Another Worthwhile Harvest

I promise this post about butchering chickens will not be as graphic as it was last year. I almost decided not to post it since it's an annual event, but the kids have grown and changed (I'm amazed at how much the big kids have grown!) and Alan switches something around every year, so I decided to record this memory (in case my kids don't remember butchering chickens when they are adults or something, giggle).

Destry was the official chicken killer this year. He caught and killed all fifty chickens and bled them out. It was cold and rainy last year, so Alan set things up in the garage, but this year we had ideal weather and he set up right by the back door. That was pretty convenient for water access and for getting the chickens into the house to be cut up and bagged.
Briana was a great help again this year. She cuts those chickens up like she knows exactly what she's doing. I think she could do it without me (but doubt she'd appreciate it if I ran off to do something else!). We butchered in two sessions this year. The first one was a Monday night and nothing went right. Tyrell was fussy, Alan had a hard time getting the water just the right temperature for plucking feathers which complicated things immensely, and the chickens were huge so most wouldn't fit whole into a freezer bag and I had to wrap them in freezer paper. Add to that we were all tired and rushed and you'll understand why we didn't do very many that night. We finished them up on a Friday evening and it went without a hitch.

We bagged them a little differently this year. As our family as grown (both numerically and in size/age) we have found a need to put a little more meat into each bag. Eight pieces of fried chicken just isn't enough anymore! Easton is usually fine with only one piece and so am I, but Kiana and Briana will each eat two and Alan and Destry. . .well, they would each each three if they had their preference.
I love the pictures of preserved food--it's so rewarding to me, so please bear with me. Here we have whole chickens, fryer chicken, wings, and boneless skinless chicken breasts.
We also have several quarts of chicken and broth for dumplings, noodles, casseroles, and soups. I love cooking with chicken--there are so many different things to make!
It's a lot of work to get it all into this state of preservation, but the flavor and health-benefits of home-grown chickens are worth every effort.