i have only ever had to deal with one like "r r" and there will be no repeat of my messy execution.i do have "stranglers hands" and experience but even though i felt the neck "give" and he looked very dead he came high up off the floor with a lop sided head and tried to spur my face .what can only be described as a trench fight ensued ,i killed him .it was horrible and im still upset by it.
i will add that normal chooks only require normal methods but some chooks are not normal.
ps i was told he was rather "evil" and might be a "bit difficult" when his card was marked but i was very surprised by the way he did a Karel Richter when i surprised him "in flagrante" the afternoon before his planned visit to my stew pot.
Finished! I bumped that cockerel off this morning. I've just finished plucking what was a nice last summers Welsummer cockerel and as I sat there in the old stable, with my wellies and my rubber apron on, I was wondering how many of you dry plucked as opposed to wet plucked?
And yes, while I realise that perhaps I should have put some more clothes on, its sometime times nice to be a simple bloke.
sean Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 42219 Location: North Devon
Posted: Tue Feb 17, 15 11:03 am Post subject:
Plus you can just hose yourself down at the end of the job.
Back when my family had chooks: Dry for the odd one, wet if doing a load.
I wet pluck and a couple of kettles of boiling water not only sees the feather coming off more easily but also puts paid to any unwanted creepy crawlies.
I'm not allergic to feather dust but I would imagine that wet plucking has got to be a better bet for those who are.
alison Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 29 Oct 2004 Posts: 12918 Location: North Devon
Posted: Tue Feb 17, 15 1:03 pm Post subject:
Interesting.
We dry puck, as soon as the blood has stopped flowing.
chez
Joined: 13 Aug 2006 Posts: 35935 Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset
Posted: Tue Feb 17, 15 2:35 pm Post subject:
Dry. I only do a couple at a time these days though.
i have tried cool overnight and then hot water dip but i found it a bit "claggy" and as i dont care for gamey in chicken i like to pluck n gut (n chill or cook)asap ,especially with a roastable bird
Joined: 13 Oct 2006 Posts: 6521 Location: Dordogne
Posted: Tue Feb 17, 15 4:56 pm Post subject:
God, its a regular occurance here throughout the year. I hatch about 100 chicks annually, so morally Im obliged to keep and eat the cockerels.
It dosnt bother me now, and I just get organised first thing.
I dont bother with plucking - helluva faff. I just take the dead bird in the kitchen, split the skin, remove the fillets and legs, bag the carcass and on to the next.
Ducks were always that wee bit stronger and a couple of years back did 14 in a day. bar over neck, holding legs at the thighs and inside a cutdown traffic cone to contain the flapping wings. Again, peel off skin.
The cockerels that I'm killing are eight months old and are dressing out at about 7lbs, so they're well worth plucking and producing a lovely tasty traditional roast chicken.
We dry pluck immediately after killing while the body is still warm. Start with the flight feathers (though usually can't be faffed with wing tips). Then we do a fast rough pluck over the rest of the wings and the body. When it starts to get tough(er) we then pour boiling water over.
It can be difficult to get the boiling water to penetrate the feathers. Doing the rough pluck first makes it easier to get the water in.
12Bore
Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 9089 Location: Paddling in the Mersey
Finished! I bumped that cockerel off this morning. I've just finished plucking what was a nice last summers Welsummer cockerel and as I sat there in the old stable, with my wellies and my rubber apron on, I was wondering how many of you dry plucked as opposed to wet plucked?
And yes, while I realise that perhaps I should have put some more clothes on, its sometime times nice to be a simple bloke.
Karen's jointed the chicken this evening. Unless you rear your own birds, when did you last eat a bird with meat as dark as this. Its a million light years away from the insipid crud that supermarkets sell and you'll have to take it from me as to how tasty it will be.
Last edited by Bodger on Thu Feb 19, 15 6:07 am; edited 1 time in total
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