Dispatch Course in Wales

I spent the afternoon at writers from Country Smallholding magazine, Helpless Homestead near Machynlleth, showing them how to Dispatch & Dress Aylesbury ducks and then they'll do their Ross Cobb meat birds.
They have a great set up in the little strip of land they have - a flock of laying hens, a pen of growing meat birds, a couple of tamworth pigs for meat and a big polytunnel for growing all their fruit and veg!
Cleverly, as they're in a valley, they have diverted a stream that runs through their land to run into a pond for the ducks and I think the plan is to do the same for drinking water for the other animals!

First we dispatched and plucked then dispatched and skinned the next duck, which was a lot quicker + easier with the ducks two layers of waterproof feathers!

Adam skinning an Aylesbury Drake:

They have a batch of 5 week old Ross Cobbs which will be ready for the table in a few weeks time - they grow so fast and were struggling with the heat! I suggested they try Ixworths next time, the ideal Smallholder dual purpose bird; cockerels are great meat birds, growing fast and putting on a lot of muscle and the hens can be reared as laying birds.

Was a bit too hot in 30 degree sunshine but was great weather and scenery for it!

Next on to the gutting, we gutted the ducks ready for a roast but with the skinned bird it can be just as easy to joint it so you have the meat from legs, breasts which is a lot quicker and less mess if you're doing a large batch of birds!
You can use the rest of the carcass for stock or give it to the dog!

Gutting one of the plucked ducks:

Cutting the wings and legs off a plucked and drawn meat bird

One Aylesbury duck, ready for roasting!

Looking forward to going back to Wales in August for my next Dispatch & Dress course near Aberystwyth - www.DrChickenCourses.co.uk 

Out with the Old, In with the New... Dinner Chickens

So, as we've got the 3 new hybrids, the cockerels have to go :(

I was going to do it yesterday but left it too late so just got the stuff ready; bin for the feathers, small broomstick pole and a chair!
Let the 3 cockerels out for a free range in the snow earlier but restricted their food so that they're easier to gut etc.

Got Little Miss Meaty (the name stuck for him) in the eglu so I could pick him up and took him to the side passage.
I was alright in doing it 'cos have know since they were cute little chicks under Hilary that I'd have to do it:

Was alright doing 'the deed' but you always get paranoid from the nervous responses that you haven't done it properly even though I knew he was dead, and I had to double and triple check :/

Plucking was alright. It took about an hour to do, which is way longer than the huge turkeys at the farm! but tbf I haven't done it for a while, and the turkeys are hung so that makes it a lot easier. Ripped the skin a couple of times by the breast but thats not a problem.

Just got Mr Meaty to do next!
Was going to do him tonight but he's still not very muscly + mature, and it would leave Mr Dinosaur on his own in the eglu. Mr Meaty doesn't really crow, although he probably will now Little Miss has gone, but will see. I can always do it in the next couple of days.

Chicken Dispatch, Gut + Bone course

I went to Banbury today on the train on a course to learn how to Dispatch, Pluck, Gut + bone chickens.
It was a good day + good course, I was in the first group, then stayed to help out for the rest of the day.

We had to dispatch a chicken using the broomstick method, which was quick and easy to do, then stop the chicken flapping by holding it close to you. I thought it was all done in a really good way, and Alison explained everything properly.
We then plucked our chickens sat round the table and once they were done, put away for me to do the rest at home.
A Blue Peter moment and we were all given chickens that were dispatched and plucked on Thursday. We learnt how to gut a chicken which was ok, then how to bone it.
I was rubbish at the boning, so probably won't do it again, but it was good to see how you do it.

Watching people gut and bone on the courses after us was really helpful to watch, to remember how to do it all and take it in properly.

At the end of the day we went to the pub for a meal to meet a few Omleteers :)It was quite strange to recognise people all day that I'd never met before and feel that you 'know' them.

Raising meat birds would be something I want to do - but Mom + Dad aren't sure because they think I wouldn't do it and they'd become pets. I really like the idea of knowing exactly where your meat has come from and what has gone into it - as long as we didn't name them, it should be ok ... and we may have a spare eglu next spring ;)
Thanks to everyone - especially Clare for ferrying me around all day!