Dual purpose chickens?

[orrpeople]

Thankfully I do! Thank you for all of the insight! Now I just have to bring myself to butcher them. That’s never been my strong suit!

I agree - once they are ready for processing it's not too bad. Head off, scalded, plucked, and then it's like dealing with a grocery store bird. (Thankfully, my DH does the killing part, then I don't mind the rest.)

Love my pressure cooker for the tougher ones - makes them tender!

 

[bobbi-j]

Hi there. I've been researching the chicken breeds we have and I'm wondering about birds who are good for eggs and meat. I have several chickens who are at the end of their laying days. They were hand-me-downs from the people we bought our house from. Most of them are meat/egg birds, so my plan was to just process them for food when they're done laying. I know chicken tends to be tough the older it gets, but are dual purpose birds different? If not, is there a way to process/cook them where they're edible? We raised meat birds one time and I couldn't bring myself to kill until they got HUGE. I baked the whole chicken and it was AWFUL. Super tough, stringy meat. We ate most if it just because I couldn't waste it after I killed it, but now I'm scared of the same thing happening again. I wish I could just keep them as pets but it's not realistic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Pressure cooking or canning is the answer. They're great that way! I have an electric pressure cooker, and my favorite thing to do is cook a chicken in it, use what meat I want, then re-cook the carcass to make bone broth. I put in carrots, celery, onions, garlic, a bay leaf or two, and some salt and pepper. Cook it all, then strain the broth.

After you butcher them, they need to rest for 3 days before cooking. That gives enough time for the rigor mortis to release form the meat. The three days can be before freezing or after. But before you cook, lol.
And how you cook it makes a huge difference. If you stew it, don't boil it. Low simmer until tender, it makes a wonderful broth and tender chicken. If you want to roast it, cook it Low and Slow - low temperature for a longer time. For absolutely tender, delicious chicken, I prefer to pressure can the old ones.
If you roast it and it is tough, turn it into soup.

Yes! I LOVE having canned chicken on hand. So many things you can do with it!

Thankfully I do! Thank you for all of the insight! Now I just have to bring myself to butcher them. That’s never been my strong suit!

Yeah, that's the hard part for me, too. Those layers are around long enough for me to get attached, no matter how hard I try to avoid it.

I agree - once they are ready for processing it's not too bad. Head off, scalded, plucked, and then it's like dealing with a grocery store bird. (Thankfully, my DH does the killing part, then I don't mind the rest.)

Love my pressure cooker for the tougher ones - makes them tender!

That's how we do it, too. I catch one, bring it out to him, he takes care of it while I'm getting the next one. Works for me.

 

[LovinThisFarmGirlLife]

That is very interesting and I’m quite sure it works and makes he bird delicious. All this new stuff just isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. I’ve always said I was born 100 years too late. I would have loved living in the late 19th century...I think.

Me too!!!

 

[Maeschak]

Hi there. I've been researching the chicken breeds we have and I'm wondering about birds who are good for eggs and meat. I have several chickens who are at the end of their laying days. They were hand-me-downs from the people we bought our house from. Most of them are meat/egg birds, so my plan was to just process them for food when they're done laying. I know chicken tends to be tough the older it gets, but are dual purpose birds different? If not, is there a way to process/cook them where they're edible? We raised meat birds one time and I couldn't bring myself to kill until they got HUGE. I baked the whole chicken and it was AWFUL. Super tough, stringy meat. We ate most if it just because I couldn't waste it after I killed it, but now I'm scared of the same thing happening again. I wish I could just keep them as pets but it's not realistic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

You might want to try pressure canning after butchering. Just cut the meat off the bone directly after butchering (no rest time needed with this method) and put straight into your mason jars for pressure canning. Add a bit of salt and that is it! The meat looks nasty pressure canned but I assure you it is fantastic tasting.

 

[Kissee Mills Chicken Jan]

Do you feed the dual purpose chicks that you would butcher the meat builder feed?

 

[BantyChooks]

I put the bird I processed last fall (10mo DP cockerel) into the pressure cooker, and when that was finished I took the meat off the bones and put them in the crock pot for chili. By the time it was done it was as tender as any store bought chicken and way yummier. I kept snitching bits to taste before dinner because it was SO good. He wasn't rested before freezing, but I did let him sit in the fridge for a while after.

The bones were used to make broth and it looked much richer than the broth made from those store bought baby CX.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I do the killing, plucking, butchering, cleaning, wrapping, canning and cooking. The chickens are my project, so I get to do all the chores, feeding, coop cleanout, etc. also.
DH sure does enjoy the fresh eggs and suppers! To be fair, he has a lot of repair and maintenance to do around this old farmstead.

 

[wyoDreamer]

My parents have already put in a request for any spent hens that I butcher. Dad loves his chicken and dumpling and the stores do not carry stewing hens any more. I gave them 2 of the 5 month old roosters when I butchered them and they were very appreciative. But, I did not get an invite to supper ...

 

[grnidone]

May I suggest you get the free catalog from Murray McMurray? They have a lot of chicken breeds and the catalog has a good description of breeds that are dual purpose, eggers, meat birds, etc.

It might make your decision easier. (And they do mail-order chicks.)

(Disclosure: I am not affiliated with them.) Website here:
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chickens.html

 

[Mimi13]

You might want to try pressure canning after butchering. Just cut the meat off the bone directly after butchering (no rest time needed with this method) and put straight into your mason jars for pressure canning. Add a bit of salt and that is it! The meat looks nasty pressure canned but I assure you it is fantastic tasting.

No water or anything? Do you pack the meat tight in the jar?