My wife and I went through the same thing this spring. The hardest part was definitely the killing, since I've never been hunting or even killed an animal. But we wanted to go through the whole process. We learned a lot, and it will hopefully be a lot easier next time. Great videos guys, keep it up!
I had an experienced person show me how it was done. We used a wood chopping block with 2 nails hammered in partially. Hooked the chicken's head between the nails and gave it a firm whack with a sharp axe, head straight off. 1. To handle a chicken, Pick it up by the feet, one leg between 2 fingers, upside down a chicken goes into a catatonic state and will not fight you, their wings splay out and they just go along with it. This helps tremendously in preventing their escape, it relaxes them and they basically just go into a kind of stasis. 2. Dig a hole about 1-2 feet deep in front of the chopping block, and let the head and blood and any unwanted shit drop into the hole, bury it and put your chopping block on top of it so nothing digs it up until it's decomposed and gone back into the earth. 3. Cleaning the chicken is your own prerogative, but I believe if you cut AROUND it's bum, not cutting into the intestinal tract, so you can pull it's entire guts out in one go without getting chicken poo on your meat. I didn't do this bit. The other guy did it, I just watched. If you fuck it up, you just made dog food. Try again...
Lets see ... the name of this video is: *Our First Time Slaughtering Chickens: What Was it Like?* When *I* clicked on this video, I thoroughly EXPECTED to see the slaughtering of chickens. It NEVER ceases to amaze me that those who are opposed to eating meat click on the video KNOWING what it's content is IN ADVANCE, and proceed to proclaim that killing/slaughtering/butchering MEAT is NOT their lifestyle, and YOU should not have that lifestyle EITHER. WHY click on the video in the first place?!? Homesteaders do NOT become homesteaders just so they can have the PLEASURE of killing animals!!! In the past few years, I have watch NUMEROUS videos on homesteading, INCLUDING how to PROCESS or DISPATCH an animal for FOOD. In NONE of those videos did I EVER see someone VICIOUSLY KILLING an animal. I have seen people THANKING the animal for giving it's life, so theirs can be sustained. REAL TRUE Homesteaders take GOOD CARE of their animals as if they are a part of the family. And, in a sense, they ARE. If the animal is sick or injured, the owner has several options. Some have an expertise in handling it, and those who don't, call a vet. They do NOT allow their animals to suffer. In fact, I have witnessed some with tears as the circle of life must continue. Take good care of your animals, and they will take good care of you. It makes me wonder if a non meat-eating person cries at the SLAUGHTER of a LIVING PLANT when they SLAUGHTER it and EAT it? I bet THAT plant (aka: living being) did not want to DIE BEFORE IT'S TIME. SMDH!!! Jesse & Alyssa.... gotta say... you did a FINE JOB of dispatching the birds in the most HUMANE and HEARTFELT way possible. I wish you guys all the best as you grow & learn & thrive in a peaceful environment. God bless you both. Prayers...
you guys had no clue how to do this, but you didn't let that stop you, and then you take the time to share with us how it went and what to look out for. A big thanks to the both of you.
I shot and killed my 2nd hog yesterday. now we've done deer, rabbit, duck, and chicken, but never a hog. I have been studying on you tube how to butcher. 1/2 the hog went into freezer and the other ground up. to my surprise my 2nd oldest daughter came out and helped with the gutting and trimming. WOW !!! then she commented to me, dad this is the kinda life I really want to life. where everything is pure and i'm self sufficient. she never saw the tear running down my face... teach a child to hunt , fish, to garden, tell will always have food.. PROVERBS 22:6 - TRAIN A CHILD IN THE WAY THEY SHOULD GROW AND WHEN THEY ARE OLD THEY WILL NOT DEPART FROM IT..... LOL
Mutalisk888 it only will take the insecurity of a meal for people to realize nothing is guaranteed in life. when im financially able i want to live as self sufficient as possible. not in fear of the end of the world but for beauty and raw life that is among us. thanks for the comment, made me think a little.
Here are some tips. 1) get a fish landing net aka small fish net with a pole. Easy to capture chickens. 2) feel around the neck for the veins and cut them both sides, hold the chicken neck back and they will bleed out quickly. 3) not all chickens are the same some will die quicker than others. 4) Skip that whole feather process and skin the chicken feathers and all. It's quicker, unless you love that chicken skin. 5) I wouldn't have kept chick feet, they are nasty walking around in their own crap. 6) Traffic cones work well for upside down chicken holders. 7) capture the blood and get rid of it, it attracts critters. 8) A fold up white plastic table from walmart works great for cleaning 9) Line the table with newspapers for easy cleanup 10) I usually always have a 55 gallon trash barrell lined with heavy trash bag which I fill up with newspaper, guts, heads, etc... and get rid of it fast. Because it stinks and attracts flies.
Great tips Chris! The chicken net makes sense... we didn't have that at the time. Sounds like you've done this a time or two. We did try to dispose of everything as best and as quickly we could as to not attract animals or critters. We know lots of folks don't bother plucking but skin the entire chicken. I guess that could have been better for us, especially since we don't have an oven to bake the chicken in so we will likely boil it and pull the meat off... live and learn!
I love and respect our chickens. We get lots of eggs. We let hens raise their own chicks. If you decide to raise your own chickens, you will realize you did your neighbor a favor. There will be more times that not, where you would like others to take some chickens. If you are serious about your chickens being a food resource, and not pets, there will be times when it will be necessary to kill a chicken. I make no apologies for killing chickens, however it's never my first strategy. I do not intentionally kill chickens on a regular 16-20 week cycle. If you raise natural chickens you will learn why quickly. There isn't much meat on a young chicken. They are not like your grocery store chicken who is fed hormones. Over time however, if you raise natural birds, you will end up having more than your fair share of roosters. Too many, and you make the quality of life fo the hens horrific due to excess breeding. So it's necessary to try and give those roosters away or kill them to trim the flock.
I butchered mine for the very first time at the end of September for the very same reason: to take steps towards being self-sustaining. It definitely gave me a whole new outlook on the concept of life, as well as respecting it and the lives of others- human, animals, nature and otherwise.
You need to look at rabbits as a meat animal. A hutch doesn't take much space and the dropping are great fertilizer. Chickens for eggs, rabbits for meat.
+1 on this comment. Rabbits are easy to care for, easy to butcher, and yield fantastic portions of meat. With very little experience, you can butcher and process a rabbit in a few minutes. They are also quite hardy for cold weather (depending on the breed), and would be perfect for your place. They also....breed like rabbits! A buck and a few does would keep you two fed, no problem. Let me know if I can help with any information on rabbits (or chickens for that matter).
I have eaten rabbit, whilst in the Mediterranean, I'm from England, so its not part of my national dish which is fish and chips, when I look at rabbits I think they look too cute to slaughter, and I bet others would be like how could I eat a rabbit.. but yeah since I have already eaten a rabbit, they do taste good, in the way that people from the Mediterranean prepare them & I did enjoy the taste of it.. I'm not sure if I could kill one yet, If I did id probably say a few words before doing the deed so the rabbit is looked after in the afterlife, I'm not sure if they would understand, when is it right and wrong to do such a thing, these are questions I ask my self.
I really wish Alyssa hadn't mentioned that during the chasing of the chicken, it had went "across the road." The very fabric of the universe now demands to know; "Why did the chicken cross the road?" I'm sorry, but there was just no way avoid this.
My dad made me so this when i was a little kid. It was pretty traumatizing at the time but later on i realized he just wanted to show me how meat was put on the table lol.
Alyssa, don't listen to the idiots in the comments. Those like me who understand support you entirely. Those that don't are the people who think chickens are born on plastic trays in the back of the supermarket...You're doing the most respectful thing and using all the animal - just the way it should be done. I hope the rest of your build goes smoothly!
this isn't barbaric. all meat is alive before it comes in that pretty package at the store. this way you know your meat is clean and happy and healthy before it's been dispatched. great video.
sherm dog I'm ready to die with a smile said no free range animals ever. Your murders plain and simple if you think humans are carnivores or dominant you'll never understand.
OK. were not dominate. mother nature is. everything dies. mother nature will kill us all. and not with a smile. if you have ever killed a bug then your also a murderer.
Love this video. I'm not sure what all the haters though HOMESTEADING consisted of. It's a little more than sitting in front of your brand-name wood burning stove, reading books, sipping tea, and making preserves.
Taking an animal's life is never easy. That's one reason why I have enjoyed the hunts I got skunked on a bit more than those on which I was successful. The best way to show respect for an animal's life, IMO, is to use every part of the animal possible and not discard any more than absolutely necessary. No other animal on Earth shows respect for the life of its prey - only humans do. It's interesting that so many PETA-types troll videos such as this, and call them barbaric, but cheer when a grizzly mauls and eats a tourist or camper who "invaded" its territory, as though humans don't have a natural right to tread anywhere but on sidewalks and blacktop. Cities, sidewalks, and blacktop are very recent phenomena in human history. Anyway, ethically dispatching and butchering birds or other food animals is a good skill to have. Cheers.
