not a very nice question...but....

[Nicos]

OK - with all this talk about buzzards, foxes,dogs , I was wondering if you found one of your chooks killed, would you eat it?
I'm suggesting here that is was in good health before being killed?

My thoughts are not if killed by a fox or buzzard ( don't know what disease they may be carrying) but OK if killed by a dog.

( and NO , I'm not being nasty here- just being practical cos I'm here in rural France and I'm sure they eat road kill)

Would you have to gut it straight away??? Bleed it???

Not sure I could do it, but if the situation arouse I'd at least like to know what I could have done

..and no- I've never eaten any of my 'pets' before

[janeyo]

OH insists he would but as he cries when he watches ET the chances of him actually doing it are slim.

I wouldn't as am veggie and think of them as pets. Wouldn't eat the cats either!

OH seems them as more of my domain and therefore is less attahced to the chickens, but am sure it's all bravado. No idea how you would prep one..... don't really like to think about it!

janeyo

[BrideXIII]

No offence but having seen at first hand the damage a fox can do to entire shed full of chickens, trust me , you wouldn't eat any.

[Nicos]

I presume the fox tore them apart then? Poor things. Poor you- it must have been awful. xx


I thought maybe a dog would shake it and break it's neck and then leave it...am I being naive???

[digthatchick]

I wouldn't as I am veggie, but I wouldn't think there is any harm in it. Remember if you eat meat then an animal has died for it, I am not morally preaching here, just stating fact. I agree with you regarding the fox (carrying disease) but not the Buzzard. In my younger days (up until 10 years ago!) I was a trained falconer (well Austringer actually- flew hawks not falcons )and birds like the Goshawk were known as the cooks bird as they were used to catch rabbits, ducks, pheasant and hare for the pot!

[Suechooks]

Not a chance - it'd be like cannibilism!
Anyway have you ever seen what dogs sniff at and lick?

[BrideXIII]

I presume the fox tore them apart then? Poor things. Poor you- it must have been awful. xx


I thought maybe a dog would shake it and break it's neck and then leave it...am I being naive???

if it was just the one, then it wouldn't be so bad, but a fox in a run kills everything, not just enough to eat, i have been told dogs would do the same ( depending on breed maybe though)

mum never let any of hers free range after the attack, 10 silkies gone in minutes.

[Nicos]

It's strange but out here you see flocks of wild chooks wandering about in fields with no cover at night- they must perch in the trees.

How do they hatch their eggs - I presume it's on the ground where there are rats and foxes...survival rate must be pretty grim

I suppose being free range means they can fly away if fast enough- but they are more obvious to predators.

[vicky]

Wouldn't eat any of mine as the ex batts are so manky! The posh bird might taste ok but she's too much of a pet. We are planning on getting some to specifically raise for meat (maybe not as soon as next year, whenever we move) but I wouldn't treat them as pets as that's where I draw my line!
Have eaten pigeon and rabbit caught by the dog though...

[lynda66]

i guess it depends how close you are to your chooks ....... if they are pets, i guess i'd think of them like, would i eat my cat if it got run over ....... nope

but i've eaten roadkill, pheasants, rabbits, so if i saw them as a food source rather than a pet, then nope i wouldn't have a problem .......

to prepare chicken, first pluck it, then make an incision under the parsons nose and stick your hand in and pull the innards out, ....... you can chop it's head off first if you want to bleed it, but that depends how long it's been dead, as to whether it will bleed properly or not ...... blood clots when there is no heartbeat. ....... then stick it in the oven ...... sorry hope that wasn't too graphic.

[Demeter]

We ate two of ours when I was a kid. One died of hanging and the other of drowning (yes, I know). The odd one got taken by a fox if she hid at bedtime and stayed out all night or something but we never had a body to eat. My dad did the plucking etc and all I can remember is that you have to do it pretty much immediately as it becomes much more difficult otherwise.

[lynda66]

yup, once the body is cold, plucking is very hard work

[BarleySugar]

If you found the body still warm, then it would be best to bleed it, otherwise you can see the blood as dark brown streaks in the meat when it is cooked.
I remember Dad always used to hang the birds upside down, but he'd broken their necks first. He said the blood then ran into the head. With a rabbit though he used to break the neck, then stick a knife into it's jugular to bleed it. He also insisted rabbits needed 'paunching' straight away, unlike the chickens that used to hang for a couple of days with the innards in.
I haven't had much to do with this sort of thing for a while though, except for the venison my brother provides (and he's always gutted, skineed and butchered it), all my meat come ready prepared from the butcher these days.

[Nicos]

Although I really hope this situation never arises, I have plucked and gutted pheasants and partridge - so I'm sure I could do what you are suggesting.
I must say that the act of actually taking away a life for me would be highly unlikely( OH has said he could if he really needed to)..phew...the rest would be OK for me to do . (It's just the thought of daft little Betty )


So ...pluck instantly, bleed if still warm and hang upside down for up to a couple of days.

Only dog/road kill or would you eat one killed by fox/buzzard???

[lynda66]

we always had a rule with roadkill, that breaks in the skin we wouldn't eat it, don't think thered be much left after a fox/buzzard had one