FARM TO TABLE CHICKEN PROCESSING

August 6th 10am – 1pm

Cost: $15 leave here with a chicken or $8 bring your own live chicken to process

Sawyer & Judi Alberi, 635 Warren Rd, Eden, VT 05662

Email judialberi@gmail.com for more information

With the rising cost of food and especially meat, many people are looking closer to home to start raising their food. Backyard gardens are on the rise, and many people are starting to raise their own chickens for eggs. Meat chickens are one meat source that can be raised with minimal space (compared to say, a cow) and can be processed at home with not much more than a sharp knife and a big pot.

If you want to raise meatbirds, backyard chicken processing is a great skill to have. You can save yourself the hassle and cost of sending your chickens to a meat processing facility by doing this farm chore yourself. The age you butcher a meatbird depends on the breed you have. Typical we will find Cornish cross or leghorns to raise as our meatbirds. These are fast growing so you will be ready to process 8-12 weeks of age. One thing to be aware of these birds rate of growth is so fast that they can have leg problems.

Yes this is what it is! We will use chicken killing cones, which will help refrain your chicken and prevent bruising while severing their jugular and carotid artery. This is the quickest, most humane kill that best preserves the quality of the meat. We will use scalding bucket and plucking machine to remove feathers. We will have an outside sink, table, knives, and bags.