When you know that the food you consume has lived a good life and has been treated with the highest level of respect it gives you comfort. I can't say I would want to be completely off grid, but certainly applaud all who strive to do so.
Growing up, my parents decided to build a chicken coop and have chickens for meat and eggs. I was only 5 yrs. old, but my job was to be the "Chicken Plucker". Mom cut the chicken's head off on a stump with an axe. She dipped the killed chicken in a wash tub of boiling water to loosen the feathers, & then I began pulling feathers. Still remember the smell of wet chicken feathers! The fun part was collecting eggs.
Reminds me of my first time trying to slaughter chickens. I made my own kill cone out of a milk jug. I had my chickens inside a small dog run, but still had a time trying to catch them. When I finally got it into the kill cone I spent over 15 minutes trying to slit its throat, but really only torturing the poor bird (I still feel horrible about that). Finally I called someone I knew who had done it before, and was told how to properly slice a chickens throat (grab its comb and pull its throat taught before cutting). Thanks for posting this video -- it was good remember that experience. :)
I'm going to go ahead and steal the line "opportunities are always convenient". That's a powerful statement; it shows how deeply you thirst for knowledge and respect the will of others to pass it on. Well done.
Ivan Modesto Thats how it should be and I respect your decision. Everyone should do what makes him happy When I posted my comment I read about 5 - 6 comments from vegans who were pretty angry
momentinpassing im also sane enough to think a life is worth more than a 10 minute meal Besides, if you want something delicious, why not try vegan meats?
I applaud your lifestyle choice and your courage to take on a distasteful task. My Mother raised 100 chicks into fryers each year. The chicks came through the mail. There were never any qualms about literally wringing a chickens neck. It was, for a family of ten children, a matter of survival. It was not unheard of to be directed by my Mother to, "kill me three or four chickens for dinner". It was part of my becoming an adult that I was trusted to take a chicken by the head and spin it fast enough and with a sudden jerking motion "snap" it's head off. Which completely separated the head from the body. The body would flop on the ground for a few seconds. I thought the axe idea was gruesome. I never heard of a "cone of death" until I saw your video. After watching this I am convinced that two full rotations and a snap is the way to go. The layers were kept throughout the year and were a different breed. Hogs, I shot between the eyes with a .22. Then, quickly stuck a long very sharpe butcher knife into their chest, between their front legs, to pierce their heart. Again it was how we survived. Today a lot of folks would think my actions abhorrent, even some meat eaters. There is no doubt that the food tasted better back then.
Made me stop eating meat altogether. I can't morally justify it. I see too many comparisons between our use of animals in an era where it is unnecessary and our view towards slaves, oh so recently.
I respect you for that. I think it's quite hypocritical when someone can eat meat but not actually kill the animal itself. I'm not a meat eater but I can appreciate someone who can kill an animal to feed their family.
for all the people here that are mad, one thing is that they lived a much better life than living in a big slaughter house. and if you're still mad why did you click the video?
and the city slickers say...omg, how can you kill a chicken, i'm so upset im going to get an order of chicken nuggets at mcdonalds, they just grow them on a bush and pick them when ready... ;-))
Allison Kauffman This is actually the humane way to kill an animal. Big meat companies are the ones killing animals in a terrible way. I buy my meats from private farms like this one. The animals live a good life before they get killed. I know it may seem like a terrible way to kill, but the chicken is killed instantly, they feel no pain. There are other humane ways to kill a chicken, this is just one of them since the chicken feels no pain.
Mama had a short lanyard on one of her clothes lines and made a loop to hold the chickens feet. She then grabbed the chickens head and pulled it toward her. With one stroke of a sharp butcher knife the deed was done and the blood did not splatter her. Guess you could also use a limber tree limb for the same effect.
It's really sad that so many people doesn't understand that this is the way you slaughter an animal. How would you otherwise be eating your chicken nuggets? Top notch, very well done for a first time.
I remember as a kid when the parents cleaned out the chicken coop and dad & grandpa cutting chickens heads off and the bodies running around "like a chicken with its head cut off" and then the heads staring at us as we moved...
well done! I appreciate the example you and Jesse are setting for those following you. Your desire to be responsible, ethical and honest is admirable. Thank you.
Take the chicken's legs and place them individually in-between the two knuckles of your index and ring fingers of your non dominant hand (palm and breast of chicken facing same direction). Place your index and and middle fingers of your dominant hand so to cup the back side of the chicken's skull, do this so that you can feel the first and second cervical vertebrae and your palm is facing the same direction as the bird's beak. Quickly pull until you feel the C1 separate from the C2. At this point (less than a few milliseconds) the bird is braindead and incapable of feeling pain and you can exsanguinate (bleed out) your bird. Sometimes the head will come off because there is not much more than a few thin tendons and very thin skin that is really anchoring the head, do not be concerned, the chicken is already dead and can't feel it and the bird will exsanguinate.
How ugly and brutal how heartless how inhuman.... I can't cope with wrapping my head around all of this right now. I have to go and seek personal therapy at McDonalds with some nuggets... And a Diet Coke...
I love your channel! You guys are awesome. I also purchased a piece of land and erected a yurt on it. Come this spring I too will be starting my off-grid/homestead life👍
In my religion it's frowned upon to hurt something unless you must. There are exceptions for food though. We give thanks to the animal after we kill it, say we are sorry and tell them how grateful we are for them helping feed us. Then we pray that their soul has a happy afterlife. Killing an animal for food CAN be humane you just need to have respect for the animal
Thank you for doing this video, people need to know where their food comes from and an idea of the work and sacrifices that are made for their convenience.
some times we had to do 500, 250 in one day, after scolding, don't pluck, rub against the grain, much qiucker so the skin doesn't have time to cool down during the "plucking". love your courage.
I'm late to the chicken killing party, but here goes. My Aunt Ruth used to have chickens and we used to go to her house sometimes for Sunday Dinner. If we were having chicken for dinner, she would go out to the chicken house, grab a chicken by the neck, walk over to a stump in the backyard, hold the chicken down with one hand, grab the axe with the other and chop off the head of the chicken. The chicken would flop around for a few seconds, blood spurting, then drop. It is amazing to me that she never chopped off her hand with the axe, but I guess she knew what she was doing. She would take the chicken inside and get it ready for plucking. Pluck all the feathers out then cut up the chicken into pieces for cooking. 'then she would grab a large steel spoon, go out to the back porch and come back with a large hunk of lard that she had vats of on the porch. Fry up the chicken and it was, of course, the best chicken you ever ate! They had pigs, too which they rendered the lard from. My mother wouldn't let me watch them slaughter the pigs. I think she was afraid it would turn me into a vegetarian.
mike h yeah I wouldn't suggest watching the pig slaughter They have way more blood than a chicken, and it's not just splatting, it's gushing and bursting I thought I could handle our first pig but when I saw it I was traumatized and just sat on a bench petting one of the cows
I grew up on a farm. I can't eat meat because of it. I just can't justify it. Our view towards animals is exactly what our view towards blacks and slaves. So I'd rather not be a part of it.
No, don't try to compare domesticated animals bred for centuries to be eaten with self-aware human beings. Not only was that comparison extremely offensive and inaccurate, but it's also a logical fallacy. Please don't say offensive nonsense like that moving forward.
Trinatey Wilton lol you had too many pets as a kid. Some animals are for food and others have purpose for companionship, protection, herding or hunting like dogs. Or cats for pest control and horses for transportation but lol everything else is food. Grab your nuts man...here put these on👠
Having grown up in the 60's and 70' on the eastern shore of Virginia there were always a lot of chickens around. First I'd like to say I've seen how older generation blacks did it back then and I'll tell you, they would have those chicken's heads off and hung up in no time flat. I'm talking seconds. Secondly, I've always heard it was wise to keep free roaming chickens around your house. I think I know why but I'm sure other readers will chime in.
I'm so happy to finally see an everyday person trying something like this cuz imma just a regular Joe just like you guys and it's nice to see that every time I watch a RUclips video you have these really experienced people doing this stuff thank you for the videos
What a lot of people fail to realize if u don’t take advantage of killing these birds for meat. And let them go someone or something (like another animal) will kill it.
When I was a kid we used to catch the chickens by the leg with a long stick that had a hook on the end that their feet could not pass through. Then we had a large wood block with 2 nails protruding that their neck could fit through but not their head. We slipped the neck between the nails and pulled back by the feet and one quick chop with a hatchet and it was done. The entire process took only seconds.
