stepping right over. you don't mind an extra mouth do you? thanks for chronicling your experience. i know it will make my future one a lot easier. and congrats!

Good going, glad it went well for you. :) Be careful inviting the Farm Forum over, we all just might show up!

Velvet ~:>

If I were you I'd invest in a Foodsaver vacumn sealer. We use it for fish and it works wonderfully. We have had fish that is 2 years old come out as fresh as it went in.

J'Lynn, congrats on getting a big job like that done and feeling good about it. I think you should, sounds like you researched everything and the chickens were happy and well cared for. Since you asked, I had been meaning to ask a freezer question myself. My MIL says the best way to freeze chicken is to put them in water in a container. She has access to 2-3 quart food containers at her work so she saves them up and uses them that way. I'm not sure this idea appeals to me but she swears by it. Anyone tried this? Lori

Lori, I've frozen lots of shrimp and fish covered with water and it works very well. It will keep for at least a couple of years without any apparent deterioration. I've never tried it on poultry and I'd wonder if the meat would absorb any water.

The vacuum sealer is ideal - we seldom freeze anything any other way. The principle is the same: protect the food from any contact with air. That's what seems to cause the damage.

I did not have good luck using ziplock bags. Normally I order large freezer bags from a poultry site. I would put the bird in and then put the bag into a tub of water to force air out. That worked way better than just using my hands, or using a straw to suck air out. I twisted the ends, put a large twist tie on a few wraps, the folded the end over and twisted the tie on tight. Had good luck storing them over a year that way.

Two years ago I ran out of bags and used ziplock. They looked fine for a while, then it seemed the edges of the ziplock part started to give out, and the last birds to be eaten where all freezer burned. Used them for stewing.

This year I bought a vacuum sealer. My birds were 10 weeks, so they would not fit into the gallon size premade with enough room to still get them sealed. I had to make my own bags, but they are reusable (learned that it works best to turn them inside out to clean).

I also only have two people to feed, and my birds are enough for a meal and a week worth of leftovers. Still getting use to the "empty nest" thing - need to start butchering at a younger age. Those meat birds sure do grow fast.

Cathy

You guys are great...thanks for all the good information...I love this site!
I think the vacuum sealer sounds the best way for us. Got it on my list of things to purchase.
We've eaten 3 of the birds so far...nothing can compare! I don't think I will ever be able to eat a grocery store chicken again.
J'Lynn

macybaby-cathy, thanks for comments to querry-what poultry site had the heavyduty bags? Searched and could not find. Had some buff os and cut up most to fit them into gallon bags. Thanks.

Gardengalrn has the ticket. Put the meat in a container, then fill with water until the meat is completely covered, then freeze.
A little story. My Grandfather used to trap and hunt in KY. I was back visiting with him in 1976 when his deep chest freezer went out. He ran frozen goods over to the local grocery (town of 600 people you do things like that) and some to friends. Waaaaaay down in the bottom he found a raccoon that was marked 1963. it was 13 years old and had been lost in the bottom of his freezer all that time.
Well, he thawed it out, Grandmaw pressure cooked it and then he smoked it over hickory wood. It was the best tasting meat I've ever eaten in my entire life. WOW it was good. and it had stayed perfectly frozen in that block of ice all that time.
One more trick my Granddad did. He would freeze things first in his little freezer, over the refrigerator. then move them to the chest freezer. That way nothing would thaw by putting warm things into the big freezer. Everything stayed well frozen.
Oh and a recipe. Try putting a few of those breast pieces in with the stuffing in your turkey for Thanksgiving. Let them cook right in the turkey cavity with the stuffing. My my my that is finger lickin', lip smackin', butter-my-biscuits good.

Raccon is good eatin'...just a little on the greasy side.

Jylnn,

I'm not sure how this post resurfaced, but it has a good time. I'm happy to hear that things went well for you and am hoping you can share a couple of techniques,...specifically, how did you handle the bird after it was introduced to the cone. (Was the cone mounted in some way?) We are in the middle of processing our geese and ducks for the first time this year, and having a bit of difficulty. I think it's more challenging becuase they're much bigger than the chickens my brother used to process in the back yard when I was a kid.

We have tried three different methods of putting the bird by, but none so far are fast enough to suit my standards. Your advice on this detail would be appreciated. To spare readers from grim details, you (or anyone) are welcome to email us with your suggestions.

THanks

LF RJ

I would like to hear the "grimm details". I plan on raising some chickens for meat and want to know exactly what to do and what to expect. I have done various parts of the butchering process before, plucking and cutting into pieces, but not the actually killing or removal of the "innards". I'll look a lot of the details up on the internet too.