I thought I might scare away too many readers if I put "slaughter" or "butcher" in the blog post title, but this is a site about farming, after all. Most farmers raise meat as well as eggs, veggies, honey and what-have-you, and many of us slaughter on-farm.
If you're just starting out, or are raising meat birds for the first time, you might be nervous about doing the slaughtering yourself. Or scared or just plain grossed out. In any case, check out these step-by-step photos and instructions of a real live chicken slaughter on our farm, and either allay or confirm your fears. But really - I think you'll be okay. I was the photographer for this one but I have been on the other side, and although it's messy, smelly work, I also feel that it's really important work, to connect ourselves with where our meat comes from, and why it should cost more than $1.xx a pound.
On the time factor, figure about three chickens an hour for a beginner. You may be able to double that once you know what you're doing. That's with one person working. It can go faster if you have a team of people doing different tasks.
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