As I was reading I kept thinking that you were brutal! I thought you were gonna impale the chicken with the wood board and nails! But then I kept reading and was relieved. Lol. 😂
Living the way of nature/Off grid includes learning from your mistakes and... having balls and putting your emotions aside. The ones who are hating this living are just jealous of your freedom. Humans were designed for this style of life, PERIOD. Cheers and good luck! ;)
Chicken butchering 101: Talk sympathetically to the chicken in chicken talk for like 10 minutes or something, passionately kiss the chicken, then put on a shirt and tie, sit in a full bath with the chicken, then use the lead of a hair straightener (your chicken probably has one) and violently strangle and or drown the chicken (you can cry if you want I don't care) and that's basically it👌
Hae Fuustr harsh reality. We kill to survive. It's how it has always been. We need an intake of energy, and sadly we can't harness that energy any other way expect eating, so we must eat what contains energy, those being living things including plants. It's just s chain of energy passing on from one atom to the next. Too bad we can't absorb energy any other way, only thing is eating.
Nathaniel Waltrip we have two options, to either kill a heterotrophic or a phototrophic being. In other words, a plant or an animal. Regardless of what we do we must harvest energy from another being that has energy. Sadly we can't harvest energy any other way. In my eyes, you are stopping a flow of energy to be given to yourself one way or another, wether thats the flesh of a planet or an animal. you're stopping that being from harvesting energy to feed your own. Humans have been doing this before we even knew what was going on. us being animals, we kill other animals to survival. We also eat plants along with that, mother nature luckily giving us the ability to become omnivores. It's built into our system, into our genetics, into our ancestry. Now, it's hard to get everyone to just change what people do because of some reason like "oh its cruel for the other animals."
Peter Jörgenson SO whats the difference? You're taking another life, You're stopping another flow of active energy. I completely understand what you're saying with the whole fruits can't think or feel, and that it's not a heterotroph, but still. What's the definition of life? to me, the lives between tree and a cow is the same. It's life no matter what way we look at it. We kill to live, so why do we only target the autotrophs? At the end we are taking the lives of something.
Why do the Key Stone Cops come into mind -- I wish you had a video of you running up the hill, running down the hill, running over hill and dale. I want to know -- who screamed loudest you or Jesse when the bird started to fly and head your way... I am a city boy, I can barely touch raw turkey. There is no way I could have done what you did. Great video, sometimes it is the stories of what really happens that are the most fun.
Long ago when I was growing up my aunts and uncles were farmers. The extended families would get together to butcher a hog or beef. It included the cutting into usable sizes, rendering lard, making sausage & jerky, using the smoke house, and taking the packaged meat to the locker plant for freezing. None of the families could afford a freezer at that time. The locker plant rented space in a walk in freezer. Small critters were also butchered as needed. Chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits. and the occasional hunting kill. Everything was used. Sausage casings were the intestines. Beef was cold packed, a method of canning that doesn't require even a lid. Some parts were traditionally pickled, tongue and heart. My grandmother made great head cheese. Fruit and veggies were canned or dried, everyone had a big garden. The farms all had underground shelters used to keep root crops cool long into the winter, They also served as storm shelters. We live in tornado alley. I have great memories of those get togethers.
Off Grid simply means you no longer rely on city gas, sanitation, electricity and that you are being relatively self sufficient. It doesn't mean you live in a cave and bark at the moon You can have cell phones and internet
Good for you for taking the opportunity, but I have to say I was laughing out loud at the part where you described trying to catch the chicken. Still smiling. :-)
step 1. grab chicken by neck. step 2. spin chicken by neck in circles step 3. dunk now dead chicken in boiling water for a little while. step 4. pluck feathers. you can now butcher chicken
John McCarthy this kills the chicken the fastest without them feeling pain. Have you ever butchered a chicken? If you cut their head off wrong, they stay alive and feel agonizing pain. If you grab a chicken by the neck and sever the spinal cord by spinning them, they dont feel pain and there's really no way of messing that up. Its the most ethical way of doing things.
I like the part where you can buy a whole chicken ready to eat for 4 dollars... Or build a fence, buy feed, feed and water then all the time, then butcher it and all that fun... Chickens Lots of choices dem der chickinz
Commercially bred chickens live in horrible conditions. When you buy chickens, you don't know if they are diseased. And ever piece of meat you buy in grocery stores are filled with chemicals to "improve" taste and appearance.
I cant even kill an ant like it's too sad EVERY LIVING THING HAS A PURPOSE IN LIFE except for us humans all a we do is destroy shit I have never had faith in humanity 😔
Wilson Castaway There are a lot of fisherman who use artificial baits. My youngest son and his friends make soft plastic baits. They also breed nightcrawlers, mealworms, waxies, and trap leeches they them to area bait shops including to me.
Love what you guys are doing. I actually made myself butcher 42 chickens this year. I raise them from chic to butcher. It's far more economical to use the Cornish rock cross. Lot bigger chicken for less feed. I don't use a cone, my grandmother showed me what they used to do. Lol it was funny she grabbed the chicken by the hind legs hung on to it for a second stepped on the hens head and yanked the legs. I don't know how humane that is considered to be but it is quick. It saves the entire neck. Only thing I can say for you is when you pick them up quickly reach under their body and grab both legs in one swift motion. After getting them get them upside down as quickly as you can. They will fight for a second but it's easy to hold onto. Then they calm down. Sway them slightly helps them calm down lower their heads to the ground they will stretch out their necks across the ground or try to lift their head as far as they can because you are holding them upside down. Then step on the birds head and yank. If you don't do it right the head won't just pop off so do it like you mean to or it might not be a pretty site. It will snap the birds neck but it's better to just take the entire head off with one pull on the legs. It works if you have to do a bunch. For plucking after hot bath use your whole hand to run over the chicken it will be faster removing feathers like that.
You are right they are obese and have a whole plethora of health problems.. stfu it's the primitive humans like you that are fucked.. keep eating that red meat. I hope you enjoy your colon cancer
Tx Aggie You shouldn't be rude to people that decide to not eat meat in their life. It's like being transgender or gay, but people don't discriminate that, so don't do it to vegetarians or vegans.
I'm proud of you kids. You knew what you had to do and did it. A lot of us have been there and done that. Now you have too, and you did good. If you plan on raising chickens, make sure you read up. There are rules so to speak about the proportion of Hens to Roosters depending on weather you want to raise them for food, or want lots of eggs. Can't wait to see where you guys go from here... Keep it up.
I'm proud of you. You took the first steps which is the hardest part often times. Chickens are awesome as first livestock. because they are so easy to raise and (relatively) butcher yourself. You'll learn a few things along the way. A mentor would definitely be an asset as you butcher the first 10-20 chickens. A few thoughts, just to be helpful are 1) The cone method is probably the best method to use. Safer and more pleasant than an ax on a stump and it keeps them from flapping (which bruises the meat) during the last few heartbeats. 2) When you slice the neck, you are slicing the vein on the side of the neck. Their left side. They don't really feel it if they have hung there for long enough (20 seconds should do it). You don't want to cut their windpipe. They feel that and it sends them into shock. So a light slice to cut the vein. When they start bleeding, leave them be for a few minutes. 3) When you raise them, you'll come to REALLY appreciate the fact that chickens put themselves to bed at night. They don't fly away (except maybe roosters) but are much more likely to become nuisances as they follow you around. Buff Orpingtons are some of the most gentle birds around, including the roosters. 4) NEVER name your livestock if you are going to butcher it. Killing and eating something with a name is a lot harder. Keep up the awesome work on this channel. I REALLY appreciate it. Blessings.
Lmao people getting all mad because you killed a chicken. They would be really mad if they found out how many are butchered in much worse conditions. Lol have fun you guys, stay safe.
Domestic animals are not wild. Perhaps you should educate yourself. They have wild tendencies, they aren't wild. You need certain things in meat to survive, that's a fact. It's healthier to eat meat in small portions than it is to substitute vitamins etc., into your diet to replace meat. I'm not a huge meat eater myself, however when I do it's portioned.
jman9022 Cats and Chicken can both survive on there own. They both would have a hard time hurting you (The cat could hurt you much more easily. So no they really don't have much wild about them and anything you can get from meat you can get from other non meat products
+mar1video - In the interests of firearm safety, I need to point out that bullets, fired at such an angle as to hit a bird high in a tree, can travel much farther than a few hundred yards. Also, hitting the chicken isn't going to stop the bullet - it will continue on through and still travel virtually as far as a clean miss. A good backstop is always necessary for a safe rifle shot. However, I assume a shotgun with birdshot was used in this case, which would have far less range, less tendency to over-penetrate, and be much less dangerous when the pellets do fall. I'm not trying to start an argument - just wanted to mention these things since the firearm rule to "Know your target and what is beyond it" is important even if you do hit your target.
