Can I leave a slaughtered chicken in the fridge for 10 days?

[SheppFamilyFlock]

Actually how old are these roosters?
Cooking methods different for different ages of cockerels
View attachment 4007500

And they still hang older birds to tenderize them
https://honest-food.net/on-hanging-pheasants-2/

They are just over 6 months old. We've never hung any of our birds so far but have had pretty good luck with brining before roasting. And then of course, soup.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes we are harvesting ourselves. What would "clean enough" entail? We don't have a commercial kitchen but we would keep tools and surfaces clean, wash our hands regularly. Rinse the birds with clean water after removing the guts. Would that suffice?

If you are roasting you are probably plucking instead of skinning. My approach would be to pluck it, remove internals (digestive tract from the butthole to the crop, heart, liver, gall bladder, testes, and lungs. I generally don't worry about the kidneys), remove the head and the feet. I use the feet when I make broth. I butcher outside and use a lot of water, constantly rinsing my hands, the bird, and the workspace.

If I nick the intestines and spill a bit I just rinse well and carry on. If you are going to use the liver you will need to remove the gall bladder. That can be tricky but again, if I spill something I just rinse it well.

I use the same table to butcher every time, two sawhorses and a couple of 2x10's. I use a hatchet to kill them. After I finish I wash all of this in a bleach solution. Before I start I wash them in a bleach solution. Can be weeks or months later.

I make what I think is a reasonable effort to keep things sanitary but try to not get anal about it. It seems to work.