My daughters are in 4H for the first time this year and are raising broilers. this is my first experience with this breed and i have to say they are very messy birds. i need to know from those of you who have kids in 4H and show broilers do you wash them prior to the show. i am a little nervous about washing these birds for a couple of reasons A: i dont want to bruise them, B: i dont want them to struggle and end up breaking a wing, C: i dont want to stress them so much that they have a heart attack. I was told these birds are large and very fragile in that the wings break easy and the bruise, both of which will disqualify the birds in the show. my husband and i processed some of the smaller one that arent big enough to show today and their wings did break easily with the flapping they did. these birds were big at around 6 to 7 pounds dressed and i am afraid the bigger ones might be to fragile as well. can some one tell me does everyone wash their birds and how can you do it without freaking the birds out? Thanks all