Actually decapitated heads are known to stay conscious 10 seconds after being chopped off. There is a lot of pain too with all those open wounds. They would die relatively quickly.
I've a friend who calls me when his roosters get overpopulated. I just go shoot them with a .22 rifle using what are called Quiet-22 rounds (they have a little less powder in them than regular .22 LR cartridges). I don't try to scald them because we're going to cook them in a covered roaster anyway. I just skin them. I save the hearts, livers and gizzards in a little quart freezer bag which fills up eventually and I'll cook them up. She gets the hearts and gizzards, I get the livers. As I said, we slow roast the chicken in a covered roaster and then it gets boned out. Light and dark meat are mixed more or less evenly and put up in one pound packages. We cook turkey, beef and pork pretty much the same way but beef, because it's so costly right now, goes into 8 ounce packages. The packages are wrapped in wax paper and then stuffed into one pound freezer bags. All the bones and trimmings from each batch of poultry (pork or beef) goes into a big stockpot full of water with a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar, gets brought to a boil, covered and allowed to simmer for 24 to 48 hours (you can tell the stock is ready when you can easily crush the bones with a pair of tongs). Stock gets frozen in one or two cup containers, decanted after freezing and stuffed into more gallon freezer bags. Stock is used for sauces, gravies or soup. Most of my cooking involves rice or veggies with meat and sauce (or gravy). We have a small chest freezer (like you use for ice cream) full of stock and a big chest freezer for everything else. Of course we're not off grid which I guess is a good thing because the freezers are essential to our lifestyle by now. Neither of us can eat wheat and my wife is also sensitive to corn, milk and peanuts. Cooking is pretty much mandatory. I really enjoy your videos. Thanks!
Wringing by hand or chopping with hatchet "gets it done"! If your squeamish or just so sorry for the chickens feelings, blindfold your chicken so he don't see the hatchet coming! ;-) Lol!
Don't feel too badly about your first timer status. I remember my first time like it was yesterday. You are right about needing a mentor and lots of help. We slaughtered 7 or 8 chickens one day because, as my dad put it, he was tired of buying chicken feed for hens that weren't laying. What we didn't realize; the reason the hens weren't laying was because they were an average of 5 years old. Stewing hens at best, we later found out. They were so tough, the only thing we couldn't eat them! So we had to grind them up and make a passable chicken salad. Lessons learned!
I had always thought this and had the same experience. Our last rooster was actually great though. If you will let it age for a few days in the fridge before you process it down and freeze it, it is actually very tender and full of flavor.
I must say three things: 1. roosters are great eating at 7 months to a year 2. any chicken meat is tougher as the chicken gets older. ever heard of chicken in wine? you cook it long time to break up the fibers 3. The chickens in the grocery store are normally 6 to 8 months old.
Don't you mean weeks? Those chickens in the store are mere babies. Any age chicken is great if you just can them up...all come out more tender than those baby chickens from the store.
The first time you actually kill an animal for food is a surreal moment...for me it was a feral hogs we trapped and it was a few months old and cut its throat and I still see the look of confusion in its eyes...but damn she BBQ up great.
Krazy K your cheeto Jesus is getting impeached 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Mueller is getting ready to issue a second round of indictments. Enjoy the sun light while you can trumpanzee, very soon you will have to crawl back under your rock
Thank you for posting this. I have been trying to get away from eating commercially processed meat, because the animals are so inhumanely raised and slaughtered.... However, for families that are homesteading, the animals are usually living a humane life, and experience a humane death. What you discussed and showed in your video (the metal cone, to place the chicken), seemed humane to me. Thank you again for posting this topic.
Technically you could amputate limbs but that's just making the animal suffer, although there is lots of scientific advancement in the production of synthetic meat that uses real animal cells from the DNA of a cow and can be replicated to create tissue effectively creating meat without killing anything
My wife and I went through the same thing this spring. The hardest part was definitely the killing, since I've never been hunting or even killed an animal. But we wanted to go through the whole process. We learned a lot, and it will hopefully be a lot easier next time. Great videos guys, keep it up!
Respect for the honesty.
i came here just to see the comments...
*grabs popcorn*
That's some bold popcorn grabbing! ;)
Pure Living for Life I like your video
I had an experienced person show me how it was done.
We used a wood chopping block with 2 nails hammered in partially. Hooked the chicken's head between the nails and gave it a firm whack with a sharp axe, head straight off.
1. To handle a chicken, Pick it up by the feet, one leg between 2 fingers, upside down a chicken goes into a catatonic state and will not fight you, their wings splay out and they just go along with it. This helps tremendously in preventing their escape, it relaxes them and they basically just go into a kind of stasis.
2. Dig a hole about 1-2 feet deep in front of the chopping block, and let the head and blood and any unwanted shit drop into the hole, bury it and put your chopping block on top of it so nothing digs it up until it's decomposed and gone back into the earth.
3. Cleaning the chicken is your own prerogative, but I believe if you cut AROUND it's bum, not cutting into the intestinal tract, so you can pull it's entire guts out in one go without getting chicken poo on your meat. I didn't do this bit. The other guy did it, I just watched.
If you fuck it up, you just made dog food. Try again...
Jesus Christ
LMFAO!
Lets see ... the name of this video is: *Our First Time Slaughtering Chickens: What Was it Like?* When *I* clicked on this video, I thoroughly EXPECTED to see the slaughtering of chickens. It NEVER ceases to amaze me that those who are opposed to eating meat click on the video KNOWING what it's content is IN ADVANCE, and proceed to proclaim that killing/slaughtering/butchering MEAT is NOT their lifestyle, and YOU should not have that lifestyle EITHER. WHY click on the video in the first place?!? Homesteaders do NOT become homesteaders just so they can have the PLEASURE of killing animals!!! In the past few years, I have watch NUMEROUS videos on homesteading, INCLUDING how to PROCESS or DISPATCH an animal for FOOD. In NONE of those videos did I EVER see someone VICIOUSLY KILLING an animal. I have seen people THANKING the animal for giving it's life, so theirs can be sustained. REAL TRUE Homesteaders take GOOD CARE of their animals as if they are a part of the family. And, in a sense, they ARE. If the animal is sick or injured, the owner has several options. Some have an expertise in handling it, and those who don't, call a vet. They do NOT allow their animals to suffer. In fact, I have witnessed some with tears as the circle of life must continue. Take good care of your animals, and they will take good care of you.
It makes me wonder if a non meat-eating person cries at the SLAUGHTER of a LIVING PLANT when they SLAUGHTER it and EAT it? I bet THAT plant (aka: living being) did not want to DIE BEFORE IT'S TIME. SMDH!!!
Jesse & Alyssa.... gotta say... you did a FINE JOB of dispatching the birds in the most HUMANE and HEARTFELT way possible. I wish you guys all the best as you grow & learn & thrive in a peaceful environment. God bless you both. Prayers...
you guys had no clue how to do this, but you didn't let that stop you, and then you take the time to share with us how it went and what to look out for. A big thanks to the both of you.
I shot and killed my 2nd hog yesterday. now we've done deer, rabbit, duck, and chicken, but never a hog. I have been studying on you tube how to butcher. 1/2 the hog went into freezer and the other ground up. to my surprise my 2nd oldest daughter came out and helped with the gutting and trimming. WOW !!! then she commented to me, dad this is the kinda life I really want to life. where everything is pure and i'm self sufficient. she never saw the tear running down my face... teach a child to hunt , fish, to garden, tell will always have food.. PROVERBS 22:6 - TRAIN A CHILD IN THE WAY THEY SHOULD GROW AND WHEN THEY ARE OLD THEY WILL NOT DEPART FROM IT..... LOL
+Jay Watts Beautiful!
Awesome
"joeanandzackssurvival" channel has a great video on butchering a hog
really? do you eat meat?
Mutalisk888 it only will take the insecurity of a meal for people to realize nothing is guaranteed in life. when im financially able i want to live as self sufficient as possible. not in fear of the end of the world but for beauty and raw life that is among us. thanks for the comment, made me think a little.
Here are some tips. 1) get a fish landing net aka small fish net with a pole. Easy to capture chickens. 2) feel around the neck for the veins and cut them both sides, hold the chicken neck back and they will bleed out quickly. 3) not all chickens are the same some will die quicker than others. 4) Skip that whole feather process and skin the chicken feathers and all. It's quicker, unless you love that chicken skin. 5) I wouldn't have kept chick feet, they are nasty walking around in their own crap. 6) Traffic cones work well for upside down chicken holders. 7) capture the blood and get rid of it, it attracts critters. 8) A fold up white plastic table from walmart works great for cleaning 9) Line the table with newspapers for easy cleanup 10) I usually always have a 55 gallon trash barrell lined with heavy trash bag which I fill up with newspaper, guts, heads, etc... and get rid of it fast. Because it stinks and attracts flies.
