Items Needed

Sharp Knife/Knife Sharpener
Lighter
Large Pot
Table
Buckets/Bowls
Water Source and Hose with sprayer
Plucker or Pluck by hand
Extension Cord/Power access
Killing Cones
Ice Chest/Ice
Scalder or Propane Burner
Propane tank if using burner
Bags and Sealer (optional)

Preparation

Set-up all equipment the day before. Gather all equipment such as plucker, tables, extension cord, bowls, buckets, knives, hoses, scalder. Buy Ice and Store in Freezer.
Clean all equipment. Using soap and water wash down all equipment such as buckets, bowls, knives, pots, tables, and coolers.
Wake up 2 hours earlier than you want to start butchering. Fill the large pot with water and start the propane burner with your lighter. Checking with your thermometer, you want the water temperature between 145- 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the temperature reaches the right degree, you are ready to start butchering.
While the water is reaching temperature, You are gathering all of your culls, or the ones you want to butcher into meat and put into the freezer. Using gusto or a net, catch the chickens gently, as to not cause damage to the meat, and to be humane as possible. Place them into cages and carry them close to the butcher site. Make sure you place them in a cool, shady place, so as to not cause discomfort.
Once all other steps have been finished, you are ready to butcher. First, gently grab a chicken from one of the holding cages. I like to hold the first one and say a prayer for them all, thanking them for their sacrifice for us. Then you place them upside down into a killing cone. Let them settle for about 30 seconds before firmly grabbing the head, hold onto it, don’t let go, and place the knife under the feathers at the base of its head. Pull down and slice quickly and firmly, as you want to get the whole head off the first time. Another way to complete this task is to use a pair of clean designated kitchen shears, and you can chop the head off in one snip. Let the blood run out for about 1-2 minutes, the body will move after the head has been removed, so do not be disturbed, this is normal.
Pick up the decapitated chicken by its feet and rinse off with the hose. After the rinse, dunk, up and down in the hot water that is at 150 degrees in the scalding pot. You dunk up and down for about 45 seconds to 1 minute until the feathers can pull off easily. Do not place the chicken into water to soak as that will cook the outside meat/skin. Then the chicken goes into the plucker or gets plucked by hand.
If you use a plucker: Two chickens are placed into the plucker bucket at a time. The power button is turned on and the chickens spin against these rubber fingers which pull out the feathers, this process takes about 1-2 minutes. Watch for broken limbs, as it can be damaging if done too long. Make sure to spray water into the plucker bucket while the plucker is turned on and spinning chickens. It helps the feathers to be plucked out, to go out the bottom shoot, and to dispose of the feathers.
Bring the plucked chickens to the evisceration table. This is where you will take out all the organs and package up the chicken for consumption. Follow all steps.
Remove the crop, which is at the front breast area of the bird. Locate and loosen the trachea/windpipe. Remove the scent gland on the tail. Remove feet at this point and save in a bag for broth making.
Cut carefully a slit in the lower front abdomen then use fingers to rip open the skin more. Be careful not to puncture any organs as this can contaminate the meat. Pull out all organs from this open area at the bottom of the cavity. The gallbladder for example is very bitter and makes the meat taste bad. Separate any organs out you want to eat such as, the heart, gizzard, and liver. Scrape out the lungs.
Cut the area around the butt hole to separate the intestines and organs from the body. Dispose of the organs into a bucket to put into a compost pile or feed to pigs. With a hose, rinse outside and inside of the chicken cavity to clean out any leftover bits.
At this point you can cut your chicken into cut-ups or keep as a whole bird. Bag up and package in any fashion that works for you. I like to place into sealer bags and use a sealing machine to create long lasting freezer safe packaging.

Tips

If you are creating your own ice nuggets inside of milk jugs, bags, or other containers, remember to place water in freezers a week before butcher date.

The chicken benefits from sitting in an ice chest full of ice or refrigerator for 24-48 hours, I prefer they do this in their packaging or in bags on ice. Rigor mortis can make poultry meat tough if enough time hasn’t passed for the process to complete.

Save all bones and feet for making broth.