Is this overkill for a poultry butchering class?

[LittleLebowski]

A friend is taking said class and the org giving the class is pimping this. Class description below. I feel like the kit is overkill.

Harvesting Broiler Chickens and Turkeys
Raising meat through humane livestock husbandry is the best option for those who seek to own their food source. Ann Accetta-Scott, founder of A Farm Girl in the Making, will be offering a demo on how to properly, and humanely, harvest meat CHICKENS AND TURKEYS FOR PRIVATE CONSUMPTION. -Learn how to quickly dispatch -Decide whether to hand pluck or use a plucking tool -Identifying organs and how to properly clean -Packing for long-term storage Please note this is a demo/hands on class with live butchering.

[Borderland]

A friend is taking said class and the org giving the class is pimping this. Class description below. I feel like the kit is overkill.

LMAO.

[Cookie Monster]

That seems pretty worthless.

My wife and I for three years raised and butchered with the help of friends 40 birds per year. Then we had our boys which made raising and butchering chickens too much.

https://www.strombergschickens.com/c...ls-Accessories

Here is where I get my stuff. A kill knife is awesome, you are able to get behind the throat and get them to bleed out quick and the only other knife needed would be the deboning knife for the eviseration and cleaning out the gut. The curved skinning knife is ok but I prefer poultry shears for breaking apart the bird. The pinning knife is useless.

If I was starting out, kill knife, deboning knife, and a kill cone. The cones are essential.

A big pot for scalding - like 10 gallons and a plucker if you got more than a handful of birds. I would just skin them if less than 5 or 10.

A vacuum sealer is another great thing.

Unsure why the class is pushing Chinese garbage for tools but that is life in 2019.

Any more questions hit me up but still kinda an amateur.

Last thought which you know, the knife doesn’t matter if it’s sharp. You could butcher with a flake of obsidian better than a dull whatever.

[Lost River]

Snicker....



For a yard bird

I cut up elk with a couple of 12 dollar Mora knives and a pack saw.




Having cleaned a lot of birds (ducks, geese, pheasant, chukars, grouse, and even a few yard birds) and never used a kit like what is shown in the link.

Then again, after cleaning a bunch of damned birds, I don't bird hunt anymore. I hate cleaning birds, outside of a grouse or two for a dutch oven meal at camp.

[EMC]

My buddy who hunts a lot of birds just cuts the breasts off and disposes of the rest.

[Dan_S]

A friend is taking said class and the org giving the class is pimping this. Class description below. I feel like the kit is overkill.

Oh, please.


As someone that grew up with a small poultry operation, this is funny.

A tool kit. Right.


Here’s what you need. A sharp paring knife.

[Duelist]

For people who have never done it, who didn’t grow up watching and helping do it, the thought of killing and butchering an animal can be an intimidating prospect. I’m not surprised there is a class and formal kit for learning how: isn’t that what people do to learn new skills? When I wanted to learn pottery, I went full nerd on it and bought a kit and took classes. Doesn’t mean I don’t suck, but I can throw a bowl and have all the toys needed to do so.

I have helped friends learn how to butcher. It’s kind of funny to me to have a grown adult say, help me butcher a bunny. My dad raised them for our own food and for friends when I was a kid, so I’ve helped cut up a lot of them. Another friend wanted to learn, and I’d just killed a deer, so he got the big game version. Just showing and giving the knife to somebody and letting them do the other side is usually enough. Don’t really need a class.

I’ve never killed enough birds at once to bother with scalding or plucking. Just skin the bigger ones, breast doves.

[Borderland]

All bird hunters use is a pair of shears and a nice sharp knife. Did it for years. I was known as the bird bitch in camp. I could clean a pheasant in about two minutes. Never cooked or cleaned up anything in camp. Just butchered birds. Nobody wanted the job.

[farscott]

The way I was taught by my wife (three generations of her family have worked at chicken processing plants and we have chickens in our backyard) requires just a sharp knife and a good pair of shears. Keeping the knife and shear blades sharp is key. Dealing with the guts is the most problematic issue. Cut the back section from the bird and scoop, insuring you do not crush/smash the gall bladder. Cut between the joints and not through the bones. Scalding before plucking makes plucking much easier. How long to scald depends on the bird and is something that comes with experience. One thing to not do is overheat the water: Around 145F with a bit of hand soap in the water to increase the penetration of the water is about right and be sure to dunk the bird in ice-cold water before starting to pluck. Too long in the hot water and the skin begins to cook and will tear when plucking. That being said, I have not butchered turkeys.

I like brining birds before freezing for storage. Gets rid of the blood, helps with preserving, and gets some seasoning into the flesh.

[randyho]

https://www.strombergschickens.com/c...ls-Accessories

We've been very happy with dexter knives we've bought. Slowly switching over to them throughout.