Great tips Chris! The chicken net makes sense... we didn't have that at the time. Sounds like you've done this a time or two. We did try to dispose of everything as best and as quickly we could as to not attract animals or critters. We know lots of folks don't bother plucking but skin the entire chicken. I guess that could have been better for us, especially since we don't have an oven to bake the chicken in so we will likely boil it and pull the meat off... live and learn!
I love and respect our chickens. We get lots of eggs. We let hens raise their own chicks. If you decide to raise your own chickens, you will realize you did your neighbor a favor. There will be more times that not, where you would like others to take some chickens. If you are serious about your chickens being a food resource, and not pets, there will be times when it will be necessary to kill a chicken. I make no apologies for killing chickens, however it's never my first strategy. I do not intentionally kill chickens on a regular 16-20 week cycle. If you raise natural chickens you will learn why quickly. There isn't much meat on a young chicken. They are not like your grocery store chicken who is fed hormones. Over time however, if you raise natural birds, you will end up having more than your fair share of roosters. Too many, and you make the quality of life fo the hens horrific due to excess breeding. So it's necessary to try and give those roosters away or kill them to trim the flock.
bust out some videos chris! you seem very knowledgeable
I am there, need to get rid of 2 roosters now
Thanks for the compliment, but I have no youtube ambitions. Just a like to watch videos in my spare time.
I butchered mine for the very first time at the end of September for the very same reason: to take steps towards being self-sustaining. It definitely gave me a whole new outlook on the concept of life, as well as respecting it and the lives of others- human, animals, nature and otherwise.
You need to look at rabbits as a meat animal. A hutch doesn't take much space and the dropping are great fertilizer. Chickens for eggs, rabbits for meat.
+1 on this comment. Rabbits are easy to care for, easy to butcher, and yield fantastic portions of meat. With very little experience, you can butcher and process a rabbit in a few minutes. They are also quite hardy for cold weather (depending on the breed), and would be perfect for your place. They also....breed like rabbits! A buck and a few does would keep you two fed, no problem. Let me know if I can help with any information on rabbits (or chickens for that matter).
is rabbit meat good? just kinda curious. i wan't to try it.
+JD D - amazing, way better than chicken. I'd recommend it to anyone. And it's not much trouble to raise rabbits.
I have eaten rabbit, whilst in the Mediterranean, I'm from England, so its not part of my national dish which is fish and chips, when I look at rabbits I think they look too cute to slaughter, and I bet others would be like how could I eat a rabbit.. but yeah since I have already eaten a rabbit, they do taste good, in the way that people from the Mediterranean prepare them & I did enjoy the taste of it.. I'm not sure if I could kill one yet, If I did id probably say a few words before doing the deed so the rabbit is looked after in the afterlife, I'm not sure if they would understand, when is it right and wrong to do such a thing, these are questions I ask my self.
cold is not the big problem just build it deep enough but they have no water on the property . you need a stream or a well to keep the pond topped off
so this is why the chicken crossed the road?
Dave hawkins that doesn't make sense and was a pretty bad joke
thats only your opinion in an internet of billions, so i wont lose any sleep!
Dave hawkins well I didn't like it also. Also I don't think billions of people have an opinion on your joke haha
thats just your opinion! billions think its funny!
Dave hawkins lmao
Good vid. Anyone who disliked this that has eaten meat and not killed it themselves is a hypocrite. You did your best.
I really wish Alyssa hadn't mentioned that during the chasing of the chicken, it had went "across the road." The very fabric of the universe now demands to know; "Why did the chicken cross the road?" I'm sorry, but there was just no way avoid this.
My dad made me so this when i was a little kid. It was pretty traumatizing at the time but later on i realized he just wanted to show me how meat was put on the table lol.
Good for the pops!
liljoker123456 I'm alerting pita on this video
lilj
J
K
Alyssa, don't listen to the idiots in the comments. Those like me who understand support you entirely. Those that don't are the people who think chickens are born on plastic trays in the back of the supermarket...You're doing the most respectful thing and using all the animal - just the way it should be done. I hope the rest of your build goes smoothly!
I see all these people complaining, how about when predator animals rip apart their prey, not exactly humane is it.. Tis the circle of life.
this isn't barbaric. all meat is alive before it comes in that pretty package at the store. this way you know your meat is clean and happy and healthy before it's been dispatched. great video.
Assuming that they knew how their neighbor or friend raised the chickens.
true
sherm dog I'm ready to die with a smile said no free range animals ever. Your murders plain and simple if you think humans are carnivores or dominant you'll never understand.
OK. were not dominate. mother nature is. everything dies. mother nature will kill us all. and not with a smile. if you have ever killed a bug then your also a murderer.
so I'll enjoy my chicken.
Love this video. I'm not sure what all the haters though HOMESTEADING consisted of. It's a little more than sitting in front of your brand-name wood burning stove, reading books, sipping tea, and making preserves.
Anyone else only come here for the comment?
Misguided MGTOW same
Taking an animal's life is never easy. That's one reason why I have enjoyed the hunts I got skunked on a bit more than those on which I was successful. The best way to show respect for an animal's life, IMO, is to use every part of the animal possible and not discard any more than absolutely necessary. No other animal on Earth shows respect for the life of its prey - only humans do. It's interesting that so many PETA-types troll videos such as this, and call them barbaric, but cheer when a grizzly mauls and eats a tourist or camper who "invaded" its territory, as though humans don't have a natural right to tread anywhere but on sidewalks and blacktop. Cities, sidewalks, and blacktop are very recent phenomena in human history. Anyway, ethically dispatching and butchering birds or other food animals is a good skill to have. Cheers.
When you know that the food you consume has lived a good life and has been treated with the highest level of respect it gives you comfort. I can't say I would want to be completely off grid, but certainly applaud all who strive to do so.
Next time, clip the wings on one wing. It is painless and the animal will only be able to fly in circles.
Growing up, my parents decided to build a chicken coop and have chickens for meat and eggs. I was only 5 yrs. old, but my job was to be the "Chicken Plucker". Mom cut the chicken's head off on a stump with an axe. She dipped the killed chicken in a wash tub of boiling water to loosen the feathers, & then I began pulling feathers. Still remember the smell of wet chicken feathers! The fun part was collecting eggs.
Not bad, just different. There's nothing to compare it to.
ChuddleBuggy there kinda is dead peacock is pretty simular. Once Bioraptor360 and I went peacock hunting in New Zealand...the smell is UNBEARABLE.
you ever slaughter animals Elizabeth?
Elizabeth Morgan do you slaughter chickens now dear lady ? 😍😉
There is always a learning curve. Don't pay attention to the haters. You have to crawl before you walk. :)
AAAMEN, JM!!!
If someone doesn't agree then just gracefully bow out, there is no need for negativity. Thanks Kathleen.
+JM at The Nuthouse I don't agree and i didn't bow out. What u gon do bout it?
It doesn't work that way with liberals. There is no such thing as you do your thing and they do their thing.
+pcguy36 Yet conservatives want to get up in other countries' business with wars
At first I didn't want to watch this because I am an animal lover but thanks for making it in an informative and respectful way.
The "let's do this" bucket under this metal device has me rollin!
oh I thought that could have been classic Jesse humor, love the channel, keep keeping it real!
lol i laughed so hard at that. it was even better cause now i wish we could put that somewhere in our poultry plant
Reminds me of my first time trying to slaughter chickens. I made my own kill cone out of a milk jug. I had my chickens inside a small dog run, but still had a time trying to catch them. When I finally got it into the kill cone I spent over 15 minutes trying to slit its throat, but really only torturing the poor bird (I still feel horrible about that). Finally I called someone I knew who had done it before, and was told how to properly slice a chickens throat (grab its comb and pull its throat taught before cutting). Thanks for posting this video -- it was good remember that experience. :)
I'm going to go ahead and steal the line "opportunities are always convenient". That's a powerful statement; it shows how deeply you thirst for knowledge and respect the will of others to pass it on. Well done.
I find all those offended vegans who angrily unsubscribe quite funny.
Great video, keep it up :)
Ivan Modesto Thats how it should be and I respect your decision. Everyone should do what makes him happy
When I posted my comment I read about 5 - 6 comments from vegans who were pretty angry
Kro Gon how else should I take it?
Nathaniel Waltrip
like a sane person
Kro Gon at least I'm sane enough to not find happiness in murdering inocent beings and to eat their carcasses
momentinpassing im also sane enough to think a life is worth more than a 10 minute meal Besides, if you want something delicious, why not try vegan meats?
