Bag 'em, then rest?

[Geena]

There is not. The only thing I'd question is whether that is enough time to age them for rigor mortis to pass. For some it would be, for some maybe not. How long it takes depends on sex, age, and temperatures, maybe something else I'm not thinking of.

@Molpet wouldn't rinsing them off take care of any problems? I don't use shrink wrap bags, I double wrap mine in freezer paper and rinse them off after they thaw.

It takes a couple of days to get all the blood out. I rest mine in a cooler, the following morning I drain all the water out and it's quite red, then I add more ice and water. Second day I do the same and it's pink. By the third day the water stays clear. I personally don't care for the blood either.

 

[JeffandLori]

It takes a couple of days to get all the blood out. I rest mine in a cooler, the following morning I drain all the water out and it's quite red, then I add more ice and water. Second day I do the same and it's pink. By the third day the water stays clear. I personally don't care for the blood either.

This was going to be my question as well. If all goes well on my first effort, I will have around 15 birds to butcher in about four months. I had planned to throw them in the big cooler of ice, but reading about aging until rigor mortis passes- why not just leave them in the cooler?

My cooler would easily hold 7-10 plus ice and has kept game on ice for three days(Yeti knockoff). I could either do it in two batches a week apart or borrow a buddy's cooler. Could add a bit of salt and brine at the same time.

Any reason not to just use the cooler?

 

[Molpet]

This was going to be my question as well. If all goes well on my first effort, I will have around 15 birds to butcher in about four months. I had planned to throw them in the big cooler of ice, but reading about aging until rigor mortis passes- why not just leave them in the cooler?

My cooler would easily hold 7-10 plus ice and has kept game on ice for three days(Yeti knockoff). I could either do it in two batches a week apart or borrow a buddy's cooler. Could add a bit of salt and brine at the same time.

Any reason not to just use the cooler?

I have a couple dedicated coolers for when there's more than a couple

 

[Geena]

Any reason not to just use the cooler?

Nope, I find a cooler to be the best option. I use a big marine cooler and only have to add ice once a day, and I use some salt as well, works great.