boil beef bones for the marrow. Is that at all related? When they do that for Pho' are they also getting collagen?

Total koudos to yourself Gunnar. I would only do the same to save my life.

I was traumatised at the age of ten to see my dad drawing the guts out of one, then he bent the legs over the top of the pantry door, pulled on the feet and yanked them off with their sinews attached. These were placed on the kitchen windowsill to dry. The smell was gut wrenching.

Then came the fun value...For my older brothers...They were both given a foot each and shown, that if you pulled each sinew, it made the foot do stuff. They scared the bejeezuz out of me and my younger brothers. Luckily for us the feet got nasty after a couple of days and the novelty wore off

BTW I wouldnt even do the gutting at college. I told the tutor i would always get someone else to do it and he dismissed me from class with the knowlege my final qualifications would be lacking... I sat in the locker room for all his classes with a few others that couldnt hack it.

What a woos eh?

Awesome stuff Gunnar.  Let us know how the meat of the egg laying varieties measures up (aside for quantities, I mean).  What did you feed them with?

Wow, I'm impressed, there is something very grounding about killing and preparing your own food. IT reminds me of killing trout my father had caught. I think more people should be killingtheir own food because I think it will breed more respect for the providence of our food while bringing us closer to nature.

I like you did it, based on the fact that people have grown complacent and don't know how to do this themselves.

Personally, I'm not there yet, but I'm on my way.

It is sure nice to know what is in the meat.

My mother in law has free roaming chickens. At first I was apprehensive when I saw what she fed them. Any concern I had became nonexistent when I cooked a couple of her eggs up for breakfast.

Because as anyone (here) knows, fresh eggs are a world apart from grocery store eggs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by badbarbara 

I think more people should be killing heir own food because I think it will breed more respect for the providence of our food while bringing us closer to nature.

I soooo agree with that. I am floored when some of my friends think it's inhuman or disgusting to kill an animal, but don't hesitate for a second to throw away several pounds of leftover meat a week.

Quote:

Originally Posted by French Fries 

I soooo agree with that. I am floored when some of my friends think it's inhuman or disgusting to kill an animal, but don't hesitate for a second to throw away several pounds of leftover meat a week.

That's what kills me. I was raised to hunt animals, and the most important lesson my dad taught me was don't shoot something unless you are prepared to clean it and eat it. I visited my parents' house last weekend and helped my father butcher a deer he had killed. We smoked some of the tenderloins and ribs that night. It was probably some of the best venison I've ever had. And it couldn't have been fresher.
 

I didn't do anything quite that cool, but I did get some whole partridges in this week... head, eyes, and all. I wanted to to roast the skulls and let people suck the brains out, but the exec didn't think it was a good idea. party pooper. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRock645 

I didn't do anything quite that cool, but I did get some whole partridges in this week... head, eyes, and all. I wanted to to roast the skulls and let people suck the brains out, but the exec didn't think it was a good idea. party pooper. 

You missed your calling as a Fear Factor Chef :P

milk goats are also bonier than meat goats....we get some of the boy meat when they're about 19ish pounds, from friends who are cheesemakers.

pork heads, shanks are also very high in collagen...roasted pork bone stock that's jelled up is a beautiful thing.

cool pics of your slaughter, thanks for sharing.