The bucket saying "let's do this" made me chuckle
I applaud your lifestyle choice and your courage to take on a distasteful task. My Mother raised 100 chicks into fryers each year. The chicks came through the mail. There were never any qualms about literally wringing a chickens neck. It was, for a family of ten children, a matter of survival. It was not unheard of to be directed by my Mother to, "kill me three or four chickens for dinner". It was part of my becoming an adult that I was trusted to take a chicken by the head and spin it fast enough and with a sudden jerking motion "snap" it's head off. Which completely separated the head from the body. The body would flop on the ground for a few seconds. I thought the axe idea was gruesome. I never heard of a "cone of death" until I saw your video. After watching this I am convinced that two full rotations and a snap is the way to go. The layers were kept throughout the year and were a different breed. Hogs, I shot between the eyes with a .22. Then, quickly stuck a long very sharpe butcher knife into their chest, between their front legs, to pierce their heart. Again it was how we survived. Today a lot of folks would think my actions abhorrent, even some meat eaters. There is no doubt that the food tasted better back then.
when she said, "we went and got the gun" I freakin lost it!!!Funniest Ish EVER!! LMAO
I have raised my own pigs and helped butcher them. It gives you a new respect for what you eat.
The Reptile Project for sure!
Made me stop eating meat altogether. I can't morally justify it. I see too many comparisons between our use of animals in an era where it is unnecessary and our view towards slaves, oh so recently.
The Reptile Project if you respect them why do you kill them?
The Reptile Project so you killed your pigs
I respect you for that. I think it's quite hypocritical when someone can eat meat but not actually kill the animal itself. I'm not a meat eater but I can appreciate someone who can kill an animal to feed their family.
for all the people here that are mad, one thing is that they lived a much better life than living in a big slaughter house. and if you're still mad why did you click the video?
and the city slickers say...omg, how can you kill a chicken, i'm so upset im going to get an order of chicken nuggets at mcdonalds, they just grow them on a bush and pick them when ready... ;-))
Allison Kauffman stupid
Allison Kauffman wrong
Well then where do you get your meat a factory farm? You know that is worse for the animals. Quit being a wimp.
Allison Kauffman That means you eat meat, how do you think it got there?
Allison Kauffman This is actually the humane way to kill an animal. Big meat companies are the ones killing animals in a terrible way. I buy my meats from private farms like this one. The animals live a good life before they get killed. I know it may seem like a terrible way to kill, but the chicken is killed instantly, they feel no pain. There are other humane ways to kill a chicken, this is just one of them since the chicken feels no pain.
Mama had a short lanyard on one of her clothes lines and made a loop to hold the chickens feet. She then grabbed the chickens head and pulled it toward her. With one stroke of a sharp butcher knife the deed was done and the blood did not splatter her. Guess you could also use a limber tree limb for the same effect.
It's really sad that so many people doesn't understand that this is the way you slaughter an animal.
How would you otherwise be eating your chicken nuggets?
Top notch, very well done for a first time.
Im so sick of everyone arguing! Can't we just agree people live differently and have different opinions?
Don't apologize for your life choices. Haters are gonna hate hate hate.
I remember as a kid when the parents cleaned out the chicken coop and dad & grandpa cutting chickens heads off and the bodies running around "like a chicken with its head cut off" and then the heads staring at us as we moved...
I chuckled at the kill cone spot with the bucket that says "let's do this."
Bearman ... Great eye ... that's funny!
Bearman I noticed that too and lost my shit I was laughing so hard 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Bearman, its a home depot bucket. Lol
Sterling Hogan
Carlos Meza, yes?
well done! I appreciate the example you and Jesse are setting for those following you. Your desire to be responsible, ethical and honest is admirable. Thank you.
Take the chicken's legs and place them individually in-between the two knuckles of your index and ring fingers of your non dominant hand (palm and breast of chicken facing same direction). Place your index and and middle fingers of your dominant hand so to cup the back side of the chicken's skull, do this so that you can feel the first and second cervical vertebrae and your palm is facing the same direction as the bird's beak. Quickly pull until you feel the C1 separate from the C2. At this point (less than a few milliseconds) the bird is braindead and incapable of feeling pain and you can exsanguinate (bleed out) your bird. Sometimes the head will come off because there is not much more than a few thin tendons and very thin skin that is really anchoring the head, do not be concerned, the chicken is already dead and can't feel it and the bird will exsanguinate.
How ugly and brutal how heartless how inhuman.... I can't cope with wrapping my head around all of this right now. I have to go and seek personal therapy at McDonalds with some nuggets... And a Diet Coke...
at least you are eating the chickens i mean if people cant handle it think about the chickens that are handled horribly in food processing plants
The people bitching, did you read the title of the video before watching? It clearly reads butchering chickens. But yet, you still watched it 😂
i really want to see the chicken chasing video
I love your channel! You guys are awesome. I also purchased a piece of land and erected a yurt on it. Come this spring I too will be starting my off-grid/homestead life👍
Frank Datank hope you video it for us too see
Not going to lie, I probably would have given up searching for the Chicken and just decided it's earned it's freedom
In my religion it's frowned upon to hurt something unless you must. There are exceptions for food though. We give thanks to the animal after we kill it, say we are sorry and tell them how grateful we are for them helping feed us. Then we pray that their soul has a happy afterlife.
Killing an animal for food CAN be humane you just need to have respect for the animal
Thank you for doing this video, people need to know where their food comes from and an idea of the work and sacrifices that are made for their convenience.
some times we had to do 500, 250 in one day, after scolding, don't pluck, rub against the grain, much qiucker so the skin doesn't have time to cool down during the "plucking". love your courage.
I'm late to the chicken killing party, but here goes. My Aunt Ruth used to have chickens and we used to go to her house sometimes for Sunday Dinner. If we were having chicken for dinner, she would go out to the chicken house, grab a chicken by the neck, walk over to a stump in the backyard, hold the chicken down with one hand, grab the axe with the other and chop off the head of the chicken. The chicken would flop around for a few seconds, blood spurting, then drop. It is amazing to me that she never chopped off her hand with the axe, but I guess she knew what she was doing. She would take the chicken inside and get it ready for plucking. Pluck all the feathers out then cut up the chicken into pieces for cooking. 'then she would grab a large steel spoon, go out to the back porch and come back with a large hunk of lard that she had vats of on the porch. Fry up the chicken and it was, of course, the best chicken you ever ate!
They had pigs, too which they rendered the lard from. My mother wouldn't let me watch them slaughter the pigs. I think she was afraid it would turn me into a vegetarian.
mike h yeah
I wouldn't suggest watching the pig slaughter
They have way more blood than a chicken, and it's not just splatting, it's gushing and bursting
I thought I could handle our first pig but when I saw it I was traumatized and just sat on a bench petting one of the cows
I grew up on a farm. I can't eat meat because of it. I just can't justify it. Our view towards animals is exactly what our view towards blacks and slaves. So I'd rather not be a part of it.
No, don't try to compare domesticated animals bred for centuries to be eaten with self-aware human beings. Not only was that comparison extremely offensive and inaccurate, but it's also a logical fallacy. Please don't say offensive nonsense like that moving forward.
Allison Walker There's nothing offensive about that comparison. We are all animals.
Trinatey Wilton lol you had too many pets as a kid. Some animals are for food and others have purpose for companionship, protection, herding or hunting like dogs. Or cats for pest control and horses for transportation but lol everything else is food. Grab your nuts man...here put these on👠
I'm just imagining u guys trying to catch the chicken 😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄
This was such an endearing story. You told it in such a humorous manner in places that I really appreciated it all the more.
Having grown up in the 60's and 70' on the eastern shore of Virginia there were always a lot of chickens around. First I'd like to say I've seen how older generation blacks did it back then and I'll tell you, they would have those chicken's heads off and hung up in no time flat. I'm talking seconds. Secondly, I've always heard it was wise to keep free roaming chickens around your house. I think I know why but I'm sure other readers will chime in.
I hate the keyboard on my phone
I'm so happy to finally see an everyday person trying something like this cuz imma just a regular Joe just like you guys and it's nice to see that every time I watch a RUclips video you have these really experienced people doing this stuff thank you for the videos
What a lot of people fail to realize if u don’t take advantage of killing these birds for meat. And let them go someone or something (like another animal) will kill it.
When I was a kid we used to catch the chickens by the leg with a long stick that had a hook on the end that their feet could not pass through. Then we had a large wood block with 2 nails protruding that their neck could fit through but not their head. We slipped the neck between the nails and pulled back by the feet and one quick chop with a hatchet and it was done. The entire process took only seconds.
As I was reading I kept thinking that you were brutal! I thought you were gonna impale the chicken with the wood board and nails! But then I kept reading and was relieved. Lol. 😂
Chuncle Uuck
That's how we did it too with the 2 nails. Was funny watching them flop around headless, lol
Quick and efficient is the most humane way you can kill your dinner.
