- May 12, 2009
- 5
- 0
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First of all, I apologize if anything you find in my question is already answered somewhere in the depths of the forum history. I did do a search and have spent over an hour without finding the answers I was looking for...close, but not quite..So feel free to point me in the right direction.. all replies are greatly appreciated enough already, here is my question..or at least the beginning of it
I received 25 chickens from a local poultry farmer that raised chickens for a big name company. These chickens were the "runts" that they usually "euthanize" since the catchers didn't want them. I figured it would be a better life for them to live in a chicken pen I could build then to just get hit on the head with a hammer by an old farmer! I guess they were 6-8 weeks old when I got them. I fed them cracked corn "scratch grains" for a couple months and then slaughtered about 10 that looked big enough using a killing cone I made. I skinned them and cut the meat from the carcass & placed the meat in plastic grocery bags submersed in cold water. I then went inside and cleaned & rinsed them thoroughly & vacuum sealed them with a food saver. I then put them in my freezer which is at the coldest setting. (no temp. indicater... just the highest setting for really freezing).
That was a two months ago & I have yet to eat them just because I haven't had time to fix a meal with my garden being so busy & canning into the wee hours of the morning + I have a 14 month old daughter to tend to! There are still about 10 or 11 surviving in the pen on the same chicken scratch diet & a 5 gallon water feeder that I put 2 teaspoons of bleach when filling because the farmer said it was good for their digestion. So I guess that puts their age at around 24 weeks give or take. My question is... Am I slaughtering & storing the meat properly? & should I put these older chickens in a brine solution and age them in the fridge for 24 hours before freezing, and if so.. what is the exact recipe for a brine solution. Are these chickens too old??
They were runts to begin with, and they are not all that big now, but I figure they are as big as they are going to get. I know that this post is probably more reading than you bargained for, so if you made it this far I really do appreciate your time. Please help me with my questions if you have a chance.
Thanks,
-Dan
I received 25 chickens from a local poultry farmer that raised chickens for a big name company. These chickens were the "runts" that they usually "euthanize" since the catchers didn't want them. I figured it would be a better life for them to live in a chicken pen I could build then to just get hit on the head with a hammer by an old farmer! I guess they were 6-8 weeks old when I got them. I fed them cracked corn "scratch grains" for a couple months and then slaughtered about 10 that looked big enough using a killing cone I made. I skinned them and cut the meat from the carcass & placed the meat in plastic grocery bags submersed in cold water. I then went inside and cleaned & rinsed them thoroughly & vacuum sealed them with a food saver. I then put them in my freezer which is at the coldest setting. (no temp. indicater... just the highest setting for really freezing).
That was a two months ago & I have yet to eat them just because I haven't had time to fix a meal with my garden being so busy & canning into the wee hours of the morning + I have a 14 month old daughter to tend to! There are still about 10 or 11 surviving in the pen on the same chicken scratch diet & a 5 gallon water feeder that I put 2 teaspoons of bleach when filling because the farmer said it was good for their digestion. So I guess that puts their age at around 24 weeks give or take. My question is... Am I slaughtering & storing the meat properly? & should I put these older chickens in a brine solution and age them in the fridge for 24 hours before freezing, and if so.. what is the exact recipe for a brine solution. Are these chickens too old??
They were runts to begin with, and they are not all that big now, but I figure they are as big as they are going to get. I know that this post is probably more reading than you bargained for, so if you made it this far I really do appreciate your time. Please help me with my questions if you have a chance.
Thanks,
-Dan
