Turkey dinner again - by Matthew

This is one of our Blue Slate turkeys. We wanted to keep them because they can naturally reproduce but they kept flying away and coming back at night. We don't mean flying over a fence, we expected that but when they started to fly and land on the neighbors barn roof who lives about half a mile it was just to much and when the neighbor told us that they go down to the creek by old nelsons place we knew it was time. We gave away the three smaller turkeys to some nice people but this one saw the pot.



This is me down in front of the barn with the turkey, a new technique I use is to just walk up behind the turkey when he reaches for food, I grab him from behind and flip him upside down. I tie him up and off we go up the hill.


I always us a five pound double edge ax for the killing of the turkey. A lot harder to miss. This bird is now ready for the cone.

In the cone and ready for the plucking bucket.

We use a twenty gallon horse bucket to dunk the birds in - one hundred and forty five degree water and the feathers just come right off. We keep the water hot in the bucket. I am a little slow with plucking still about ten minutes. Have to duck him around three times slosh him around like milk in churner. We love raising our animals gathering from them and eating them.

The box is for the innards, head, feet, tips of wings and feathers. just throw in burn barrel and all is done time to eat in a couple of days.