how long can a chicken last in the freezer???

[MyPetsMakeMeBreakfast]

The tilte says it all.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

If it's alive...not very long!

But I'm guessing you mean butchered. I think it depends a lot on how it has been packaged. If you have one of those shrink-wrap machines that suck all the air out and use a thick plastic, they can avoid freezer burn for a much longer time.

 

[MyPetsMakeMeBreakfast]

Oops! I mean butchered. LOL!!

 

[Tracydr]

I was thinking the exact same thing. Sorry.
Quote:

 

[vsmenagerie]

This site says 1 year.

http://stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/16800

ETA: I cannot find anything about when you process one yourself when searching, so Im not sure if thats going to make any difference.

 

[Oregon Blues]

It depends upon how well it is wrapped. Not chicken, but I notice that turkey goes off in flavor after about a year.

 

[Denninmi]

A YEAR? Sorry, that's nasty.

I never keep any frozen meat longer than 3-4 months, tops. After that, it starts getting strong-flavored and all "freezer-y"/

 

[homesteadapps]

A good deep freezer with temps around 0 degrees Fahrenheit and meat that is packaged well can last a year without off tastes.

Just do as much as you can to prevent freezer burn --keeping air off the meat, etc...

 

[booker81]

In a regular deep freeze that doesn't have a defrost cycle - easily a year or more (as long as it's packaged well).

In a frost free type, even if it's packaged well, a few months tops. I don't keep meat in our fridge freezer as it's a frost free, so I can't say for sure. The defrosting cycle will thaw the top bit of meat and refreeze it over and over, and freezerburn is inevitable after a few months. That's where you end up with funky meat (and anything else that is in there for a couple months).

 

[saddina]

Same, if you've got a chest freezer and vaccumm sealer (and if you're really going to do all your own meat birds, it's totally worth the costs here) you can get a year. Thrick is you put all the time and effort into growing it, don't cheap out on the storing it. A house freezer ontop of a fridge unit? maybe 3 months.