I've been in on a 'chicken butchering' session, where several of us purchased a membership in a private consortium. One person bought all the chicks, fed them, housed them, fenced them in a small paddock. At the end of the very short period of time when they grew like crazy, we all came to the butchering to take turn at the stations, and then took our freshly killed birds home-cleaned, gutted, defeathered, sanitized and put on ice.
We borrowed the processing equipment from Thurston Conservation District, and, of course, cleaned it all before returning it.
We did this outside. I don't remember it 'smelling' up the neighborhood. It didn't even make a lot of noise. Most of the smell came from the jugs and jugs of bleach we used to clean and sanitize everything.
Would I do it again? No. I will admit that I couldn't bring myself to actually kill the hen when it came my turn at that station. I saw too much killing in the wars. But everything else was just work, wearing rubber gloves, sanitizing everything, and, honestly, learning a lot from the others.
But monetarily wise, it really wasn't worth it.
The one thing I DID learn is how there are people out there who will go to "Farm Fresh Egg" sellers, (meaning people who have chickens and sell the eggs from their private home). and not want eggs. They want roosters.
Most private egg producers don't want roosters. Roosters don't lay eggs, so most producers are more than glad to get rid of them. and in urban situations, there are neighbors who complain about the roosters crowing at 3 AM.
Egg producers BEWARE.
These people men offer to take your roosters off your hands.
Alive.
THey're NOT taking them home to butcher themselves and then eat.
NO. They're taking them to some out of the way spot in rural counties, putting spurs on them and fighting them. That means, the rooster is put into a 'cockpit', a small area about the size of a large kiddie pool, and made to fight another rooster. To the death.
They have to fight to the death because the people running this horrid 'game' don't allow them to give up. THere's no place for a beaten rooster to escape. It's fight to the death, which is horribly bloody and painful.
It is ILLEGAL. It is inhumane and it is cruel.
If someone comes to your egg producing home to 'buy your roosters' or 'for free', you can say, sure, but only if you take them dead. We can kill it right here and now. Got ice in your cooler?
IF they agree, then you know they're honest.
If they come up with some half arse excuse as to why they don't want it killed, you know they're using the rooster for fighting.
Get their license plate number, a good description of the people, take their pictures if you can, and call the sheriff.
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