Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[Chambertin]

Do you brine the meat?
I could see some strong gamey and barney tastes if you dont brine it, but dunk it in salt water for a couple hours, some people recommend buttermilk too, and it should be great.
Sorry everyone is having a hard time.
The entrails shouldnt smell much at all either. Not fun if everything is stinking.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Speaking of brining, I do a southern sweet tea brine on my chicken before I fry it and it's amazing (has salt and seasoning in it, so not sugar sweet, but sweet tea is the base. Also the tannins in tea naturally help tenderize the meat)

I've never eaten a silkie. I am all about trying new things and would love to try black chicken meat, though I don't think I could do a silkie processing myself. Do you even get much meat off them? On an episode of Chopped on food network (premise of show is you get a mystery box of weird things and have to cook them in a time period each round someone getting eliminated) and they had Ayam Cemani's in the mystery box! I wanted to die, how could you be eating a chicken SO many people want for a pet!!! Apparently they're gourmet food in other parts of the world.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I'd have trouble eating black meat too!

Maybe time to grow a different breed? Nice, normal birds with healthy, pink looking flesh? Could make all the difference in the prospect of eating home grown chicken if it had a pleasing appearance in the first place.

I don't think I realized the flesh was different when I got this bunch. I am brand new to chickens. I wanted a few Silkie pullets just for fun. They came as straight run from a hatchery, minimum order of 15 so I have cockerels, lots of cockerels. I won't be getting any more of them now I have the pullets.

The meat is really weird looking. There are parts that have a very thin layer of jet black. I think it is where the skin touches the bones, but I wasn't too observant, just trying to get through the whole process of deboning. I cut it up and made a curry--I thought the curry sauce would hide the dark meat but it didn't.

I absolutely have to slaughter the remaining three healthy Silkies because they are just crowing too much. I have them in a pen near the fence, close to my neighbor's house. They have to go. I could move them into one of my parrot flights on the other side of the property, but that would just put off what I have to do. I want them gone this weekend when my husband is around to help and offer moral support.

The one I processed wasn't as messy as I expected, but it was in shock when I killed it. These other three are healthy, so I'm getting prepared for more struggle at death and more blood.

Question: I have pretty much decided to slaughter one or both of the wounded birds. They both have deep wounds that don't seem infected now, but could become so. I'm taking good care of them. When is it okay to slaughter one or both? Do I need to wait until they are healed? Is there a health issue of eating the meat if they had an infection? Should I slaughter now in case they develop an infection? What about eating the meat of a chicken that has had Polysporin liberally applied to it's wounds and skin (lots of skin loss, so lots of antibiotic ointment on the birds)? I used the antibiotic without pain killer except on one chicken for one day.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Do you brine the meat?
I could see some strong gamey and barney tastes if you dont brine it, but dunk it in salt water for a couple hours, some people recommend buttermilk too, and it should be great.
Sorry everyone is having a hard time.
The entrails shouldnt smell much at all either. Not fun if everything is stinking.

No I didn't brine the chicken. It wasn't gamey tasting, although I really tried not to taste it or even feel the texture. What a wimp I am!

Once I processed it, I wouldn't even go near the fridge it was aging in. I skinned it so there was really no smell during the processing.. I was really careful, so nothing was nicked, not even any spillage from the full crop. I was actually quite proud of myself.

There was a surprising amount of meat on it, enough for two people.

I am very happy that I used every scrap of meat except the gizzard and the neck which somehow disappeared into the pile of skin. I made a broth from the carcass.

I have three to five bantams (four Silkies, one Cochin) that I hope to process this weekend. I'll skin the bantams. After that, I have two Ameraucana cockerels to do. I'll scald those. Hopefully by that time, I will be used to this and can cope with the smells. I feel like bathing everyone before I slaughter them, maybe that will take away the wet feather smell at scalding.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Odd question--

Silkies have black bones right?
Was the broth colored from boiling black bones or was it normal color?

 

[ronott1]

I don't think I realized the flesh was different when I got this bunch. I am brand new to chickens. I wanted a few Silkie pullets just for fun. They came as straight run from a hatchery, minimum order of 15 so I have cockerels, lots of cockerels. I won't be getting any more of them now I have the pullets.

The meat is really weird looking. There are parts that have a very thin layer of jet black. I think it is where the skin touches the bones, but I wasn't too observant, just trying to get through the whole process of deboning. I cut it up and made a curry--I thought the curry sauce would hide the dark meat but it didn't.

I absolutely have to slaughter the remaining three healthy Silkies because they are just crowing too much. I have them in a pen near the fence, close to my neighbor's house. They have to go. I could move them into one of my parrot flights on the other side of the property, but that would just put off what I have to do. I want them gone this weekend when my husband is around to help and offer moral support.

The one I processed wasn't as messy as I expected, but it was in shock when I killed it. These other three are healthy, so I'm getting prepared for more struggle at death and more blood.

Question: I have pretty much decided to slaughter one or both of the wounded birds. They both have deep wounds that don't seem infected now, but could become so. I'm taking good care of them. When is it okay to slaughter one or both? Do I need to wait until they are healed? Is there a health issue of eating the meat if they had an infection? Should I slaughter now in case they develop an infection? What about eating the meat of a chicken that has had Polysporin liberally applied to it's wounds and skin (lots of skin loss, so lots of antibiotic ointment on the birds)? I used the antibiotic without pain killer except on one chicken for one day.

Copped on the Food Network had an episode last Halloween and the protein for one of the courses was Silkie. Watch it and maybe get some cooking tips.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
It would be okay and it's the only way you will find out if the wounds are really infected. If just a local, inflamed look to them(redness around the wounds) I'd just cut those out of the meat/carcass. If you find purulent drainage in the wounds or black/green discoloring in the flesh around the wounds, I'd not eat the bird.

I would slaughter now. The Polysporin is no big thing..if you would put it on your own skin, you can ingest an animal that has been done the same way. Either way you are absorbing Polysporin into your system.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Odd question--

Silkies have black bones right?
Was the broth colored from boiling black bones or was it normal color?

The broth might have been a bit darker, but it looks pretty normal to me. If, that's a big if, it is darker, that might be simply because the chicken was 5.5 months old, not the usual few weeks old.

 

[jajeanpierre]

It would be okay and it's the only way you will find out if the wounds are really infected. If just a local, inflamed look to them(redness around the wounds) I'd just cut those out of the meat/carcass. If you find purulent drainage in the wounds or black/green discoloring in the flesh around the wounds, I'd not eat the bird.

I would slaughter now. The Polysporin is no big thing..if you would put it on your own skin, you can ingest an animal that has been done the same way. Either way you are absorbing Polysporin into your system.

I had a good look at them this morning, and the poor little things are just black and blue all over, well green really, from all the bruising. I'll wait until they recover. I can't imagine bruised meat is any good. The wounds look amazingly clean with no redness or signs of infection. I really need to do the three healthy ones this weekend while my husband is around. Too many roosters making a lot of noise....

 

[chicksooner]

I had a good look at them this morning, and the poor little things are just black and blue all over, well green really, from all the bruising. I'll wait until they recover. I can't imagine bruised meat is any good. The wounds look amazingly clean with no redness or signs of infection. I really need to do the three healthy ones this weekend while my husband is around. Too many roosters making a lot of noise....l

Chickens are surprisingly tough and recover pretty quick. I usually use veterycine wound spray on mine. Most of the time they don't even get a dressing of any sort. Just sprayed with the spray and put back out or isolated depending on the case. Don't count your wounded birds out yet. Specially if they are eating and drinking like normal. If the plan is still to eat them I would get them healthy and then process.