This is a safe post to read, no blood, no guts. I’ll warn you when I post that one.
I woke up at 7:30 Saturday morning in a panic that we slept in too late. I drug a very sleepy Clay, Ellen and Seth out of bed and I made pancakes while they prepped for a day of killin’.
Clay and Ellen set up the chopping block. It consists of two old saw horses that were found by our barn, a big board and two giant clamps. Next year we are making killing cones, just because I want to be able to tell someone I made a killing cone…it sounds scary. I also think they would be easier than the chopping block. If you don’t know what a killing cone is for God’s sake don’t google it, unless you want to see a lot of blood.
Remember our clothing dilemma? I mean, check out Clay’s hot jeans and very white knee caps.
Okay, so we’ve got the chopping block, the ax, the chickens are in the pen waiting in the back ground. Let’s get to choppin’!
First, you want to test the blade on something to make sure it’s sharp. Anything will do…like a kid. I’m KIDDING! Get it? Kid ding? Kid….oh never mind. And calm down Mom the blade had a safety guard on it.
The nail is to position the chicken’s head under to hold it in place while you stretch out the neck and then….chop.
Off with their heads!
Am I making you nervous?
Need a Chicken Doctor?
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I’m not sure what kind of comments you’ll get on all this, but I want to start by saying that I think it’s important that we respect our food. As someone who eats meat it is important that I know of and care about the animals that become my meal. I really respect that you and your family decided to take that kind of responsibilty in your eating habits. It’s not something everyone could do, kudos to you!
Oh dear. I googled killing cone. Oh dear.
I remember when I was a small child, my mum chopped a chickens head off ( a regular occurrence at our house ) then she let it go! Picture in your mind, small child running very fast and screaming because a headless chicken is chasing her!!!!
Did you let one go just to see what happened?
If I had to process my own food, I would be a skinny vegan. Barf!
My husband grew up like this but not me. I guess I would finally be skinny for the first time if it was up to me to do that. My stomach is way to weak but kuddos to you guys.
We used to kill chickens when I was young. We also peddled eggs (had 500 free range chickens. Talk about a lot of chicken poop!) The most dreaded part of killing chickens for me was plucking/cleaning those dog-gone things. It smelled so bad and was such a mess!
My mom held onto a chicken by its legs, put her foot on its head, and pulled, yanking the head right off (that only works for young chickens, not tough old birds). Grandma used a hatchet. Either way, I thought it was great fun to see a headless chicken flopping around the yard.
If I had to kill my own chickens, I would never eat it again… thank goodness I don’t cause I LOVE chicken!
I too Googled. Holy crap. I may never eat chicken or turkey again. I don’t think I could do this…I cried for 6 hours when I hit a roccoon with my car. Chopping the head off of anything would put me in a padded cell. But dang, I bet you guys have some yummy, fresh din din.
hahahaha
My mom grew up on a farm; she would never eat chicken and I never learned why. Perhaps, now I know!!
Wow……just wow.
I guess this is a better and cheaper alternative to taking Prozac.
Well, I have killed several kinds of animals and cleaned them but not chickens. Are they really that stinky? For doves, I just pull their head off. I guess I thought you rung a chicken’s neck…or is that a turkey? So complicated! A hatchet makes much better sense. Do they really run around “like a chicken with their head cut off”?
I think that the most valuable chicken in all of history was one that survived your procedure. His name was Mike the Headless Chicken. Ever heard of him? They still celebrate his survival in Fruita, Colorado. This is one chicken you can Google without fear of bloody pictures.
Deanna told me to come here…
Having never killed an animal intentionally, I’m not sure what to make of this situation.
I may retreat back to my place among the clouds, where no animals are harmed.
But chicken is tasty…so keep doing what you’re doing. Just make sure I’m not lookin’.
-Chris
Weather Moose
Oh April
You are a much stronger gal than I. First the spoinkectomy, and now this. I think I’d end up foraging for wild berries if I had to kill something to eat it. Not that I’m against the KILLING of it to eat it, I just don’t think I could do it. We raised 25 meat birds, and took them to the butcher. They charged $1.50 for each bird. They sat in my freezer for two years before I threw them out. I KNOW! I don’t know why I’m like that. I’m hanging my head in shame now even calling myself “Coop Keeper”.
