Large hard gizzard

[Mel P]

We have processed several meat chickens before. Some of the ones we did today, however seemed to have large, rock hard gizzards (inside - not the crop). At first I thought it was the liver but we think it was the gizzard instead. We usually cage them the night before with only water and haven't had any problems. This time something came up and we couldn't get to them, so we gave them some food for the day and just water that night. Four out of seven of them had very large, very HARD gizzards. Were they ill and if so, would they be ok to eat. They didn't look or act sick.

 

[AZBootsie]

Did you cut them open to see what was inside?? Maybe they have found nuts or bolts or something?

 

[Cosmopolis Chick]

Quote:
hi, I'm not seeing how you can confuse a gizzard with a liver - or is it me that's confused?

I have bought store-bought chicken gizzards and some had a real leathery lining to the gizzard, just peeled right off and then we cooked and ate 'em up.
Was it just the lining or the whole organ?

 

[AZBootsie]

You do know that they are full of rocks and you need to cut them open and rinse out the rocks?? and peel them of course.

 

[Mel P]

No, we didn't cut them open. Didn't think to do that. They were in the same pen that we always put the others in before processing them.

I really don't know the insides much. Never eatten any of those parts. When I gut them, I just usually pull everything out in one lump and don't look at it. It just caught my attention because it was so big and hard. It was the whole organ, slightly oblong about 2 1/2 inches at the longest and slightly flat at about 1/2 inch thick.

 

[AZBootsie]

Sounds about right...I think of them as round and flatish. But they could be a bit oblong. Here is a link to a sticky on the meat bird thread. In this tutorial is has a pic of a gizzard before and after the rocks are taken out. You could check it out and see if it was a gizzard you saw. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=109583

graphic pics...but no more graphic than doing your own birds.

 

[Mel P]

Quote:
Thanks for the link! I'm sure it was the gizzard now. I guess they were just so hungry they picked everything off the ground that wasn't 'glued' down and it just couldn't digest. I feel better knowing it probable wasn't some sickness! With the next group we do next week, I'll be sure to look at everything better and cut open the gizzard.

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Thanks for the link! I'm sure it was the gizzard now. I guess they were just so hungry they picked everything off the ground that wasn't 'glued' down and it just couldn't digest. I feel better knowing it probable wasn't some sickness! With the next group we do next week, I'll be sure to look at everything better and cut open the gizzard.

You're missing some pretty good eating if you don't clean those gizzards. Gizzards act to "chew" food for birds; the rocks [grit] works very much like our molars.

 

[Saltysteele]

Quote:
i agree. i love them with barbeque shake n bake, as cheap as that may sound

 

[happychicken]

I recently attended a butchering workshop where we butchered about 30 cornish cross chickens. In the process, they asked if anyone wanted the gizzards, livers, hearts, etc. I spoke up and took home a whole bunch of huge gizzards for my partner.
When I got home, I realized that the owners of the birds had not deprived the birds of food before slaughtering them, consequently the gizzards were full of "stuff". I cut them open and cleaned them thoroughly before freezing them. When it came time for cooking, I was told that the lining of the gizzard was too tough to eat and just had to be thrown away. the outside, however, was delicious.

I wonder if this is common with this breed of chicken or if it might be because they were not starved before slaughter. Does anyone have any information they would share about this?