Just curious

[Bkeepr]

We have a small flock of free-range chickens…many of them have names. We keep them mostly for eggs, but when we get an abundance of roosters, we do butcher them.

I know Paul and others have kept chickens. My question is, if/when predators kill one of yours, what do you do with the dead chicken? (Does anyone eat them?)

Really just curious. Nobody’s answer will change anything here, but I would like to know how far out we are.

[Red Dave]

Don't have chickens now, but we raised a lot of chickens when I was growing up, both broilers and layers. We never ate the ones that predators killed, or the ones that just died for no apparent reason. My memory of it is that they went on the compost pile.

[PHPaul]

I just composted them. If a predator got them, there was never enough to even consider cooking, not that I would.

The ones that died of old age would've been tougher than a baked owl.

[Okierob]

We don't eat anything a varmint kills. I haul any remains off to the back pasture.

[Bkeepr]

Thanks guys, I guess I'm no different from y'all. I haul them up my hill, where buzzards and the occasional bald eagle cleans them up.

Reason I asked is that occasionally (most recent was the day before yesterday) I catch a varmint in the process of killing a chicken and sometimes there's no visible damage to the dead chicken. I'm pretty sure this recent one had its neck broken. I did as usual with it, but was wondering if that was a waste, and if anybody else might eat in a situation like that.

Sometimes I overthink stuff. Thanks!

[Sid]

Thanks guys, I guess I'm no different from y'all. I haul them up my hill, where buzzards and the occasional bald eagle cleans them up.

Reason I asked is that occasionally (most recent was the day before yesterday) I catch a varmint in the process of killing a chicken and sometimes there's no visible damage to the dead chicken. I'm pretty sure this recent one had its neck broken. I did as usual with it, but was wondering if that was a waste, and if anybody else might eat in a situation like that.

Sometimes I overthink stuff. Thanks!

I suppose it would be alright to eat if you was hungry enough. I ain't been that hungry YET. No matter how far I haul it off.most things like that end up in my back yard.

[Bkeepr]

Thanks guys, I guess I'm no different from y'all. I haul them up my hill, where buzzards and the occasional bald eagle cleans them up.

Reason I asked is that occasionally (most recent was the day before yesterday) I catch a varmint in the process of killing a chicken and sometimes there's no visible damage to the dead chicken. I'm pretty sure this recent one had its neck broken. I did as usual with it, but was wondering if that was a waste, and if anybody else might eat in a situation like that.

Sometimes I overthink stuff. Thanks!

I suppose it would be alright to eat if you was hungry enough. I ain't been that hungry YET. No matter how far I haul it off.most things like that end up in my back yard.

I have been that hungry, in my youth. I have actually eaten out of garbage cans a few times…fortunately not for a long time. But that might be why I even thought about whether I was wasting these chickens.

[Jim @ Jawa]

I have been that hungry, in my youth. I have actually eaten out of garbage cans a few times…fortunately not for a long time. But that might be why I even thought about whether I was wasting these chickens.

Bleeper,
I think we might have a similar childhood. I have eaten things I found in the dump. Also stolen farmer's crops.
I'm very formula with hunger. Those memory's still haunt me.

[GeneMO]

If it had just gotten killed, was a younger hen, and it wasn't all mangled, I would eat it. ( if I had time and felt like cleaning it).

But we just picked up a quarter of been, and I asked them to save me the brains, so I am not a squeamish person.

Gene

[GeneMO]

Quarter of beef