Ayin. V 😂
Living the way of nature/Off grid includes learning from your mistakes and... having balls and putting your emotions aside. The ones who are hating this living are just jealous of your freedom. Humans were designed for this style of life, PERIOD.
Cheers and good luck! ;)
Chicken butchering 101: Talk sympathetically to the chicken in chicken talk for like 10 minutes or something, passionately kiss the chicken, then put on a shirt and tie, sit in a full bath with the chicken, then use the lead of a hair straightener (your chicken probably has one) and violently strangle and or drown the chicken (you can cry if you want I don't care) and that's basically it👌
Ugh ... I still remember the smell from plucking chickens in my childhood.
... ew !
A duck was about to cross the road when a chicken came up and stopped him. "Don't do it!" he cried, "You'll never hear the end of it."
I can respect yalls tenacity to do it yourself but having stopped eating meat a year ago I just really hate this. *sigh*
Hae Fuustr harsh reality. We kill to survive. It's how it has always been. We need an intake of energy, and sadly we can't harness that energy any other way expect eating, so we must eat what contains energy, those being living things including plants. It's just s chain of energy passing on from one atom to the next. Too bad we can't absorb energy any other way, only thing is eating.
Peter2kx but it doesn't have to be that way, meat isn't a necessity
Nathaniel Waltrip we have two options, to either kill a heterotrophic or a phototrophic being. In other words, a plant or an animal. Regardless of what we do we must harvest energy from another being that has energy. Sadly we can't harvest energy any other way. In my eyes, you are stopping a flow of energy to be given to yourself one way or another, wether thats the flesh of a planet or an animal. you're stopping that being from harvesting energy to feed your own.
Humans have been doing this before we even knew what was going on. us being animals, we kill other animals to survival. We also eat plants along with that, mother nature luckily giving us the ability to become omnivores. It's built into our system, into our genetics, into our ancestry. Now, it's hard to get everyone to just change what people do because of some reason like "oh its cruel for the other animals."
Peter2kx If we eat the fruit its not its flesh but its seed. I dont think it would hurt a human woman if someone eat there period
Peter Jörgenson SO whats the difference? You're taking another life, You're stopping another flow of active energy. I completely understand what you're saying with the whole fruits can't think or feel, and that it's not a heterotroph, but still. What's the definition of life? to me, the lives between tree and a cow is the same. It's life no matter what way we look at it. We kill to live, so why do we only target the autotrophs? At the end we are taking the lives of something.
Why do the Key Stone Cops come into mind -- I wish you had a video of you running up the hill, running down the hill, running over hill and dale. I want to know -- who screamed loudest you or Jesse when the bird started to fly and head your way...
I am a city boy, I can barely touch raw turkey. There is no way I could have done what you did. Great video, sometimes it is the stories of what really happens that are the most fun.
Yeah I would have liked to see that as well and then they could have added some Benny Hill music to it and I bet it would have been priceless. :)
Long ago when I was growing up my aunts and uncles were farmers. The extended families would get together to butcher a hog or beef. It included the cutting into usable sizes, rendering lard, making sausage & jerky, using the smoke house, and taking the packaged meat to the locker plant for freezing. None of the families could afford a freezer at that time. The locker plant rented space in a walk in freezer. Small critters were also butchered as needed. Chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits. and the occasional hunting kill. Everything was used. Sausage casings were the intestines. Beef was cold packed, a method of canning that doesn't require even a lid. Some parts were traditionally pickled, tongue and heart. My grandmother made great head cheese. Fruit and veggies were canned or dried, everyone had a big garden. The farms all had underground shelters used to keep root crops cool long into the winter, They also served as storm shelters. We live in tornado alley. I have great memories of those get togethers.
I sure hope you don’t murder any lettuce that will just set me off.... sarcasm.
🔪🥗
living off the grid......yet uploading to youtube
Off Grid simply means you no longer rely on city gas, sanitation, electricity and that you are being relatively self sufficient. It doesn't mean you live in a cave and bark at the moon You can have cell phones and internet
TheComputec ohhhhhhh, haha. I thought it meant to like live off in the woods away from everyone and everything 😂 my bad
John Doe internet is a commodity
off grid is about being your own utility company
John Doe they are off grid homesteaders
that's a step beyond off grid but doesn't mean they forgo internet
John Doe Seems kinda contraindicated to me to!
Good for you for taking the opportunity, but I have to say I was laughing out loud at the part where you described trying to catch the chicken. Still smiling. :-)
step 1. grab chicken by neck.
step 2. spin chicken by neck in circles
step 3. dunk now dead chicken in boiling water for a little while.
step 4. pluck feathers.
you can now butcher chicken
srios90 - Thats brutal...
But highly creative. 👏👏👏👏
Snow Stag Of The Evergreen Forest its the standard way to kill chickens and prepare them for cooking
srios90 Don't make it sound so easy ! Some people care about all life
John McCarthy this kills the chicken the fastest without them feeling pain. Have you ever butchered a chicken? If you cut their head off wrong, they stay alive and feel agonizing pain. If you grab a chicken by the neck and sever the spinal cord by spinning them, they dont feel pain and there's really no way of messing that up. Its the most ethical way of doing things.
There is no humane way to kill an animal that doesn't want to die.
Man just snap its neck . Quick Painless , if my Grandma can do it so can you.
We have butchered a lot of chickens! It gets easier!
I like the part where you can buy a whole chicken ready to eat for 4 dollars... Or build a fence, buy feed, feed and water then all the time, then butcher it and all that fun... Chickens Lots of choices dem der chickinz
techtiptricks except stock chickens aka factory farmed are disgusting for a number of reasons
Eggs..?
Why do you like killing animals!!!!!
Braelyn you are leading the question.
Commercially bred chickens live in horrible conditions. When you buy chickens, you don't know if they are diseased. And ever piece of meat you buy in grocery stores are filled with chemicals to "improve" taste and appearance.
Wow here I am an average fisherman who crys almost every time I have to kill crawfish or minnows to use as bait 😭 RIP little ones I'm sorry
Wilson Castaway - Don't be sorry. Those fish are in heaven now. They forgive you, so long as you used them for bait or food. Don't worry. :)
I cant even kill an ant like it's too sad EVERY LIVING THING HAS A PURPOSE IN LIFE except for us humans all a we do is destroy shit I have never had faith in humanity 😔
MCDragon Gamer They do have a purpose. They're very feeling.
100% with u
Wilson Castaway There are a lot of fisherman who use artificial baits. My youngest son and his friends make soft plastic baits. They also breed nightcrawlers, mealworms, waxies, and trap leeches they them to area bait shops including to me.
Love what you guys are doing. I actually made myself butcher 42 chickens this year. I raise them from chic to butcher. It's far more economical to use the Cornish rock cross. Lot bigger chicken for less feed. I don't use a cone, my grandmother showed me what they used to do. Lol it was funny she grabbed the chicken by the hind legs hung on to it for a second stepped on the hens head and yanked the legs. I don't know how humane that is considered to be but it is quick. It saves the entire neck. Only thing I can say for you is when you pick them up quickly reach under their body and grab both legs in one swift motion. After getting them get them upside down as quickly as you can. They will fight for a second but it's easy to hold onto. Then they calm down. Sway them slightly helps them calm down lower their heads to the ground they will stretch out their necks across the ground or try to lift their head as far as they can because you are holding them upside down. Then step on the birds head and yank. If you don't do it right the head won't just pop off so do it like you mean to or it might not be a pretty site. It will snap the birds neck but it's better to just take the entire head off with one pull on the legs. It works if you have to do a bunch. For plucking after hot bath use your whole hand to run over the chicken it will be faster removing feathers like that.
2800 bedwetting vegans just unsubscribed. Have ya ever notice how vegans and vegetarians always look sickly.
You are right they are obese and have a whole plethora of health problems.. stfu it's the primitive humans like you that are fucked.. keep eating that red meat. I hope you enjoy your colon cancer
Gee Tee if u have a balanced diet u don’t have to worry about colon cancer dipshit.
Hope_Lilyanne yes that’s because all they eat is meat. If u have a well balanced diet with meat u will be fine
Tx Aggie You shouldn't be rude to people that decide to not eat meat in their life. It's like being transgender or gay, but people don't discriminate that, so don't do it to vegetarians or vegans.
4:46 wtf was that scream in the background?!
Kuiper 8:27 too.
lmfao I heard that lol I was what the fuck was that?
Kuiper it was a bird I think
They harvest people there as well youtube is a front
A bird huh..? riggght.