Kudos to you and Clay! Wish I could do it.
Oh dear. I’m really, REALLY trying to resist the urge to google “killing cone”.
My grandmother used to kill her own chickens, but only after they stopped laying and were horrible tough old things. Or maybe that was just her cooking?
My grandparents raised hogs & chickens when I was a tiny little girl. Too many times I walked in during the wrong moment lol! I claim I was traumatized. The first Thanksgiving I cooked by myself I sat for an hour crying & praying for the poor turkey lying on my counter. Pathetic, right?! I’m over it now, it tastes too good to pass up
)
I think it’s great that your family is so involved in the process. I, personally, could do it if I absolutely had to. It’s just so much easier to hit the supermarket & avoid the blood & guts
P
I just found your blog last week . . . but I think I’ll skip the post on killing chickens. Yeah, I KNOW someone has to kill ‘em for my chicken breast sandwiches, but I just don’t wanna think about it!
I’m thinking a killing cone is like that object that was behind Sarah Palin at Thanksgiving where the dude was popping in the turkeys head first????
I grew up on a farm too and we had a coping mechanism. Don’t get attached to the poultry and always kill the meanest head of cattle for beef. Anyone who behaved got off alive (or at least to another part of the country for its last fattening). We did have a lot of pets though, waifs and strays that lost moms/had injuries/ were just too cute.
I think today is the first day of my life as a vegetarian.
haha…brings back memories. Maybe it’s macabre but that was always a fun day at our house. We always had a big black cast iron pot full of boiling water going too. I think maybe it made the feathers come out more easily? Honestly though it is really the reason why I only eat skinless boneless chicken breast to this day. My gag reflex can only take so much!
I too am curious about the stench, cause you seem to hear that a lot. I just finished reading all of your archives (I am new to your blog), and am so impressed and jealous of your lifestyle. I hope I am able to learn and put a few things into action in my own life.
I’m a Kansas girl too, but I have to admit that I’m a wimp about farm stuff.
I can’t handle blood and guts. I eat meat as long as I don’t think about where it came from.
My mammaw used to keep chickens after she retired, the eggs were wonderful and when she was ready to eat one she would just wring its neck and cook it all in the same day. I was skeptical at first but it is the best tasting chicken I have ever had. I just don’t want to see it happen.
Yes… nervous and SO intrigued!
Thanks for the heads up on googling ‘killing cone’!
I can’t wait to hear more about this whole process. While it’s not pretty I’d take that over buying that chicken in the store that has who knows what in it, what was fed to it and treated badly on top of it all. How did you know that one chicken was sick and therefore didn’t process it. I hope you’re pretty detailed since I will be raising chickens soon too.
My mom grew up on a farm but moved to a semi-rural area when she married my dad (that semi-rural area is now a large suburb). I remember when I was about 5 she decided to relive her farm days and brought two chickens home, then slaughtered them. Yikes! I’m not sure why, but she never did it again.
My husband has to travel to Hong Kong and China for work quite a bit. He says in China the chickens are right at the open street markets and people come by and pick the one they want. The guy will then grab that chicken by the head and give the body several good spins, totally twisting the neck and thus killing the chicken. Ick! (Oh yeah, they also serve ALL the chicken parts in the restaurants in China).
We are killing 20 chickens or so on Monday morning…what a wonderful Memorial Day celebration! We’ve done this for 29 years…so it’s not so dreaded anymore! We use the killing cone. I’ll be anxious to read about your adventures.
Dang it! When you tell someone not to google something, you KNOW they’re going to do it, right?! Curse that irresistible urge to google killing cones…
When I was a kid I visited a farm (yes, just the one time…) at chicken “harvesting” time…they would grab the chickens by the head and swing ‘em in a circular motion until their bodies popped off and then they’d go flappin around the yard! Then all the kids would have to run around catching the headless bleeding chickens. Like I said, I only went the one time…after that I always had homework to do on chicken harvesting day (even when there was no school!)…
I have to admit, though, after seeing your “bee video” I can’t wait to see how you handled the chickens!
