Good for you, not wasting the bird. I do the same thing, I've seen an occasion hen get hit by a car, I run right out and harvest them. The only time I don't use a bird that meets an unfortunate end, if if I wasn't there, or didn't find it, soon enough after it was killed. I had one hen that got killed by something, (we figured out it must have been a hawk, our first hawk casualty here) she was still warm and limp when we found her. She was fresh enough that she still bled out fairly well. So I dressed her out. the only wound was a patch on her back, I trimmed that out. She was very tasty!
I've noticed that my free-range birds have more color to the meat, and as they get older, the meat develops more color as well. Of my own flock, only the youngest birds have white breast meat. Even then, not as white as a store-bought bird. Most have a sort of pale tan, yellowish or orange color to the breast meat, from the beta carotene in all the greens they eat. The dark meat is a lot darker than a supermarket bird. The flavor's more chickeny, too. You don't have to add condiments to have anything to taste, and if you do use condiments, you can still taste the chicken!
I've noticed that my free-range birds have more color to the meat, and as they get older, the meat develops more color as well. Of my own flock, only the youngest birds have white breast meat. Even then, not as white as a store-bought bird. Most have a sort of pale tan, yellowish or orange color to the breast meat, from the beta carotene in all the greens they eat. The dark meat is a lot darker than a supermarket bird. The flavor's more chickeny, too. You don't have to add condiments to have anything to taste, and if you do use condiments, you can still taste the chicken!
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