Next, immediately after you take the turkey out of the water, pluck off all of the feathers except for the small, hair-like feathers. When Steve slaughters, he’s got a big pot heating on a propane burner standing by, heated to 158F. Slaughtering and processing your own turkeys on-farm can be a rewarding if messy, experience. This here is not a tale of "look how awful the slaughtering of turkeys is." 7 min read (I saw no need to take pictures for this entry, as they would’ve been graphic. You insert the bird's head and neck through the bottom of the cone and slit its throat while it hangs upside down. The photos and video presented below are courtesy of Kristeva Dowling from The Howling Duck Ranch. However, in order to extract the maximum amount of the final product, certain slaughter rules must be followed. A turkey's path to slaughter is mindboggling. The series of photographs below is presented in an attempt to connect us, the consumers of turkey on Thanksgiving, to the meat we are going to eat through an understanding of how that food got from the farm to our plates. Raising turkey will also save you money because you won’t need to buy one for the holidays. The photos and information presented below are on the gruesome side -- if you have a weak stomach and don't like the sight of blood, this is not for you -- but the photos are not meant to shock, just educate. Question Answered: How to Slaughter a Turkey. The next step is to immerse the bird in hot water to loosen the feathers. Start a Chicken Broiler Business on Your Small Farm, How to Fix Inconsistent Water Temperature, The 10 Thanksgiving Charcuterie Boards on Instagram You Should Be Recreating. From the time that they're hatched to when they're slaughtered, turkeys go through hell. Today, we are going to share with you what slaughtering turkeys is all about. The innards are loosened from the chest cavity by hand and pulled out of the bird. Feel the gizzard - a hard organ - and pull it out. August 7, 2019 . Next, the anus is removed. Turkeys don't just appear on our Thanksgiving tables by magic. How to Kill Your Own Turkey, and Why You Should Try It Nov 22, 2011 | 15 videos Video by The Perennial Plate Turkey is one of the best animals to raise for meat and profit. next thing to do: Cut the artery and vein. Only the first 3 minutes pertain to this post. Erstklassige Nachrichtenbilder in hoher Auflösung bei Getty Images The muscle usage of a duck may differ from that of a chicken, but they still share the same parts—breasts, wings, legs, etc.—and those parts can be removed in the same way. Turkeys are the leaders in meat production among poultry. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr. Learn the basics of slaughtering, processing and butchering turkeys safely and humanely. Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? The birds take just a minute or two to drain all their blood. The best recipes, kitchen tips and genius food facts. With your water at roughly 140 degrees F, plunge the turkey into the scalding tank, head first (hold the legs and feet). But maybe you raised a few birds over the summer, or somehow got your hands on a live one. First the oil sack is removed which is located at the base of the tail. When they do, remove the bird, secure it by the legs (a couple of nails in a board will hold each leg), and pluck the feathers. It’s Thanksgiving weekend and Turkey is on the menu. In order to speed up the plucking process, we scald the turkeys first, which helps the feathers come out much easier. The cold water bath makes that possible. Next, remove the lungs. Many of us have slaughtered chickens, and a lot of us have cleaned ducks. In order to carefully remove the anus (and not cut the colon), an incision is made around it. The head is removed from the neck, which is often saved because the meat from the neck can be used. Lauren Arcuri is a freelance writer and an experienced small farmer. You’ll know it’s ready to pluck when you pull on the tail feathers and they come off easily. You can then transfer both legs into your other hand and use your free hand to control the wings. > Farmer Wants World to See What Humane Turkey Slaughter Looks Like. If you are going to sell directly from your farm to customers, you may be able to process without using a USDA-approved facility - check with your local extension service to find out. To scald a turkey, plunge it into the hot water (145-155 degrees F) and let it sit for 3-4 minutes. Scald and pluck the turkey. Recipes and more delivered to your inbox. Learn tips for creating your most beautiful (and bountiful) garden ever. The slaughter of animals in a halal manner is known as dabihah, where a swift cut to the animal’s throat allows for the blood of the animal to drain from the body. Once the turkeys have been slaughtered and eviscerated, they must be kept at 40 degrees so that they remain safe for consumption. In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving, and the millions of birds that will be slaughtered for this occasion, we felt the timing was appropriate. Here Erik is using a stick to hold the carcass beneath the water. If you want to butcher turkeys, this video is very explanatory and helpful. I use a good ax or hatchet, and with a swift stroke I remove the bird’s head. Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series. Another option is to hang the birds by their feet as this small farm did. Especially during the holidays because their price will spike as almost every single family in the US buys a turkey for dinner. Here's what you'll need: For visual instructions (using a chicken, but similar), read this step-by-step. If this is not available, the feathers are plucked by hand as is pictured above. Now you’re wondering to yourself, how to slaughter a turkey? Most often, the timeframe for active fattening falls in the August-October month. Sure you could buy a frozen, or even a fresh turkey. A film actress getting ready to slaughter a turkey with an axe in a scene from a Hal Roach MGM Todd-Kelly comedy. (It looks like an inverted cone with a hole at the bottom to pass the turkey's head through.) In a visit to upstate New York, we look at—and participate in—one farm's annual slaughter To handle a turkey, reach from behind with one hand and take secure hold around both legs, gently lower the bird onto its breast, then slide your free arm over the wings and under the body. Disemboweling Your Turkey To remove the innards, start by cutting through just the skin on the abdomen, a couple of inches below the vent. There are special "lung scrapers" you can use, or you can just reach in and pull them out. Remove the neck by cutting the muscle tissue around it, then bend it and break through the bone. I like to swirl it around a bit to give the water a chance to permeate all the surfaces and feathers. You'll want to have all your supplies gathered and your slaughter area set up before you begin. If you are going to sell turkeys at the farmers market, to restaurants, or otherwise bring the turkeys to market, you'll need to make sure your facility is USDA-approved and meets all your local and state requirements for poultry processing. Turkey, chicken, Cornish hen, pheasant—they all have the same structure (or “morphology,” to employ a biology term). Animals must also be deemed healthy for slaughter and animals must not be slaughtered in front of each other. All rights reserved. From one pure breed, you can get twelve kilograms of pure meat, and in crosses this figure can reach eighteen kilograms. Catch the turkey and place it in a feed bag with a hole large enough for the bird’s head to fit through. Some processing set ups come equipped with automatic pluckers which are essentially a barrel with rubber fingers in it that loosen the feathers from the bird. And it is definitely not a look at the horrors of factory-farmed birds. I have found the easiest way to slaughter a bird is a method I read about online a few years back. Warning: graphic violence. Grab the bird's feet first and let it hang upside down. One might think it would be the kill, but by far the most unpleasant step of slaughtering a turkey is the pluck. 7 The lower legs are removed. The turkey is the perfect homestead bird since it puts on weight quickly – and luckily, if you’re already used to raising and butchering other kinds of poultry, you likely won’t find the process all that much different. Before you slaughter a turkey, you need to fatten and prepare it, and then pluck and cut it. To butcher and remove the pin feathers of a turkey, start by heating some water to 145 degrees Fahrenheit and then submerging the turkey in it for 45 seconds. by Clarion Project. Those who have access to shockers will use them to stun the birds before slitting their throats. Every few seconds, check to see if the feathers remove easily. Swirl the bird in the water both around and up and down. This calms them as blood rushes to the head. Place the bird in the killing cone. Farmer Wants World to See What Humane Turkey Slaughter Looks Like. The difference is this. Be careful … The bird soaks for just a minute or two. US Showdown With Turkey to Prevent Slaughter of Christians, Kurds. Anyone who watches the first 3 minutes of the above video will get a good sense of just how meaningless the ©2021 Verizon Media. Pluck the Bird. Nov 28, 2012 - You don't see it in the supermarket, but these photos of the turkey slaughtering process — and a step-by-step guide on how to slaughter a turkey — will teach you a … This includes the heart, liver and gizzards. Part of HuffPost Food & Drink. You can start fattening and adult birds, and just hatched poults. Rather, this is an unbiased look at what it means to slaughter a turkey on a small farm. A cut between the joint severs the cartilage and makes removing the lower legs easy. A turkey-sized killing cone should be mounted to the side of a building or a framework built out of wood. This is the step that usually upsets most people, but it happens a lot quicker than you'd imagine. Lift the bird to your body. Some small processing operations will have what are called killing cones that will hold the turkey snugly upside down. Cleaning the top part of the turkey involves careful incisions and finger work to remove the head, neck, aorta, windpipe and stomach. Turkeys and so-called broiler chickens are genetically bred to grow fast (to satisfy our love for breast meat) and, typically, grow so big that they can barely walk by the time they are killed. This is how we butcher turkeys on our homestead. Due to the strength of turkeys, take secure hold around both legs with one hand rather than securing … The entrails will come with it, and so will the trachea, esophagus, and crop if you've loosened them already. Turkeys are not only easy to raise, but they can be easy to slaughter and process for the freezer, too. Reach into the bird and run your hand along the ribs to free the entrails. What Is Halal Turkey? Cleaning the top part of the turkey involves careful incisions and finger work to remove the head, neck, aorta, windpipe and stomach. Pull the bird's head firmly The head is removed from the neck, which is often saved because the meat from the neck can be used. By Ashley Capps | November 4, 2013 | Categories Animal Cruelty Investigation. Slip the knife into this hole and cut all the way around the vent, being careful not to nick the intestines. Once the blood has been entirely drained from the birds, the turkey gets placed for 10-15 seconds in hot water (roughly 180 degrees) to loosen the feathers. HOW TO SLAUGHTER A TURKEY Process the Turkey Marketing -Grab the bird. Growing a turkey to slaughter is not at all difficult. This makes the job of plucking the birds significantly easier. It might seem crazy if you’ve never raised one before… However, turkey is just a big old chicken. The fattening period of an adult individual is about 20-30 days, during this time the weight is gained, and nutrient saturation occurs. The jugular is located and cut in one swift motion, being careful not to remove the entire head.
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