| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Frazzled_Barbie |
Hook FarmYesterday afternoon saw me and my OH pootle down the M25 to Hook in Hampshire for a "Kill, Pluck, Gut and Bone Course" chicken course.Alison at Hook farm was welcoming and very easy to chat to over a welcoming cuppa whilst we also had time to meet our other course members. In total there were 5 of us. I am not sure how many Alison limits the course too normally but 5 was a good number. We started with the kill part and Alison showed us all how to cull the chicken using the broom stick method. She was calm informative and most of all supportive when it was our turn to do it. I am not the most lady like person and Alison explained that I had to have my legs and feet closer together on the broom stick. Blink of an eye and it was done - a quick grab and the chicken was under my arms to stop it flapping. The plucking was interesting as we did it inside and on a table - whilst I am used to doing it with the chicken hanging and outside. It felt quite alien and took me longer than normal. My poor OH had a rather bad sneezing episode as feathers were flying everywhere inside the room. The gutting went ok too - didn't nick anything and everything came out in one piece. There was then a "Blue Peter" moment - no she didn't produce a chicken made out of sticky back plastic or chocolate covered coco beans but there was a chicken that she had culled earlier in the week. Now time for the boning - here Alison's patience was endless as I couldn't get the hang of it at the beginning at all and had to be told and shown each segment at least 3 times. At no time did she rush me or take over. However nearly an hour later I had a chicken that looked like it had been hacked with a machete and a bag full of bones and off cuts. We left after spending a pleasant few hours complete with 2 chickens, the boned one that I ate for my dinner this evening and the one that I culled which I will attempt to bone out tomorrow whilst it is still fresh in my memory, plus a book entitled "Meat Chicken Keeper" written by Alison complete with colour pictures to refer back to when needed. Whilst I have culled chickens before I didn't feel comfortable with the method we had been shown and opted to use before hence the need to do the course. I had been using the "humane wall mounted dispatcher". Please see picture below - you insert the neck and pull the handle and basically crush the neck. 
For me there is no comparison and the broom stick method gets my vote hands down. There is a bit of me that feels quite upset that I have previously been culling in a manner that might have caused some distress to the birds when the broom stick option seems to me to be quicker and safer etc. But maybe it is horses for courses and we all have our own favourite methods etc and maybe the broomstick method is a technique that suits me. To round up if anyone from the Hampshire area etc needs or wants to attend such a course then I can thoroughly recommend Alison at Hook Farm. Please take a look at her website for further info. http://www.hookfarm.net/ |