A Beginner’s Guide to Raising Meat Birds
- lettersbyreesianal
- Feb 3
- 4 min read
Imagine being able to buy a baby chicken and 2 to 3 months later, it’s a full-grown chicken that’s ready to go into your freezer. Well, you don’t have to imagine, I’ve written a guide for you. First, I’ll explain why we raise our own.
Why We Raise Our Own
The reason we wanted to raise chickens is simple: We no longer wanted the hormones and the chemicals that were injected into the chickens that come into our system and our children's systems.
When you buy from the store, you don’t know if they were fed a high-soy diet, what type of dewormer was used, or what vaccinations they were given. For peace of mind, food security, and self-sufficiency purposes, we made it our responsibility to raise our own meat birds.
Most of the time, people just go to a grocery store, and they have no connection with their food. But there is a difference when you’ve raised something, when you’ve seen it alive, when you fed it the best hay and feed, and let it roam around to eat natural stuff.
When you butcher it yourself, that’s a deeper connection and a deeper appreciation for your food. If you give somebody the power to feed you, you give them the power to starve you.
Step 1: Start Small
If you are a beginner, the first thing I would suggest is to start small. You can buy from online hatcheries, feed stores, or Tractor Supply. But start off with maybe 10 to 15 meat birds. Get your Bruter, set up, get everything set up right, and follow through with those birds.
Don’t try to go out the first time and buy 50 of them. Start with 10 to 15. That is plenty of meat to fill a mini deep freezer. One batch of meat birds can feed a family for weeks or months depending on how often you eat them. See that through first, and if you are successful, then you can add on more the next go round.
Step 2: The Reality of Processing
Let’s get real: processing is a skill. YouTube can never teach you everything. To really know what you’re doing, you need hands-on experience and the right tools. When I first started butchering chickens, it was a "weird feeling," but you have to understand, it’s the circle of life.
The main advice I’m going to give you is just do it. Just start. There’s nothing to do but to do it.
Step 3: Technical Mastery and the "Lifesaver" Tools
When it’s time to process, you want to go old-fashioned. Get your water prepped and hot ( 150 degrees) so you can dump your chickens in to pluck them.
During this process, you’ll identify the "crawl" (or crop) at the top. This is like a stomach where the chicken stores all its food to break it down for digestion. If the bird has been eating, it will be bulging out. You have to cut it open, detach it from the windpipe, and pull it out from the top.
Step 4: The Breakdown and Zero Waste
After you’ve washed out the inside of the carcass, it’s time to break it down. Get you a sharp fillet knife. Remember, a sharp knife is a humane knife.
Thighs: I usually like to take these off first. Cut right in between the thighs and the joints; just push down a little bit and it’ll pop right off.
Wings and Breasts: Continue the breakdown until you have your individual cuts.
The "Relax" Period: After cutting, put the meat in the refrigerator. You have to let the muscles in the meat relax because right now they are tensed up. Refrigerating it lets it age and prevents the meat from being tough.
One of the best things about raising your own is that nothing goes to waste. When you get a connection with your food, you value it.
You can use the feathers in your compost pile. You can take the intestines and make dog food or bury them next to your fruit trees in the garden. Even the chicken feet make great dog treats. You’ll figure out a way to use every part of that bird.
Join the Movement
Learning to provide for your family isn’t just a skill; it’s freedom. I want to show you the journey on the road to self-sufficiency. This is about putting good fresh food in the refrigerator where you know exactly where it comes from.
If you want to move from being a "Sitting Duck" to a leader in this movement, I am inviting you to our Assorted Meat Butchering Workshop.
Date: Sunday, February 22, 2026
Time: 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Location: Set Apart Gardens Homestead, Ludowici, GA
What we’re doing: Hands-on processing of meat birds and a whole goat.
What you take home: Each family or reservation will take home a packaged whole chicken and an adequate amount of goat meat.
I am keeping this workshop small, only 15 spots, because quality matters and I want every person to leave knowing they can do this themselves. Don’t wait; this is your chance to take your family’s independence into your own hands.
Peace and blessings, Dre
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