dead chicken - heat stroke - safe to eat?

[shaggy]

one of my wifes friends ended up with about 5 rir roosters and just wanted to get rid of them - so she gave them to me for butchering

it is really really hot where i am -- heat index has been hovering around 105-ish

as I am butchering the first one (30 minutes), the other 4 die (most likely heat stroke)

i went ahead and butchered the other ones - are they safe to eat?

-- edit ---

i forgot how bad chickens can smell while cleaning them ...

i ended up skinning them since i didn't believe i had the time to pluck them all in time to get them inside

 

[Katy]

I wouldn't.

 

[shaggy]

is it the way they died that would make the meat bad?

they couldn't have been dead for more than 10 minutes before i got to them

 

[Katy]

I just wouldn't eat any meat that I knew came from an animal that just died and wasn't butchered. I'd think the meat probably may taste "off" just from the stress.

 

[cassie]

The only problem that I can see is that they would not have been bled out properly. The meat certainly wouldn't hurt you. I mean, how could it?

 

[shaggy]

they did bleed out a lot once i cut their heads off

 

[cassie]

If they bled out, I'd eat 'em. What is the worst that could happen?
They sure won't make you sick.

 

[al6517]

I tend to agree with Cassie, the bleed out is the only issue here if you are sure of their heat related deaths and time of passing. After processing and chilling inspect the meat well and give it a good sniff, if it looks and smells good it should be OK. Pay special attention when butchering to look for any off color abnormalities in the organs that could tip you off to another problem. brining them should also help ensure some level of safety.

AL

 

[shaggy]

i am absolutely positive about when they died

i got the first one out and started butchering it --- when i came back - the other 4 were dead (some were still in the final death throes)

i am assuming it was a combination of the stress of me trying to catch them - followed by sitting in the hot sun (heat index was over 100 degree's)


(lesson learned --- put the chickens in a cool place while they are waiting to be butchered)


--- edit ---

i don't want to smell another chicken for a while now, i don't ever remember them smelling that awful while butchering them .... but they all smelled that way --- even the one that was butchered first and was still alive when i got to it

i think it is the internal organs and such that give off that "certain smell" because i remember that same smell when butchering a deer or a rabbit ...

 

[jaku]

Here's the problem- you really don't know what killed them. I won't eat any bird I didn't kill. It's just not worth it to me. Will it hurt you? Probably not, but for me personally, it's just not worth it.