As many of my readers know, we have been raising chickens for eggs, fun and education for a little while now. It only seemed logical that the next step would be to consider adding meat chickens to the mix in the future. During our journey with chickens I have learned a great deal about the care of this animal but the processing portion would be completely new. As the events of March/April 2020 have shown us, the ability to obtain processing of your animals is not always easy nor cheap. Due to the particulars of the breeds of meat chickens (especially Cornish-type), it would be cruel to keep them beyond a certain date so a plan must be made as to the processing of the birds before this endeavor should proceed.
Now, my dad has mentioned his participation in processing chickens in his younger days but they involved grabbing the head and some type of whipping, wrist action. I am sure that this is an effective and often used method but I wasn’t confident in my abilities to perform this correctly and my dad didn’t seem overly thrilled by my interest in the subject. So, I started doing what I always do with ideas to expand our homestead and I started reading and listening to podcasts to learn more about the process. Yet, I still wasn’t ready to jump in.
I stepped back to reassess. Why was this something that I wanted to do?
- Is it because the turmoil of 2020 has shaken my confidence in the constant availability of food on a store shelf?
- If I am to be completely honest with myself, I am not as immune to the drama of the outside world as I try to pretend. Having the ability to process my own food at home would make me feel more secure about our future.
- Have I had a psychotic break and am looking to slaughter chickens for enjoyment?
- No, this isn’t it. While I hoped to find enjoyment out of learning a new skill, the idea of slaughtering chickens for only enjoyment purposes is simply not there. You can relax and forgo the phone call to the police and local mental institution, at least not for this reason.
- Am I excited about the challenge of doing something that is difficult and that a lot of people have never done?
- I admit that bragging rights of being able to say that I have not only grown my own food but I can process my own food does cause me to sit up straighter and puff out my chest a bit more.
- Would this be a good homeschooling activity?
- A full day of processing chickens provides a multitude of lessons that I cannot recreate from books, worksheets or clay dioramas. Plus, even if the experience turns out to be a disaster, we could have this family memory to discuss, laugh about and moan over for many reunions and dinners in the future.
I had been honest and identified my “why”, but I needed to figure out the how. As I mentioned, I did my research but was yet not comfortable jumping right in, when as luck would have it, one of my favorite podcasters announced that she was hosting a chicken processing workshop. If you haven’t discovered her, let me be the first to introduce you. Her name is Nicole Sauce and she hosts the podcast called Living Free in Tennessee (https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/ ). She has a true teaching mindset and wants to share her love for homesteading, canning, pantry management, nature walks and all things that she has experienced in getting away from the daily grind and “living life on your terms” as she so often describes it.
Now that I found this exciting opportunity for hands-on learning only a few hours away, I needed to find a friend to go with me. I know that I could have done this class on my own, but learning is always more fun with friends. Luckily for me, I have a couple of like-minded friends that were just as excited as I was for the opportunity.
Here’s my experience:
We hopped into the car, waved goodbye to our munchkins and hit the road for a much-anticipated girl’s trip. The four-and-a-half-hour drive was filled with adult chatter uninterrupted by kids. I love my children more than anything but for those that know them, they do talk a lot. I blame my husband for that. Adult conversation without interruption is a precious commodity for me in this season of my life and I enjoyed every moment.
After an evening meal and checking into the hotel, we found a small walking trail called City Lake Natural Area and saw some small, beautiful waterfalls. It was obvious that this was only a portion of the amazing hiking opportunities in the area, but we were fighting the setting sun. I hope to visit this area again in the future for more adventures.
The morning of the event, we arrived to welcoming faces and a cup of wonderful coffee (Did I mention that this lady roasts her own coffee beans? Check it out here https://hollerroast.com/ ).
I don’t know about the other students but I was nervous. We spent the first few minutes mingling, which normally as an introvert I hate, but this involved the sharing of ideas and projects including hydroponics, chicken tractor infrastructure, etc. I almost forgotten the original purpose of the visit!
The instruction was led by Chef Brett ( https://brettchef.com/ ), who was patient, knowledgeable and skillful. He demonstrated everything first so that all of the students knew exactly what to expect. Then, he simply stepped back to let you get the true experience of the activity while offering advice and encouragement.
My friend made an astute observation. She stated that the other students were not like what you occasionally see at classes like this. Sometimes, you attend these classes as a complete novice only to find individuals that know a little about the process trying to outshine the instructor or puff themselves up by putting down the less experienced students. This was definitely NOT the case at this workshop. I found that the other students were as eager to learn as I was and were open to sharing their fears and hesitations.
We were provided a delicious lunch (not chicken) with more conversation. I found it interesting to hear the stories of people from different backgrounds and experiences. It wasn’t long before a group of strangers were sharing stories and recommendations about power outages, types of deep freezers, antics of goats and misadventures with electric fencing.
I want to share a few things that I learned but if you are one of my more squeamish or sensitive readers, don’t worry because I won’t describe the gory details.
What I learned:
- The good, the bad and the ugly aspects of processing chickens.
- You can use any excuse for a girl’s trip.
- There is a product on the market called “Cut Gloves”. While this is not a new item, I didn’t realize that it existed. This could be a game changer for this extreme klutz. I may find it a necessary component of my daily cooking routine.
- While we are lucky to live in an age where information is readily available in many different forms, it doesn’t replace the need for face-to-face interaction for some things.
- You can read a lot about chicken processing. I have.
- You can probably find multiple YouTube videos on the subject and even a few could be set to a song and dance parody.
- You can participate in Zoom meetings with someone providing real-time feedback.
- But for me, the encouraging laughter and sense of calm from an experienced teacher is simply not as evident over a screen.
- There is a market for chicken feathers. While this was not intentionally a part of the workshop, the conversation did venture to this and I was shown proof that you can sell absolutely anything.
- While a person can do many things, you can’t do all the things. Everyone is constrained by time, energy and finances in some way. This is a personal problem that I have and need to be reminded of this on a regular basis.
- The area of southern Kentucky and Tennessee is beautiful. I am excited to visit it again.
- If you accidentally leave a load of laundry in the washing machine before you leave on a trip, don’t worry! It will be in the same spot upon your return.
- I learned that I can do hard things. If needed, I can do the messy stuff. This knowledge gives me a confidence to try other intimidating things.
As always, I cannot do any of these things without others so I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude.
- Thank you to my husband for keeping the house standing, managing school and giving me the opportunity to get away.
- Thank you to my friends for being as crazy as I am and finding the excuse of a chicken processing workshop a perfect opportunity for a road trip.
- Thank you to the individuals associated with Living Free in Tennessee for hosting this event and sharing their knowledge and experiences.
- Thank you to the other students for laughing with me and not at me when this inexperienced Kentucky gal turned her back to look for a knife and the chicken escaped the cone.
Now, it is your turn. What are you doing to challenge your inner-chicken?