A dog got into our chicken coop today and badly injured two of our chickens. Right after discovering the tragedy I didn't have much time and realized that I was going to have to put the chickens out of their misery with the tools in my kitchen. I quickly had the impromptu job done. Well, I couldn't let the birds go to waste so I decided to process them, a couple of you-tube videos later I was dunking the birds in boiling water and plucking them. Everything was going along fine until it was time to gut the birds. Long story short, I cut in in the wrong spot and there was fecal contamination in the chicken - the novice in me thought I'd cut into a forming egg that had somehow hard boiled while the chicken was in it's 5 second boiling bath. . . , so I just kept cutting. So, lots of cut chicken and poop contact. Once done I rinsed the bird clean with cold running water for quite a while, what I am wondering is. . . is it safe to eat the bird or should I throw it out? What if I boiled it forever and made stock out of it? Thanks!
I don't think fecal contamination is a serious problem as long as you cook the chicken thoroughly. The meat will be inedible if you let the contents of the gall bladder touch it, though, as it is extremely bitter. It is a distinct dark green color, not like feces at all.
From my understanding, when chickens are comercially processes, there is almost always fecal contamination. That's why it is important not only to wash the meat but also to cook it thoroughly. BTW my first chicken butchering job was on a pullet that had been killed by a bobcat. Because she died moments after I rescued her from the cat, she didn't bleed out the way she would have if I had actually killed her myself. Therefore, it was suggested that I brine her (soak in salt water) for 48 hours before cooking her. This helps make the meat more tender. It sounds like you did the actual dispatching of these poor injured chickens yourself, but because of the trauma of their experience, the meat may be a bit more tough than it would otherwise, so consider either brining them or finding a slow/moist cooking method like a crock pot for the most tender results.
I agree with the above posts - it happens from time to time. Wash and wash and wash - that combined with cooking and you'll have no problems.
