Some folks couldn't raise chickens.
Neighbors of ours came to Montana from "Back East" years ago, in part to raise their boys on a farm instead of in the city. One year, they raised chickens for the boys' chores. (With three to six university degrees between the two of 'em, and two professions, the parents didn't need the egg money.)
Everything they did had to be done "by the book," but they didn't have all the books. When the time came to kill and freeze the chickens, they'd heard that pithing the chickens made 'em easier to pluck. But they had no clue how. They also had no clue how to kill and dress the chickens. A brochure from somewhere probably explained pithing, I think, but they found no scholarly documentary how-to guide to the rest of the procedure.)
"Oh, Hell. Just chop their heads off and yank their guts out" -- a neignboring ranch mama's advice when they asked her how to prepare 'em for the freezer -- was too crude to consider.
So they cut off the wings and legs and threw the rest away.
