D Day for the Roosters

The roosters were not so little anymore and were spending a lot of time crowing. I was going through feed like no other and something definitely had to change. At one time I counted nine males. It was time. Johnny being much more experienced at this than I, as he had raised chickens along with him Mum as a little boy. He had watched and learnt much from these days which I was counting on and very grateful for. There was a series on the telly at the time and I was eagerly watching and learning as much as I possibly could. It was vitally important to me that the birds did not stress or suffer in any way. It was so great that I came across this series as it helped a lot. They lady who did a demonstration had used a metal funnel. I called it the death funnel. The purpose of the funnel was to secure the wings and to keep the bird still. The bird would go in head first and the head would come out at the bottom. A bucket was placed under the funnel to catch the liquid. After hearing stories from various people over the years about how the chicken run around without a head and also understanding where that saying came from I had no desire to see this happen. I said my goodbyes to the boys and thank them for teaching me so much and bringing such delight into our lives and handed them over to Johnny who patiently waited for me by the funnel. The first bird to be processed was a very emotional time and I hid behind the wall. I could not bring myself to watch. With the second bird I found the courage to creep a little closer. The third bird was do or die. I was determined that if I was to be living on a farm then I should be able to do what a farmer does. Slaughtering your own birds is part and parcel of that. I stood with my eyes closed and finally peeped out of one. I was surprised. The funnel worked amazingly and apart from a few stray drops of blood the bucket caught most of it. The birds were not stressed and it was quick and as painless as possible. I made a breakthrough that day. I felt like my world had enlarged yet again. As Johnny and I sat and de-feathered those birds and prepped them for the kitchen it became a new stage in our farming lives. To de-feather a bird there are many expensive and homemade versions too of machines made for this job. It would have been wonderful to use one and they looks grand but I didn’t have the time or the money to get one right when I needed one so we used the old fashion way. A bucket of scolding hot water. Later on we were to realize that by adding a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid to the water, the feathers on the bird were much easy to get out. We worked as a team that day and I learnt much more than any book could instil in me. There is nothing like on the job training. Johnny was a trooper; he knew exactly what to do which was probably a good thing as I knew nothing. After a number of hours we had nine prepared birds for the kitchen. I was covered in feathers and there was a fair amount of mess to tidy up but I had a smile on my face like no other. I was a farmer. I had seen the full cycle of life right here on my very own piece of dirt. Next time I share about the kitchen and the meals I made with the birds.