I'm proud of you kids. You knew what you had to do and did it. A lot of us have been there and done that. Now you have too, and you did good. If you plan on raising chickens, make sure you read up. There are rules so to speak about the proportion of Hens to Roosters depending on weather you want to raise them for food, or want lots of eggs. Can't wait to see where you guys go from here... Keep it up.
If I had to butcher my own food ...I'd probably try vegan first.
I love what you do.... the chicken? raise chickens .…. more convincing....and supports what you kids do so well
I'm proud of you. You took the first steps which is the hardest part often times. Chickens are awesome as first livestock. because they are so easy to raise and (relatively) butcher yourself. You'll learn a few things along the way. A mentor would definitely be an asset as you butcher the first 10-20 chickens. A few thoughts, just to be helpful are 1) The cone method is probably the best method to use. Safer and more pleasant than an ax on a stump and it keeps them from flapping (which bruises the meat) during the last few heartbeats. 2) When you slice the neck, you are slicing the vein on the side of the neck. Their left side. They don't really feel it if they have hung there for long enough (20 seconds should do it). You don't want to cut their windpipe. They feel that and it sends them into shock. So a light slice to cut the vein. When they start bleeding, leave them be for a few minutes. 3) When you raise them, you'll come to REALLY appreciate the fact that chickens put themselves to bed at night. They don't fly away (except maybe roosters) but are much more likely to become nuisances as they follow you around. Buff Orpingtons are some of the most gentle birds around, including the roosters. 4) NEVER name your livestock if you are going to butcher it. Killing and eating something with a name is a lot harder.
Keep up the awesome work on this channel. I REALLY appreciate it. Blessings.
You said using the kill cone and letting them bleed out is the most humaine way to kill them, ... I think not
Lmao people getting all mad because you killed a chicken. They would be really mad if they found out how many are butchered in much worse conditions. Lol have fun you guys, stay safe.
that doesn't change the fact that you're killing an animal. She wouldn't even think about killing her cats though lmao
Boohoo. You need food to survive. Cats are pets, not food. That's not even a valid comparison.
jman9022 there is no difference in the 2 wild animals and no you do not need meat to live. educate yourself.
Domestic animals are not wild. Perhaps you should educate yourself. They have wild tendencies, they aren't wild. You need certain things in meat to survive, that's a fact. It's healthier to eat meat in small portions than it is to substitute vitamins etc., into your diet to replace meat. I'm not a huge meat eater myself, however when I do it's portioned.
jman9022 Cats and Chicken can both survive on there own. They both would have a hard time hurting you (The cat could hurt you much more easily. So no they really don't have much wild about them and anything you can get from meat you can get from other non meat products
Omg she's an absolute keeper! I love her attitude.
I think the shooting of the first chicken turn out to be more humane than the second chicken, am I wrong? can you explain to me if I am? thank you !!
Also, may not be legal that close to a road.
High powered BB/pellet rifles are perfect for that. With a fancy scope and practice its not as hard as you'd think.
mar1video Haha yes that would. But i mean for some reason if you already had one in this situation.
+mar1video - In the interests of firearm safety, I need to point out that bullets, fired at such an angle as to hit a bird high in a tree, can travel much farther than a few hundred yards. Also, hitting the chicken isn't going to stop the bullet - it will continue on through and still travel virtually as far as a clean miss. A good backstop is always necessary for a safe rifle shot.
However, I assume a shotgun with birdshot was used in this case, which would have far less range, less tendency to over-penetrate, and be much less dangerous when the pellets do fall.
I'm not trying to start an argument - just wanted to mention these things since the firearm rule to "Know your target and what is beyond it" is important even if you do hit your target.
your totally rite, my bad
Just take a axe and shop the head. No pain and the chicken dies instently.
Tobbe Andersson sorry, where do I shop for the head??
Actually decapitated heads are known to stay conscious 10 seconds after being chopped off. There is a lot of pain too with all those open wounds. They would die relatively quickly.
Cobblers!
no longer than bleeding out from a cut throat.
Tobbe Andersson that's what I do
I've a friend who calls me when his roosters get overpopulated. I just go shoot them with a .22 rifle using what are called Quiet-22 rounds (they have a little less powder in them than regular .22 LR cartridges). I don't try to scald them because we're going to cook them in a covered roaster anyway. I just skin them. I save the hearts, livers and gizzards in a little quart freezer bag which fills up eventually and I'll cook them up. She gets the hearts and gizzards, I get the livers. As I said, we slow roast the chicken in a covered roaster and then it gets boned out. Light and dark meat are mixed more or less evenly and put up in one pound packages. We cook turkey, beef and pork pretty much the same way but beef, because it's so costly right now, goes into 8 ounce packages. The packages are wrapped in wax paper and then stuffed into one pound freezer bags. All the bones and trimmings from each batch of poultry (pork or beef) goes into a big stockpot full of water with a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar, gets brought to a boil, covered and allowed to simmer for 24 to 48 hours (you can tell the stock is ready when you can easily crush the bones with a pair of tongs). Stock gets frozen in one or two cup containers, decanted after freezing and stuffed into more gallon freezer bags. Stock is used for sauces, gravies or soup. Most of my cooking involves rice or veggies with meat and sauce (or gravy). We have a small chest freezer (like you use for ice cream) full of stock and a big chest freezer for everything else. Of course we're not off grid which I guess is a good thing because the freezers are essential to our lifestyle by now. Neither of us can eat wheat and my wife is also sensitive to corn, milk and peanuts. Cooking is pretty much mandatory. I really enjoy your videos. Thanks!
Awesome - thanks for sharing.
we always just ring their necks
Wringing by hand or chopping with hatchet "gets it done"! If your squeamish or just so sorry for the chickens feelings, blindfold your chicken so he don't see the hatchet coming! ;-) Lol!
I only ring bells myself.
Quasimodo? Izzat you?
Don't feel too badly about your first timer status. I remember my first time like it was yesterday. You are right about needing a mentor and lots of help. We slaughtered 7 or 8 chickens one day because, as my dad put it, he was tired of buying chicken feed for hens that weren't laying. What we didn't realize; the reason the hens weren't laying was because they were an average of 5 years old. Stewing hens at best, we later found out. They were so tough, the only thing we couldn't eat them! So we had to grind them up and make a passable chicken salad. Lessons learned!
Roosters aren't good for eating ( there meat it tough )
I had always thought this and had the same experience. Our last rooster was actually great though. If you will let it age for a few days in the fridge before you process it down and freeze it, it is actually very tender and full of flavor.
I must say three things:
1. roosters are great eating at 7 months to a year
2. any chicken meat is tougher as the chicken gets older. ever heard of chicken in wine? you cook it long time to break up the fibers
3. The chickens in the grocery store are normally 6 to 8 months old.
Just boil em.. Roosters make good stock
Seriously? Roosters are among the best of foul for a good gumbo! The flavor is much better than a young one.
Don't you mean weeks? Those chickens in the store are mere babies. Any age chicken is great if you just can them up...all come out more tender than those baby chickens from the store.
I like when a watch people liking my own comment
The first time you actually kill an animal for food is a surreal moment...for me it was a feral hogs we trapped and it was a few months old and cut its throat and I still see the look of confusion in its eyes...but damn she BBQ up great.
I have butchered chickens since I was 8 years old. What is your problem?
I've butchered them since I was five so...
Awwww, did your mommy not give you enough attention when you were a baby?
Krazy K your cheeto Jesus is getting impeached 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Mueller is getting ready to issue a second round of indictments.
Enjoy the sun light while you can trumpanzee, very soon you will have to crawl back under your rock
Gee Tee lol a trump supporter hahah silly Americans
Her problem is she hasn't butchered chickens since she was 8. Was that hard to understand?
Why are you happing to kill 2 poor chickens
Thank you for posting this. I have been trying to get away from eating commercially processed meat, because the animals are so inhumanely raised and slaughtered.... However, for families that are homesteading, the animals are usually living a humane life, and experience a humane death. What you discussed and showed in your video (the metal cone, to place the chicken), seemed humane to me. Thank you again for posting this topic.
Empty your burden Vegans!
Truth will set you Free!
Truth will set you free your God is a lie.. I hope that truth sets you free
The truth that we don't need to kill and eat animals to survive and thrive?
Brandon Robson@ can i eat chicken/cow/meat without killing it ?
Technically you could amputate limbs but that's just making the animal suffer, although there is lots of scientific advancement in the production of synthetic meat that uses real animal cells from the DNA of a cow and can be replicated to create tissue effectively creating meat without killing anything
good amputate the chicken head and eat the rest, but how do i keep the head alive ?
Get the gun?! Seriously? Too bad I was hoping the chicken escaped. Killing animals is not necessary for homesteading btw. Just sayin'
Y'all are really funny to someone raised on a farm but kudos for hanging in there.
Scream Allah Akbar and you'll be fine.