Cockerels and Pullets that are raised for butchering require specific food for meat birds to keep them healthy and ensure they grow quickly. Their diet is different from chickens raised for laying eggs, and their diet changes as they transition from a chick into a pullet or cockerel. Feeding Meat BirdsIf you are raising meat…
For the more adventurous backyard chicken crew, raising chickens for their eggs simply isn’t enough. Why not have access to wonderfully fresh chicken meat birds? One visit to a commercial slaughterhouse is probably enough to convince even the most squeamish person that there are a significant number of benefits to knowing exactly how and where…
Butchering is not for everyone because it brings you closer into the food chain than you may find comfortable. Many people eat meat, but prefer to be removed from the processing of a live animal into food. If you fall into this camp, you may want to skip this section focusing on deciding to butcher…
If you are not interested in learning how to kill a chicken, please consider visiting other areas of our website, this page focuses on humane techniques. In this section, we focus on humane techniques to end a chicken’s life quickly and in a manor that will facilitate the remainder of the butchering process. Your goals…
Once a chicken is killed, the next step in the meat bird process is to remove all of the feathers. Many people refer to this process as “plucking” the feathers. More seasoned poultry folk call this process “picking”. The first important thing to know is that you do not want to delay the picking process.…
The process of butchering a chicken is often performed immediately after feathers are picked. Some people, however, prefer to cool the chicken before butchering. Either way, the process is the same. There are some basic tools you will want to collect before beginning the butchering process including: Sharp kitchen sheers Sharp knife Butchering is a…
After the chickens are cooled, you will want to take the proper steps in aging chicken meat properly before proceeding. Make sure to age your chickens before cooking them, before quartering them and before freezing them. The reason for aging, just like in beef, is to allow the muscle tissue to relax and tenderize before…
If you plan to freeze or eat your chicken whole, then you can skip this step. In this step, we cover quartering a chicken and other various ways to cut up your chicken into common pieces of meat. Think about the ways you plan to eat your chicken before starting to cut it up. Also,…
Freshly butchered chicken meat will keep for up to 5 days in a refrigerator so long as the temperature is maintained at 34° F or lower. To keep chicken longer, you must freeze it no longer than 3 days after butchering. Keep your freezer below 0° F and do not store frozen chicken for longer…