Six days too long to rest a freshly slaughtered pullet?

[rivers2011]

I have a couple 4 month old pullets that we just processed. However, is it six days too long to rest the birds? I wanted to take one to a church dinner on Friday and today's the only day we had to slaughter them.
One website said that meat should not be wrapped in plastic wrap because it promotes bacterial growth, so they're currently sitting in a giant, covered soup pot in the fridge. Will this arrangement be okay for the remainder of the resting period?
Thanks for your help!

 

[SmokinChick]

If they are real clean and your fridge is set to 35 degrees? You maybe alright. 6 days in the fridge is pushing it personaly.

 

[rivers2011]

Okay, thanks!

 

[zowieyellowflame]

I think too long, especially since you are feeding it to a group of people likely with a wide range of immune systems. Elderly, nursing moms and small children likely can't handle it. Nor can anyone else with compromised immunes for other reasons.
But don't waste them! Stick them in the freezer for yourself to use down the road!

 

[rivers2011]

Well, it's always better to be safe than sorry. I will definitely freeze and use down the road. Anyone notice a difference in taste between fresh and frozen birds?

 

[willkatdawson]

I've always wondered myself. I've been watching a British show, and they clearly said they were going to hang pheasants they had hunted that day for a week before cooking. I thought that seemed a bit long, but I don't know anything about it. Maybe some hunters will weigh in on the topic.

 

[FarmerRob]

If it were me I would rest them a couple of days then vacuum seal and freeze. Then do a slow thaw in the refrigerator the day before you want to cook it/them.

 

[donrae]

May I ask why you processed 4month old pullets? I'm really curious.

 

[rivers2011]

A relative is very sick and wanted some chicken soup (it's a traditional Japanese medicine recipe) so we decided to process three of the pullets since we had a few more than we wanted for eggs over the winter. The rest should start laying in a month.

 

[rivers2011]

And thank you, Willkatdawson, for the info about the hunters. I did a google search and it seems that pheasants are commonly hung by hunters for a week to develop flavour.

Here's the link I read:
http://honest-food.net/2008/11/27/on-hanging-pheasants/

It looks like hunters also hang them unprocessed - feathers and guts and all. My birds have already been skinned, so they'd get too dry if I were to try this, but maybe someone at BYC will want to experiment with this in the future?