Are EEs ok to eat? what if they are older?

[JJchiknshak]

I have 3 EEs. I acquired them after they were already mature. I had no idea how old they were.
I keep my chickens mostly for egg production, and cheap entertainment. lol

Anyway yesterday I was able to grab the one EE hen and get a close look at her. Her legs are dry, and the scales almost stand up. I know I don't have scaley leg mites because no one else looks like this except my other EE. They've also looked like this for quite some time. And her vent is dry, gray, and puckered... narrow looking. (Sorry for the TMI.) Besides that, she's the only one who laid pinkish eggs. I haven't seen any in a long time. When I do it's once in a great while.

So... I'm figuring it's pretty safe to assume she's done with her major production span.

How are older EEs as far as eating? Would you eat one? Have you? How was the meat?

I just figure if she's not laying, then all she's doing is eating. (Basically the horse equivalent of a hay burner.)

Thanks!

 

[houndit]

They recommend butchering meat birds at 4 months. We ate a rooster that was probably somewhere around 8 months. Just cook it really slow on a low temperature. It was really good!

 

[bywaterdog]

And the answer is: CROCKPOT

 

[bigdaddyabc]

Quote:
Hilarious! I prefer SMOKER, but anything that cooks em LOW and SLOW should handle any toughness that might be a problem.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can cook and eat any chicken. The secret for older chickens is to cook them long and slow. Never let the water boil hard, just a slow simmer. A crockpot works great for that but I have used a pot on top of the stove. This link may help you.

Cooking Heritage Chickens
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

For older birds, I usually make broth with it. Cut it into pieces and add whatever herbs and veggies you want to enough water to cover everything. I use the neck, back, feet, gizzard, heart, as well as the regular pieces, the wings, breast, legs, and thighs. A normal broth for me usually has carrots, onions, celery, peppercorns, oregano, thyme, and whatever else I feel like throwing in. Salt of you did not brine the meat. Then I cook on a slow simmer for about 4 hours. Strain out the liquids and separate the fat. Delicious chicken broth. Pick the meat off the bones. Great for chicken tacos, chicken salad, chicken pasta.

Good luck!!!