Chase, Andrew, Iona, and I processed 25 of the 28 surviving broilers. The missing 3 are being trialed with my laying flock, as I want to have a back up rooster. (I thought for a while that I was going to have to dispatch the current feral rooster, but he may be on the mend from his injury.) I did most of the catching and dispatching, since the roosters were least stressed by my presence in the run. We all prioritized having it be humane death for them. Everyone did take a turn at dispatching to gain some experience.
I had borrowed a large pot and propane heater from Rachel and Eli, who couldn't make it. So scalding was a simple process.
Then plucking was SO easy with my new Yard Bird plucker!! It was a very generous gift from Chase and Andrew!
By far the most time-consuming part was gutting the chickens. Chase and Andrew had brought over a couple of fancy sharp knives, and we all got faster at the process as the night went on, but still we worked from noon to 10 pm with only a few short breaks.
They also brought a vacuum sealer, so these almost look like store-bought chickens!
All the volunteers took home a couple of chickens each. It takes a village - I definitely couldn't have done all this myself! Thank you to my amazing friends!!
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