I cleaned the hooters when I got home and put them in a bowl of saltwater to soak and remove more blood overnight. I changed the water yesterday morning before work, and returned the bowl to the fridge. Last night I butchered. I keep the whole bird – breast, back, wings, legs and neck – as there’s lots of meat on all the parts. I put the backs and necks in a pot of water to simmer on the woodstove for soup. When I vac packed the birds, I wrapped them up in the plastic vegetable grocery bags first to try to cushion the bones so they would not poke through the vac bags. Seemed to work okay, and a new use for those grocery bags. Next time I am going to pluck the birds instead of skinning, and then use a propane torch to get rid of any remaining pin feathers, which I’ve not tried before. Thank you, you tube. Supposed to be rain this weekend but hopefully the birds will come out to hoot again..