Yesterday I stepped back in time. At least in my mind I did. We took half of our chickens and processed them. Hubby did the way his dad taught him, with Grandpa watching the entire process!

I had heard horror stories about this process, the smell, the mess, the blood you name it I heard it. I was prepared to be grossed out, to find it disgusting, to be sick to my stomach. Either my stomach has gotten tough or it was not that bad.

The first step you take is to get a big cast iron pot on some bricks with wood underneath. Then you get the fire going. Once the pot is steaming the water is ready. Which means it is time to kill a chicken. Hubby made Sconicle watch youtube videos (yes they have them too), to be prepared. Somehow on a video it seems more graphic. We have never seen our chickens other than a process of food. I know I couldn’t do goats, or maybe pigs but chickens are just different. Every member of my family but me killed a chicken. The only reason I didn’t is because someone had to be able to hold a flopping chicken. That was my job, get the chicken, place the chicken, hold the chicken, pluck the chicken.

Hubby and Gator did the gutting of the chickens, from watching the video that seemed the worst part. Although once you get started, nothing seems to bother you. I had three kids (a nephew helped) and myself splattered in chicken blood.

After you get the pot hot, you behead the chickens, let them bleed for a bit. Then you dunk them in the hot water, to loosen the feathers. Then you pluck them, which has a real learning curve. Our first chickens were rough, but we got a lot better with each bird. Then you gave them to Hubby and Gator to gut, they had their own process. Grandpa inspected and instructed on each step, don’t worry we did it like it should have been done. Then after the guts are gone you throw them in a bleached and cleaned bucket (oh yeah I did the cleaning of every thing. The bucket has water and ice, the chickens then are slowing cooled. When you are done you bag the birds and throw them in a freezer.

Considering we are talking eight pound birds thirteen fill up a freezer pretty quick. We have about fifteen to go today or tomorrow and we will be done.

We will fill up Uncle B’s freezer as well. Who came by to steal our gizzards for fish bait! Which was fine with us, he got a kick out of seeing this big city girl plucking chickens.

Don’t be afraid to try something new, that is my point today. I could not waste feed for my family. None of us really wanting to process chickens, but when you are looking at sixty meals of protein you will try anything once. We plan to do it each year, it is not that bad. We know what we need, how best to do it, and what works.

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