Best butchering methods/tools

[CrimsonRose]

I use a small paring knife and a set of garden pruners (for the neck and feet)

I dispatch them with a pellet gun then hang them by the back feet and remove the head to bleed out...

 

[nic8407]

This may be too late but... I made two products similar to items I saw on "The rabbit ringer" site. One to snap their neck and one to hang them for skinning. It works great for me. I also use a hook type skinning knife (the kind you put a sheet rock blade in) and a small curved blade skinning knife used in the field for skinning deer ect. Then I use poultry shears for the tail, feet, rib cage, back bone ect. One word of advise for poultry shears, get a pair that have a defined notch or ring for your index finger to bear against, otherwise your hand slips on the handles and you can't put much muscle into cutting the bone. Hope this might help somebody.

 

[justin]

I do the same as chunkydunk (also taught to me by my grandpa) I hold by back legs and they will be very still then with a flat hand I can break there necks instantly with a swift downward chop. Sometimes they bleed out through the nose and clean easyer, then I hang by back legs to skin and gut them. If you disjointed them all you need is a pocket knife but i usually use a small buck knife just because the folding knife are harder to clean.

 

[oneacrefarm]

I use a Black and Decker trimming pruner to cut the skin and bypass pruners to remove the feet. They have a set at TSC for $10 and it works well. I feel more comfortable with this than with a blade.

 

[KittyHawk]

I prefer to disjoint rather than cut bone. Just bend the joint backwards till it pops from the socket and cut through the sinews. I don't know of any profesionals who do it any other way.

Do you find this leaves a cleaner bone end? We have run into the issue where sharp bone ends are puncturing our vacuum bags or shrinkwrap bags.

 

[MtViking]

Look up the hopper popper, for dispatching the animal I think it’s the same idea as the slotted board, seems a little easier than wringing their necks or karate chopping lol. But totally just my opinion.