Sickness and Meat

[bigredfeather]

Are there any common sicknesses/diseases that a meat chicken can carry that can deem meat as unedible?

 

[Brunty_Farms]

If raised under good conditions your not going to run into disease. They are butchered at a young age which helps keep diseases from setting in.

You have your normal poultry diseases but I can only think of one off hand that comes to mind and has something do with turning the muscles of the bird different colors. Which is extremely rare, I have raised a lot of birds and never seen it.

The only thing that I have seen that would cause it inedeble would be a deep bruise or a broken bone.

 

[greyfields]

There are hardly any, if any at all. Most the issues with sickness are due to sanitation (food poisoning) which does not matter if the bird is healthy or sick.

These are the general guidelines:

1) If a bird dies and you don't know why, don't eat it.

2) If a bird dies to trauma, you could elect to eat it (or use it for pet food).

3) Smell the bird. If it smells like you don't want to eat it, don't eat it.

 

[MrsSmitho]

Sooooo...

I read somewhere on here when we first got the "fowl pox" that you cold eat the eggs, but NOT the bird...?????

Is this correct? I have 3 Roo's ready for dinner, but they have the pox...

There is also a WONDERFUL thread from a dude on culling, and in it he says if you get the the "gutting" part and a liquid flows from the cavity, throw it away...

I'd love fresh chicken for dinner

anybody know on the fowl pox thing??

Thanks - wonderful day to all!

 

[becky3086]

I would imagine if anything flows from that cavity that you aren't used to seeing coming out of a chicken that you shouldn't eat it.
I remember as a kid though, we butchered several yard chickens. One was a big white hen with a large bottom on her. She never had laid any eggs. When my mother went to cut her open all this fluid came out. My mother threw it away and then sanitized all the utensils and surfaces.
Becky

 

[bshpqr]

ttt

Re: Sickness and Meat
Sooooo...

I read somewhere on here when we first got the "fowl pox" that you cold eat the eggs, but NOT the bird...?????

Is this correct? I have 3 Roo's ready for dinner, but they have the pox...

There is also a WONDERFUL thread from a dude on culling, and in it he says if you get the the "gutting" part and a liquid flows from the cavity, throw it away...

I'd love fresh chicken for dinner anybody know on the fowl pox thing??

Thanks - wonderful day to all!

Mine has something and am butchering on Sat.

here is the link with pics if you want to take a look and advise
Thanks
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=249724​

 

[jenjscott]

I'm no expert, but fowl pox is something they carry all the time once they've had it, and I've eaten a lot of them AFTER they've had an active case. But I don't see where it would be any different. You are basically going to be cutting off or out all the parts that would have lesions. If anyone else knows differently, please let us know.

bshpqr I responded on your thread.

 

[bshpqr]

Are there any diseases that can be tranmitted from turkeys to humans thru the meat?

 

[jaku]

I've seen the green muscle disease, and you can't miss it. It's flippin' gross. For the most part, you don't have to worry. In general, the disease process is pretty quick in birds. They usually die pretty quick if they're going to. In general, if I have one looking/acting sickly, I cull it and burn it just to be sure. It's not really common though, despite what people would have you believe about Cornish X's. Also, even if a sick one DOES slip through, and you butcher it, you'll probably be fine. Cooking will kill pretty much anything unsavory that might be in the bird... and does anyone think for a second that the huge poultry farms are keeping a close eye on all their birds and weeding out any that might be sick? I'd be shocked if half the birds at the grocery store didn't die of "natural causes!"