Mmm…chicken…
Frankly, I am a bit nervous. Thanks for saying you will warn us before showing the bloodly stuff. I summered on farms as a kid and dealt with this back then but now . . . I would rather just get the chicken from the store, thank you very much!
NOOOO, DON’T DO IT!!!!!
Ohhhhhh, you are making me verry nervous. Glad you stopped and didn’t show a headless chicken. Shudder, shudder…
Charlotte
We’ve done chickens for twenty years. Last fall we sent the batch out to be “done” and got charged $4 a bird. Guess it’s back to do it yourself this year!
I hope you starved them all night so their crops were clean. Makes the job a lot less gross.
OMG, I think I’m going to look away now….
You are such a tease! Get on with it, girl.
I am under the impression that the killing cone makes for much less drama. No “running around with their heads cut off” silliness. They bleed out much better and have less damage to the meat that way too.
You guys are really into this chicken farming. Thank god for that, cause I couldn’t do it. It really makes my day when I learn something new and this whole chicken thing is upping my happiness. Keep the photos coming.
Sorry to be a grammar nazi, but I think the word you are looking for regarding the clothing quandry is “dilemma”.
BTW, I really love your blog and look forward to reading it every day.
We butcher too. I’ll never forget when our kids did it for the first time. Instead of being scarred for life they reenacted (with legos no less) the whole chicken killing scene. Nothing like getting back to the basics. Sis
Oh goodness. Please find someone else to do this dirty work for you – Don’t do it! I know you already did.
Oh, I have seen the PBS documentary on chickens that included Mike the headless chicken. Very interesting. We too are getting chickens soon but just laying hens. I haven’t got the stomach for it, but always so glad to see others with this kind of common sense
.
By the way April…the video of Clay retrieving the bees is bar none the funniest video I’ve ever seen! Good Job!
I really want to google the cone thing but I’m too scared.
I’ve had a headless chicken run after me and I didn’t eat chicken from the time I was 6 until I was 13. Then I started eating chicken again and gave up beef.
Now I eat chicken and beef but not pig. I know you don’t care what I eat but I just typed it out without thinking….
I was homeschooled, and one year, my Mom decided that butchering chickens would be a GREAT biology lesson(frogs were not in the budget). I couldn’t eat chicken for months, but in retrospect, I think it would be great for my kids to know how to do this. These things can serve them well!
I second Sharon’s notion. Like to buy my chicken fileted and in nice, neat cellaphane wrapping.
I’m wondering if it says something about my personality that I am really looking forward to these next posts??? I find this very interesting. I’m also glad it’s your laundry and not mine!!!
This is how we did it: hold the chicken upside down by the feet. They immediately go still as the blood rushes to their head. Lay just the head on the ground & lightly step on it. Make a quick sharp pull upward. This disconnects the brain from the spinal column and causes immediate death. It’s all internal, no blood, no head coming off. No special tools, takes just a moment. We’d have a big pot of very hot water on the grill – dip the chicken in it and the feathers all come off in about three swipes of the hand. Voila! We researched all kinds of methods and decided on this one – we just “did” the roosters. It wasn’t nearly as gross as I thought it would be, even cleaning out the innards part (there’s not much).
I watched my dad kill out chickens when I was young – the best part was watching them flop all over the field “like a chicken with its head cut off” ! The worst part was when I had to pluck the dead thing,. Augh, i just about vomited every time I pulled out a feather and felt the flesh. i can still remember it. maybe that’s why I only buy skinless chicken breasts today.
Oh my gosh, I just watched the bee video – I was laughing so hard tears were rolling down my cheeks and the teenagers came up from the basement to see what was going on – you guys are so funny!
We also chop the heads off rather then using the cones when harvesting out birds. I would highly recommend to all those out there that you can avoid having the “chicken flopping around with it’s head chopped off” syndrome by simply doing this. After the head is off gently lay the bird on it’s back. All the twitching that is involved with death still happens but the bird will not be able to crash all around. This leaves the area much cleaner and no meat is bruised in the process.
Kudos to you and Clay for involving your children so they understand what is involved in the food they eat.
You could make a killing cone from an orange cone (like road workers use), you can pick one up at home depot or some other place like that. They run about $6 compared to the $30-40 for the metal ones from the poultry supply places.
I’m really tempted to google that cone…