Cock-A-Doodle-Dumpling

*****If you are squeamish or don't want to know where your food comes from then you probably want to skip this post*****

(Hey, Rooster, wanna come over and hang out?)

My friend Jess ended up getting chickens at the same time I did. One of her pullets turned out to be a rooster. It was decided that the rooster must go. Mom jumped in with her mad chicken butchering skills and got 'er done. I have seen Mom butcher a few chickens back in the day. She grew up doing it, and then when I was younger Mom and Dad raised meat birds. Apparently dispatching chickens is like riding a bike, you never forget. In fact, to quote Mom, 'I could do it in my sleep.' We arrived at Jess' house at 9, where Mom got right down to business. I caught the rooster and Mom immediately took that sucker by his feet, hung him upside down and cut its head off.


Hey, look! Its the south end of a rooster flying north! (Quoting Mom)

That's when things got crazy. The rooster thrashed about, as they do after death. Before she could grab its wings, it thrashed right out of the noose and proceeded to run about the yard like a chicken with its head cut off. Oh, wait, he was a chicken with his head cut off. Yes, we chased that thing around as it randomly dodged this way and that. Mom was yelling, 'Get him! Get him!!' Mom finally got it pinned down and held it til it stopped flapping. Meanwhile, the children were playing in the yard, oblivious to the ordeal. (They did watch quite a bit of the process) After that came the standard plucking and gutting and such. Katie and Tyler sat right at Mom's elbow watching. Tyler kept pointing and saying 'Chickies' so apparently he got it figured out. Mom made it look very easy, and we were done in less than 40 minutes, and that was with Mom taking the time to show us the steps.


And the legacy lives on...

Katie was quite interested in the process

And because I know that you are so fascinated with the subject matter of today's blog post, I will teach you a neat little party trick for the next time you find yourself butchering a chicken. (Sadly, something happened with the video of this, so you'll just have to visualize it with the help of this picture...my apologies! You must be so heartbroken. :) Anyway, get yourself a chicken foot. Remove some of its skin. Find the tendons and pull. Voila! Its like you have your own marionette, chicken style. The talon will open and close as you pull on the tendons. Now don't all rush out at once to try this!

James: That's nice Mom, now what's for lunch? Payton: That lady is nuts! I sure hope my parents are saving up for therapy 'cause I'm gonna need it!

On a side note, Mom says that Grandma Heppner used to get fed up on occasion with a mean rooster. She would look at him and declare her intentions to eat him. She would go get her knife and walk around looking for the offender. He would be quickly dispatched and turned into supper.