We really are not as insensitive as the post title implies but Friday was the day. It was the first time we harvested our chickens. We processed 5 hens that we raised since they were little peeps. I think my dad would be proud, I didn't get tearful until the end when I said a little thanks to the final bird, the nervous bird, our special needs hen. We completed the task in just over 2 hours with a little additional set up and clean up time. Not bad for novices.
This was the set up. We used a traffic cone to hold each hen as we severed the head. I say we, but I really mean... I severed 1 and Nate completed 4. My job was to catch and calm....like a chicken whisperer. The blood drained easily into a bucket. We set up a barrier so the remaining hens would not have to witness another hen's final moments.
We utilized the piles of snow in our yard to keep everything cool as we worked.
We then scalded each hen and began plucking. Butchering each hen was actually quite cool. We even found a egg that had not been laid yet! Nate did a wonderful job of doing most of the main body gutting. By the end, I was ready to be finished and felt a little nauseous.
We crock potted 2 hens the following day and they were delicious! Next, chicken soup!
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