We heard all our chickens screaming this morning, and my son ran out and found a hen in the nesting area whose head had been bitten off. Would you cook and eat the chicken? I guess what I'm wondering is "what if the predator has rabies?". I suppose some saliva could have gotten into the chicken. Rabies is a virus. Would cooking kill the virus? Very sad--sweet silver laced wyandotte. What do you think? Thanks for your help!
I'd not eat it, but that's just me. I'd check on the CDC site and see if you can find the answer there.
I know I'm probably going against what most would advise buuuuut eat it...cooking kills all forms of viruses, etc. as long as you don't under cook the meat...if your son found the bird before decomposition had set in (and even after...I've seen my aunt/uncle eat things they've found in traps that would disgust most people and come out unscathed) there is really no risk of anything bad being transferred from meat to human...just make sure to cook it thoroughly! No reason to let the poor thing die for no reason! Courtney
I vote with the other two peeps, you could make her into soup. Nothing harnful would live. Sorry about your hen. I had a raccoon do this and he came back every night for four nights, until we put up a real no joke hot wire. I know it was a raccoon - husband saw him the last night. So make sure it cannot get back in. I really thought it was weird that the raccoon would take only one bite and left the rest.
I'd say if you feel up to it then go ahead, like some others suggested. (I wouldn't do it myself but that's because I'm too emotionally attached to my girls. I prefer to give them a nice burial and headstone... ) Cook it really good... Either soup, or if she wasn't very old and tough we like to cook ours in the crockpot for hours until it basically falls apart. It's definitely done by then. I'm really sorry about your girl. (On a side note... How's that girl who was molting and having breathing problems?)
If just the head were removed, I would be comfortable cleaning up that part (maybe cutting off the neck closer to the body and dispose of the bitten part) and butchering the chicken. If it had bite marks or puncture wounds on the body, I woulnd't. Not for fear of getting rabies, it's just a thing for me.
I would eat it. Cut off the rest of the neck and dress her as normal. Rabies cannot be transferred to fowl, and it's a very fragile virus. So if she had any on her, it'd be dead by the time rest was done on the meat before you even got to cooking. Cooking would kill it quickly anyhow. Buuut, wear gloves to cut the rest of the neck off and dress her, just in case. Terribly sad to hear about your loss.
