Are my birds suitable for eating?

[U_Stormcrow]

I

I’ve had bad meat quality in the last year with chickens including organic. Weird tastes and texture. There are 3 of us to feed and we can probably fit 4 chickens in a freezer at any given time. All our birds free range but I also have a little chicken forage area that I’m planting stuff in for them to pick at as well as scratch/crumbles in the coop

With limited freezer space, and three to feed, I'd recommend (as most choose) going the DP route for meat birds, rather than the bulk CornishX purchases, unless you want to pick up maybe 4 at a time (the typical minimum purchase) at your local farm store, once monthly, while they re available. The Cornish route, depending on local hatchling pricing and feed *may* be cheaper, but likely isn't. Nothing like buying 40-50 birds at $1 ea and using the savings to invest in a chest freezer.

"Organic" = expensive as a retail purchase. The cost of documenting compliance puts it well beyond the reach of any but the largest commercial producers, deliberately so.

"Bad", while communicative, is imprecise. I can't guess at what character that conveys.

I can tell you that, as a rule, home-raised, pasture or free range, non-CornishX birds will:

Have less meat on the breast, relative to the thigh than supermarket chickens...
Have more "flavor" (tending towards "turkey" flavor) than ""
Have more texture than "" (for good or ill)
Have less subcutaneous (under skin) fat than ""

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ve had bad meat quality in the last year with chickens including organic. Weird tastes and texture.

This could be how you are cooking them and maybe just personal tastes. How old were they when you butchered them and how did you cook them? Did you age them until rigor mortis passed?

One thing that pops up on here a lot is taste. As they age chickens gain texture and flavor. Texture is mostly handled by aging and how you cook them but yes, they will still have a bit more texture. When a cockerel goes through puberty the hormones certainly add flavor. Some people call this a gamey taste. Some of us like that but many don't. If you are used to the chicken from the store, that is practically all Cornish X butchered at 6 to 8 weeks of age. It is really tender and many of us consider it bland. But if that is what you are used to our chicken will taste different, especially cockerels in puberty.

Another possibility on taste is what they are eating. We recently had a thread on here where someone was feeding their chickens with fish products. The meat tasted fishy. Are they eating something that might affect the taste?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Another possibility on taste is what they are eating. We recently had a thread on here where someone was feeding their chickens with fish products. The meat tasted fishy. Are they eating something that might affect the taste?

We jokingly call those "pre-seasoned"! I've planted oregano, garlic, scallions, cilantro (coriander), various mustards, and even Moluccan spinach among the more traditional grains and grasses for my birds to forage on. I won't lie and tell you I can taste any of those flavors (my palette is less than discriminating, for unimportant reasons) in my birds, but someone with a more discerning nose would almost certainly pick up on regional differences in feeds. Its what wine makers call "terroir", the flavor (truly, the "nose", where 80-90% of flavor resides, for reasons I have, sadly, cause to know) of the place.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I knew the Don was a mix. The lady who gave us the eggs to hatch has all mix breeds. My husband though one of the SS might be a rooster but no crowing. Ugh how can you tell if they don’t crow?

Male-specific pointed feathers at the base of their tails and on their necks.

 

[TarynH]

With limited freezer space, and three to feed, I'd recommend (as most choose) going the DP route for meat birds, rather than the bulk CornishX purchases, unless you want to pick up maybe 4 at a time (the typical minimum purchase) at your local farm store, once monthly, while they re available. The Cornish route, depending on local hatchling pricing and feed *may* be cheaper, but likely isn't. Nothing like buying 40-50 birds at $1 ea and using the savings to invest in a chest freezer.

"Organic" = expensive as a retail purchase. The cost of documenting compliance puts it well beyond the reach of any but the largest commercial producers, deliberately so.

"Bad", while communicative, is imprecise. I can't guess at what character that conveys.

I can tell you that, as a rule, home-raised, pasture or free range, non-CornishX birds will:

Have less meat on the breast, relative to the thigh than supermarket chickens...
Have more "flavor" (tending towards "turkey" flavor) than ""
Have more texture than "" (for good or ill)
Have less subcutaneous (under skin) fat than ""

By bad it had a rubbery texture (not all just pieces) and a weird chemical taste

 

[TarynH]

I’ve had bad meat quality in the last year with chickens including organic. Weird tastes and texture.

This could be how you are cooking them and maybe just personal tastes. How old were they when you butchered them and how did you cook them? Did you age them until rigor mortis passed?

One thing that pops up on here a lot is taste. As they age chickens gain texture and flavor. Texture is mostly handled by aging and how you cook them but yes, they will still have a bit more texture. When a cockerel goes through puberty the hormones certainly add flavor. Some people call this a gamey taste. Some of us like that but many don't. If you are used to the chicken from the store, that is practically all Cornish X butchered at 6 to 8 weeks of age. It is really tender and many of us consider it bland. But if that is what you are used to our chicken will taste different, especially cockerels in puberty.

Another possibility on taste is what they are eating. We recently had a thread on here where someone was feeding their chickens with fish products. The meat tasted fishy. Are they eating something that might affect the taste?

This was all store bought, and it was baked no different that all the years I’ve cooked chicken before. I’ve had several friends have the same issue. I just want to know where my meat comes from it all. Doing organic gardening now as well and just want to eat what I grow/ raise

 

[TarynH]

The

We jokingly call those "pre-seasoned"! I've planted oregano, garlic, scallions, cilantro (coriander), various mustards, and even Moluccan spinach among the more traditional grains and grasses for my birds to forage on. I won't lie and tell you I can taste any of those flavors (my palette is less than discriminating, for unimportant reasons) in my birds, but someone with a more discerning nose would almost certainly pick up on regional differences in feeds. Its what wine makers call "terroir", the flavor (truly, the "nose", where 80-90% of flavor resides, for reasons I have, sadly, cause to know) of the place.

these were not my chickens that tasted bad but store bought. 3 different stores and brands

 

[TarynH]

Not sure on the blue bird but that Sussex, black bird, and the barred bird are definitely cockerels.

Here’s another photo of the two Sussex the smaller one is crawling around weird today like low to the ground. I though they were both female

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Here’s another photo of the two Sussex the smaller one is crawling around weird today like low to the ground. I though they were both female

They’re both definitely cockerels.

 

[TarynH]

I think the two birds on the second picture would be a good choice for breeding as they seem to be quite large! The Speckled Sussex and the Orpington/Wyandotte cross would be good choices as well. Just about any bird can be eaten but if you’re trying to breed for meat, I’d just choose the largest birds rather than one specific breed. And try to make sure it’s not just all fluff you can weigh them or just pick them up/feel them to see if they’re actually as big as they look.

Those two birds are the ones I was thinking of using for breeding. She’s the only laying hen at the moment and every egg I’ve used has been fertilized. Just waiting to get a full dozen at least before incubating.