On Monday I spent the day helping out the organic farm down the road. My good deed of the day was aiding in this weeks chicken slaughter. It was an all day affair full of more guts than glory. Those squeamish in the gizzard may want to skip the rest of this post. I can only imagine that describing the events that bring chicken from pen to freezer package are as disgusting as the visceral moments themselves. Let's dig in.
When the chickens made there way to my station, they more resembled rotisserie than their clucking former selves. With the in mind, I'll start with the beginning of the process from what I watched I learned about. The chickens spend most of their time on death row crammed in small plastic cages shorter than a full chicken's height. The owner of the farm explained that they put the chickens into the corner because when stuffed in there they feel comfortable and safe. I guess they can shut out the impending doom with a cozy enough section.
The chickens are then removed in groups of eight and put into the killing cones. A device that would make the Inquisition jealous, the cones preside above wood chips stained with the blood of chickens past. The chickens go into the large end and flop down with just their necks and heads hanging out the skinny end. Heads are left to gather up as much blood as possible before the killing stroke. In this case, the killing blow is performed in one of the officially humane ways denoted by some organization I can't remember off the top of my head. The owner would place his thumb on the back of the head and tease the feathers of the neck apart with his scalpel. When the veins were full and exposed a quick slice opened up a steady trickle of cherry red. The flow wasn't as fast as I thought it would be. The chickens has a good minute usually of turned their heads looking at the world the was dripping away. Some would thrash fruitlessly around trying to escape through the top end of the cone. Flecks of blood and chicken crap would fly through the air as a last defense.
Once the chickens have clucked their last cluck, they are scalded and plucked. I was lucky or unlucky enough to miss this part of the process. So I have found a youtube video for everyone's pleasure. Basically the chickens are warmed up and then bashed around on plastic fingers that pluck the feathers. Enjoy.
When the chickens made there way to my station, they more resembled rotisserie than their clucking former selves. With the in mind, I'll start with the beginning of the process from what I watched I learned about. The chickens spend most of their time on death row crammed in small plastic cages shorter than a full chicken's height. The owner of the farm explained that they put the chickens into the corner because when stuffed in there they feel comfortable and safe. I guess they can shut out the impending doom with a cozy enough section.
The chickens are then removed in groups of eight and put into the killing cones. A device that would make the Inquisition jealous, the cones preside above wood chips stained with the blood of chickens past. The chickens go into the large end and flop down with just their necks and heads hanging out the skinny end. Heads are left to gather up as much blood as possible before the killing stroke. In this case, the killing blow is performed in one of the officially humane ways denoted by some organization I can't remember off the top of my head. The owner would place his thumb on the back of the head and tease the feathers of the neck apart with his scalpel. When the veins were full and exposed a quick slice opened up a steady trickle of cherry red. The flow wasn't as fast as I thought it would be. The chickens has a good minute usually of turned their heads looking at the world the was dripping away. Some would thrash fruitlessly around trying to escape through the top end of the cone. Flecks of blood and chicken crap would fly through the air as a last defense.
Once the chickens have clucked their last cluck, they are scalded and plucked. I was lucky or unlucky enough to miss this part of the process. So I have found a youtube video for everyone's pleasure. Basically the chickens are warmed up and then bashed around on plastic fingers that pluck the feathers. Enjoy.