just one remaining ?

[Rudibell]

Thanks to all the great advice and pictures on this website our first time processing chickens went pretty smooth this morning

. We did 6 Barred Rocks and 2 Black Giants, all exactly 5 months old. Borrowed the chicken plucker and 2 killing cones, used the apple scraper thingy (and my fingers) for lungs and kidneys. Did them in pairs, took about 3 hours including an interuption during a lightning/rain storm...

One question remains: We found 5 developed eggs inside the chickens, they would have been laid this morning (their usual time to lay eggs it seemed). I cleaned them up as usualy with the laid eggs. Are they OK to eat just like any other egg?

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

yes, they're fine to eat.

 

[atimme]

Definitely fine.

 

[eKo_birdies]

just out of curiosity.... why were you butchering 5 month olds that seem to be actively laying?

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

lol, I'm sure they butchered them to eat them

 

[eKo_birdies]

Quote:
thanks

 

[Rudibell]

They had started laying a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, I'm allergic to eggs and dairy (not deadly allergic, so I ate the first egg sunnyside up...so yummy), and my hubby doesn't like to eat a lot of eggs, either. This was our first trial at raising backyard birds. We had decided against the big broilers, b/c of the high altitude we live at and the ugliness and seemingly 'unhealthiness' of those breeds. The 5 months was an average age of all the different suggestions that I read about. They have a good amount of fat on them, maybe I fed them too much grain (meatbird feed)? I'll let you know how they'll work out for tenderness.

So, I let the birds rest in brine for 24 hours and then transfered them into the (spare) fridge. After 20 hours in there, they still have rigor mortis, is that normal?

I don't want to freeze them like this, as they would take a lot more room in the freezer. How long should I wait for the RM to go away (it hopefully will, right?)? Thanks again for all the advice in advance!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

24 - 48 hours

 

[eKo_birdies]

Quote:
seeeee that was why i asked!! lol

i'm a curious person!

 

[Rudibell]

Quote:
seeeee that was why i asked!! lol

i'm a curious person!

eKo, I see that you're living at 8000' - did you ever have any problems with raising birds at high elevation? Just curious here, too...