Can i eat a sick chicken

[katnjason08]

I have a fryer chicken who has a sneeze and sounds weezy but gets around fine can i still eat her

 

[chickens really]

Back in the day, if a chicken was ill the farmer would cull and eat the bird...Really your choice...
I never eat my birds...

 

[junebuggena]

If it's a respiratory issue, go ahead and cull and eat.

 

[TampaBK]

I was wondering the same thing, but the first thread I found about this topic was not informative, just a bunch of people saying what they would do, no facts. The question, that is really being asked is, will I get sick if I eat a sick bird. I have a BR hen right now who is lethargic and week in the legs (only about 2 years old), tucking her tail, but no other symptoms to speak of. I am considering eating her but wanted to consult those on here who know about such things if there is a scientific or safety reason that I should not. Insight would be helpful. Opinions, not so much on this particular topic. No offense.

As I think it through, it seems that if you drain the blood, gut it and cook it, all that's really left is bones and muscle tissue and skin, so unless the particular disease was muscular, or attacked the muscular system, then it would be completely free from whatever ailment was making the chicken sick to begin with. But suppose there was some sort of fungal, bacterial or viral remnant in the meat of the chicken, wouldn't it just be killed when you cook the chicken? Help me out if I am missing something.

Thank you.

 

[junebuggena]

You are forgetting about potential poisoning. Chickens may get into something toxic that kills them. You can, in turn, end up poisoned if you consume that animal.