tough meat chickens

[dantesmom59]

I have been raising layers for about 30 years. Recently I found a man who process meat chickens at a reasonable price. I have raised a batch or 2 but some of the birds meat is tough. out of 20 birds maybe 3 or 4. Its frustrating and I don't know the reason. ugh!!! They are all cared for the same way and eat the same thing. Any solutions?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Are your meat birds Cornish Rock cross or a slower growing meat bird?

How long are you letting the meat rest before freezing or cooking?
If you haven't let rigor mortis leave the meat, it won't matter what breed.

Cooking method with heritage birds that forage is different from house raised Cornish.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

It is a combination of their age (were these older then your others?) And how you cooked them. You cannot just throw them on the grill or fry them up and get tender meat with an old chicken. There are recipes, many, that talk about how to slow cook a chicken. My grandma always brined hers then floured them then fryed on low heat for three hours.

 

[dantesmom59]

They were the slower Cornish Cross that I sent to him. Do you think he mixed my birds with someone else's? I have never sent him older birds . My neighbor sends her roosters like RIR at six months oldand they don't turn out tough. I send them to him live and he sends them back frozen solid and packed for the freezer

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Maybe, I do not know. But tough meat has very little to do with how they are raised and much more to do with their age.

 

[dantesmom59]

I dont free range any of my birds. Between predators( wild and domestic) they dont stand a chance. And I don't process them either. I wonder if he is processing them before rigor mortis is done? Its definately something to think about. I just like to thaw them out and roast them in the oven. I do fry occasionally. Thank you , gives me something to think about.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If he freezes them before rigor is gone, that could be the problem. You can overcome that by letting them sit in the fridge for a few days after thawing.

It's always possible with sending animals to someone else that yours were switched with someone else's. We always worried about that sending steers and barrows for slaughter.

In modern times (last 50 years) I've never heard of a slow growing Cornish X unless you created the cross yourself.

 

[Molpet]

If he freezes them before rigor is gone, that could be the problem. You can overcome that by letting them sit in the fridge for a few days after thawing.

It's always possible with sending animals to someone else that yours were switched with someone else's. We always worried about that sending steers and barrows for slaughter.

In modern times (last 50 years) I've never heard of a slow growing Cornish X unless you created the cross yourself.

several hatcheries have come out with a slow cx in the last few years: http://www.strombergschickens.com/p...s-Slow-Growing-Chicks/Meat-Producing-Chickens

 

[azjustin]

It might be worth a look to see how he is processing them, if you're that concerned with it.

I've yet to meet a processor who turned down free help, even if it's only for an hour or two, and cared if the free help ducked out during the squeamish parts.

i.e.: Our large game processor gives us a significant discount since I am his right hand man through the initial process.

Just a thought, good luck!

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

See and I would much rather do the squeamish parts then the initial. Once the bird is dead I have no problem processing, but I always have DH do the initial cutting. I can, and have, killed a bird or two, but I usually use the broomstick method.