TONS of yellow fat (I think) in bird

[Hantell]

Hi all!
Today my son and I each butchered and processed our first chicken ever.
The little roo went great, we just learned off of a YouTube video and everything went according to plan.
The older hen however, was FULL of layers of yellow fat.
We butchered her because she suffered frostbite on one of her feet, so I’m wondering if it’s actually fat, or possibly an infection from the frostbite?
I will include a picture in the comments.

 

[Hantell]

 

[AinaWGSD]

Looks like normal fat to me.

 

[AidKD]

That looks just like normal fat to me too.

 

[Huntmaster]

FULL of layers of yellow fat.

What do you feed them.

 

[Acre4Me]

Normal. This is from a laying hen. They always have fat stores bc they lay eggs.

Next time, you may want to consider making Schmaltz - rendered chicken fat.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What you are seeing is the difference in a female able to lay and a male. Before they start to lay a pullet or hen adds extra fat. This extra fat is what the hen mostly lives off of when she goes broody. That way she can stay on the nest and take care of the eggs instead of having to go out looking for food all the time. A lot of that excess fat should be in a "fat pad" in the pelvic area but the excess fat can be scattered throughout the body cavity and on some organs. A hen may never go broody but the difference in a male and female is obvious. Some girls have more fat than others but if they don't have quite a bit more fat than the boys something is wrong.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Its fat. Perfectly normal color. Quantity looks (a little) excessive, but I'd really need to see the organ cavity and the liver condition to be certain. As @Ridgerunner correctly notes above, hens put on more fat than Roos because they need it for the broody - but at high enough levels it starts to have health consequences. One of which is reduced blood flow (due to excessive fat around the heart), which makes them more susceptible to frost bit at the extremities (toes and comb, primarily)

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Also, GOOD ON YOU and your son for doing the responsible thing and ending the bird's misery, then putting it to good use. Please see the link to give you an idea of normal fat levels and what I'm talking about re: liver condition. Do note this is a male, fat levels are less here than what you should expect in your hen.

See also

and here.

alo here. All examples of butchered hens from my own flock. I try to keep mine on the lean to average side of fat levels.

Hope these are helpful.