Can you eat 5 week old chicken

[Chewie Da Bacca]

Hi everyone,

It has come time that I have to cull one of our meat chickens due to a bad leg. She started showing issues at around 3 weeks but was very minor, yesterday was a bad day but she could still move around after a minute but today she is all but prone, hardly able to get up and when she does can hardly walk so it is till the cull her. I think I remember reading that you could still use the meat even at young ages but wanted to double check with you folks to make sure.

Wish me luck, this will he my first time slaughtering and cleaning an animal.

 

[Chewie Da Bacca]

I should mention they are closer to 6 weeks. We got them on a Tuesday and have had them for 5 weeks.

 

[MichaelZ13]

I remember years backI had a few birds with bad legs at about the 6 week mark that I culled out and butchered. We ate them, but we also cut away any discolored meat around the bad leg. Are you pulling the feed for 8-12 hours? This can help prevent leg problems.

 

[TXchickenchick]

Yes, you can eat the meat at ANY age. Just won't be quite as much. Heck, people eat balut...that's some seriously young chicken!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

It's just more tender and even less flavor. Toughness and flavor comes with age and why the broiler birds are grill worthy but lacking the flavor of a 20 week old dual purpose bird which might pull teeth if grilled.

 

[donrae]

Sure you can. Cornish game hens are simply Cornish cross butchered at 2lbs, your bird should be twice that. it all tastes like chicken.

 

[Chewie Da Bacca]

Thanks everyone!

I thought I had replied to this but I guess I didn't. I slaughtered the chickens that day and dressed her. As it was my first time I did it, it tool a long time.