Is she safe to eat? (hope so because we just did!)

[TriciaHowe]

Sparklesilkie, this is a meat bird forum and freedom rangers are a meat birds. The logical thing to do would be to eat the hen. That's what she was raised for....

 

[cassie]

Eat her? Poor thing!!!!!!!!!!

Would you be happier if the OP just put the chicken out of her misery and put the carcass in the trash?

 

[SunnysMama]

Eat her? Poor thing!!!!!!!!!!

If you're against eating chickens you really should stay out of the meatbird forum!

 

[SPARKLESILKIE]

Ok sorry. I am just a little sensitive about butchering chicken!

 

[bj taylor]

in the event a bird is so injured from a predator attack you have to kill it, or you find it almost immediately after - is there a worry that the claw, talon, teeth of the predator injected bacteria into the meat? will cooking take care of any such concern?

 

[cassie]

in the event a bird is so injured from a predator attack you have to kill it, or you find it almost immediately after - is there a worry that the claw, talon, teeth of the predator injected bacteria into the meat? will cooking take care of any such concern?

No there shouldn't be a worry. Yes, cooking would take care of it. Now if the chicken or other food animal was attacked by a Komodo dragon, the bacteria the dragon would leave on the animal would be a serious concern. We don't have Komodo dragons here.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

No there shouldn't be a worry. Yes, cooking would take care of it. Now if the chicken or other food animal was attacked by a Komodo dragon, the bacteria the dragon would leave on the animal would be a serious concern. We don't have Komodo dragons here.

Your comment made me smile. When you think of how our ancestors hunted for their meat, it seems a bit silly of me to worry about eating that chicken. However, we've heard so many stories about folks ending up in the hospital because of contaminated meat or produce. The sad thing is, most of the contamination comes from the nasty living conditions and mechanized butchering methods of commercially produced meats. I wouldn't be surprised if a FDA inspection of my processed chicken (who was dying from prolapse it seems) and a typical chicken from the grocery cooler you'd find more to be concerned about with the grocery chicken. They just look so tidy in the meat case that we don't think about where they come from.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

FYI, I'm in the process of cooking the second half of that Freedom Ranger hen whose prolapse started this thread. I should probably be more inventive and try a new recipie, but that Chicken Friccassee was sooooo good last time I'm doing it again. I've ordered 18 Red Rangers (can't get Freedom Rangers in lost less than 25) and I think this time I'll intentionally let a few hens mature past the 9 - 12 week butcher rate, well into the fall, so that I'll have a few nice, meaty mature hens to try out some heritage style recipies.

I may end up having to butcher a few of my ageing layers this fall...but while I've done a pretty good job of dealing with butchering meat birds so far, I've never done one of the layers, who all have names. We'll see.

 

[SPARKLESILKIE]

please don't at least the ones with names don't

 

[cassie]

FYI, I'm in the process of cooking the second half of that Freedom Ranger hen whose prolapse started this thread. I should probably be more inventive and try a new recipie, but that Chicken Friccassee was sooooo good last time I'm doing it again. I've ordered 18 Red Rangers (can't get Freedom Rangers in lost less than 25) and I think this time I'll intentionally let a few hens mature past the 9 - 12 week butcher rate, well into the fall, so that I'll have a few nice, meaty mature hens to try out some heritage style recipies.

I may end up having to butcher a few of my ageing layers this fall...but while I've done a pretty good job of dealing with butchering meat birds so far, I've never done one of the layers, who all have names. We'll see.

We have a rule around here. We don't eat pets and we don't name food.