1/2 my new flock died during the travel...can I eat them?

[galanie]

We used to go squirrel hunting when I was in my 20's and after killing them, they hung upside down at our belts for hours too. Differences are: (1) they bled out like someone already mentioned, and (2) it was cold outside. They never were in a place over 40 degrees. Same I'd bet for that other game that had been shot and done later. Maybe not 40 but certainly nothing like what would make one die from the heat.

I wouldn't eat those chickens either.

 

[wyoDreamer]

If they were my chickens, I wouldn't have a problem with eating them.
I assume that you were carefull with the cleaning and got them cooled down as fast as you could after cleaning them. Since they died from heat and didn't have open wounds, the intrusion of germs, bacteria, etc... into the bird is prevented by the skin and contained within the intestines. They weren't frozen, so the guts didn't bust open and contaminate from the inside. As long as it was not starting to bloat and smell, I assume that everything looked normal during the cleaning process - the organs weren't bloating and blowing up like ballons or any thing that would indicate spoilage.

I forgot store bought chicken on the counter overnight (8 hours) and threw it in the frig the next morning. Not something I would recommend, but I checked it out quite carefully that evening and cooked it for supper. It was fine.

The only hesitation that I would have is that they didn't bleed out and will probably taste off, you know kinda gamey and strong.

 

[live2shine]

Thanks everyone. This was really helpful!! I decided to simmer them overnight and use it to feed my dogs very expensive food

. I might taste them, but I want to be safe. I actually don't believe there's a danger at all, but I don't want to have anxiety over it. Thank you for the discussion on hunting. This validated our thoughts...my husband duck hunts and he brings home dead birds after they've been dead for hours. Shooting them doesn't exactly bleed them out...maybe a little, but not as much as if you bleed out a bird for butchering. Last night was a serious crash course in butchering chickens. I've done a few ducks, so I wasn't totally clueless. But my evening started with hoping to enjoy the last 15 minutes of sunlight watching my new flock peck around, and instead I was rushing to process 5 beautiful hens for the first time in my life- in the dark! It was not a fun night

. Anyway, I look forward to being able to butcher a bird the right way in the future!! Thank you all again- great discussion that I couldn't find anywhere else yet on the forum.

 

[ICallMyselfCherie']

I'm sorry for your loss. I respect your eagerness to not waste their bodies and make their death a little less meaningless. I think your decision to feed them to the dogs is a good one.

 

[draye]

Quote:
Oh yeah!

Welcome to

from Mabelvale, Arkansas.

 

[PotterWatch]

Quote:
I'll check out your blog.. I like the name of it already

. I don't have any hens for sale, as I only keep a small flock of layers just for our family. I lost half my flock once as well, though my loss was due to the run door not being closed properly and my dogs getting my birds.

Farming on this scale is a fairly new thing to us. We only started our business in March of this year, so it isn't even a year old yet. Our first steers will hopefully be arriving on the farm near the end of January. The kid in my avatar is a mini-mancha buckling that was born to one of our does several years ago. We don't have goats at the moment, but hopefully will be getting more in the next few months. I love LaManchas. Our next goats will probably be standard LaManchas rather than the minis we had before. My kids and I love goat milk and the goats are much easier for the kids to milk than a cow. I recently stopped milking a cow that lives next door to us and is used as a milk share animal. She was a Jersey and although she was very sweet in general, she was not nice to milk. Her milk had great cream content, but it wasn't worth putting up with her kicking. I liked milking the Holstein we used to have better. I'm planning on sticking with goats in the future.

Glad to see another So. Cal person here and let me know if/when you want more information on a steer!

ETA:
I checked out your website... amazing! I started drooling at the sight of that prime rib with hollandaise. Do you know where you might get your goats from? I am currently looking for a LaMancha breeder.

 

[trulyblessed]

OT: But I really enjoyed your website Roz. We practice much of the same lifestyle as you!

 

[chisNchickens]

Quote:
Sorry but you wasted your time and the birds. Best to feed dogs raw as their digestive tracts are made to process raw meat and bone efficiently. Cooking destroys most of the nutrition. Next time just gut them and give them to the dogs. I remove feathers, but many do not.

 

[live2shine]

Thanks for checking out the website, guys!

For the last comment, I don't think I wasted my time or the birds. I very much appreciate raw meat diets for dogs, but my prissy little Italian Greyhounds would have looked at the birds with complete confusion if I didn't prepare it all for them. Maybe if I had a bigger or more experienced dog I wouldn't have done all the work. It was also an important and valuable learning experience for me.

 

[PotterWatch]

One of my dogs won't eat raw chicken. He just doesn't like it. The other one will eat necks and backs, but not larger pieces of raw meat.