# why do my processed chickens smell bad?



## longhorngal (Aug 4, 2005)

Week before last I took in 13 6 month old roosters and had them processed at a local USDA plant. I took them in on Friday and picked them up last Monday.
I've cooked 2 and both of them smelled awful. 1 I boiled with onions, carrots, salt, pepper-the other I baked. Usually I just bake my chickens with salt and pepper only at 475 and they come out perfect. It's not just my imagination my daughter came in from school and said EWW! what is that smell?
I didn't eat either but I can tell they are really tough-even the boiled one.
The toughness I was expecting-they were 6 months old black sex link roosters so not a broiler breed and I guess too old. This is my first attempt at raising my own and I'm disappointed they turned out so badly.
Could it have possibly been poor processing? Why would they smell so awful?


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## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

Even the toughest old bird i have ever stewed still smelled wonderful. I am wondering if they were cooled properly when processed?


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## longhorngal (Aug 4, 2005)

I'm wondering-I wouldn't think they would smell like that. I've emailed them but no reply yet. I guess I'm going to have to learn to do my own processing.


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## Grumpy old man (Aug 6, 2013)

Why not process them yourself and save the fuel and be happy with the outcome ? I'd be willing to bet you didn't get your birds back and they gave you old stock , Live and learn .


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## longhorngal (Aug 4, 2005)

I wondered how they would keep them straight as others were coming in with mine.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Was it a large processing place. Do they smell like wet feathers or bad meat. Wonder if they were dipped in something. They should have been marked and kept together but you never know....James


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## Awnry Abe (Mar 21, 2012)

The toughness was likely because they went straight into the freezer. Can you be more specific about the stench? Was it a "chicken-gone-bad" smell from poor handling--ie. they let them get warm? (The usda inspection is only good if someone actually inspects).


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## longhorngal (Aug 4, 2005)

It's not a terribly big plant-they sell their own brand plus process for the public. They were not frozen when I got them so about 2 days just chilled. It's just a bad smell that gets worse with cooking.


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## BlackWillowFarm (Mar 24, 2008)

Could they have eaten something before they died that made the meat smell bad?


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I think the processing plant let them start to spoil before you got them.
They either didn't rinse them well enough, used filthy water to rinse or something.
And then let them start to go bad.

It is a total shame and yes, you do need to learn to do your own.
If I were closer I would come and help/show you how.
And you don't have to do all of the birds at once.
We do 6 a week until they are all gone.
If we do 6 birds, it takes about an hour and we can just get on with our day.
I do truly hate a marathon butcher session. My back hurts, it takes the whole day etc..
so an hour a week isn't bad at all.


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## longhorngal (Aug 4, 2005)

Chickenista, I think so too. They just shouldn't smell this way. They haven't emailed me back either. I have known people to use them with no complaint and one guy at my farmer's market uses them for the ones he sells. The other thing, I got 3 of them that were cut up and I was charged more. I asked why were they cut up? He said if they come through missing a wing or something the USDA guy makes them do it.
Well, they had all thier wings when they got there!
Yes, I am going to learn how. I need to research it and like you say do a few at a time. I want to make sure I have the best tools for the job and get a good sense of it before I try it. We did butcher one turkey a few years ago, my husband and I but he gutted it. He says he won't help me with chickens so I need to learn to do it myself. But maybe he will change his mind.
No more processing plant for me!
BlackWillow (love that name) they were just free range on grassy pasture with a little feed in the evening so I wouldn't think that would give them a bad smell.


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## Hickoryrdg (Jul 17, 2013)

Longhorngal - where are you located? We live in Terlton, just curious if I know the processing plant...  
Also, we will be processing our own chickens (just a few) in the next month or so, you are welcome to come out!


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## 64102 (Sep 21, 2010)

We don't use processing plants any more. One year we brought 4 turkeys in ;1 was over 36 lbs before he went in. We never saw him again. But the guy before us was very happy... he didn't know he had such big turkeys:duel: until they came out the other end of the plant.:grumble:


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## VA Susan (Mar 2, 2010)

You could call the USDA and give them one of your birds to test. The plant should pay for the birds they ruined. If there's a bad smell they probably aren't safe to eat.


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## Mpgo4th (Oct 12, 2013)

They could have left the oil gland near the tail in the finished birds. Polyface farms has a processing video on youtube and Joel Salatin goes over taking this gland off. He says that it will ruin a cooking bird to leave it in. For your description I believe this is what has happened.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

We've forgotten to remove the preening gland, and the birds have been just fine.

I'm with 'Nista. The plant let them start to rot before you got them.

And really, it's so easy to butcher birds, even a couple of city kids like Nick and me can do it. You get faster (and better) with practice. Even if you clip the intestine, the bird will still be cleaner than anything at a processing plant. (Of course, you will immediately wash the bird that has a bit of a poo-goo leak.)


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## longhorngal (Aug 4, 2005)

VA Susan, that's a good point. I don't see why I should have to pay extra for those birds because they were not injured when they went in! I

I know, I need to learn to do it myself! Don't have any to process right now.

HickoryRDG-thanks for the offer! It was the plant near Tahlequah if you know that one.


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

Did the birds smell before you cooked them? Or during and after? If they smelled before â as you were unwrapping them, then Iâd say they were not properly handled at the processors. If during and after, it may be the gland, or something left in/on the bird. â¦.either way â Iâd say your processor did a poor job.
Processing your own birds properly may be your answer. Itâs not hard â though it does take some nerve the first few times. After your experience though, Iâll bet it will give you much more peace of mind about raising and eating your own birds.


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

Really depends on the smell. If it's rot smell, or a "gut" smell (from the insides) then it's the processing. If you have been feeding your birds something weird, like fish guts or something, it's possible the meat could pick up that taste. But it would have to be a steady diet of it to be like that. 

If you are not at all used to home grown meat, then maybe you are picking up a difference that's not what you smell in supermarket chicken, but I seriously doubt that. I'm betting on the processors letting your birds sit around warm after being in dirty water. A freshly killed bird, kept clean, that was sitting out warm shouldn't even be that bad. This sounds like a fresh kill, inoculated in crap water, and then allowed to sit out situation.

Sorry it happened. It's annoying to be taken when you've put a lot of hard work into things.


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## longhorngal (Aug 4, 2005)

They seemed to smell when I picked them up but I don't know if I was just the smell from the plant or what. I didn't have room in my fridge and I stuck all but one in the deep freeze. It smelled from when I started cooking it. The other one I defrosted a few days later and it smelled too. Havent tried any others. I just don't want to mess with it. If I had paid for Freedom Rangers like I am planning on trying I would be a lot more upset. These were basically just free range and some generic grower feed at night. Not money I wanted to throw away but not a big investment. I mainly want my husband to get a sink set up for me outside then I will feel like I can do a better job with them. I could run a hose right from my kitchen window for clean water.


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## gavin (Jun 25, 2010)

If they went to the plant live and came back smelling bad then it&#8217;s the processing facility. Some part of their processing spoiled your birds, which should have been delicious. I would call the plant and tell them the situation. Someone along the processing line tainted your hard work and if I owned the place I&#8217;d want to know about it. 

I would highly suggest learning to process your own chickens. I learned to process my own birds a few years ago and it has been very satisfying and rewarding. The first day I wasn&#8217;t sure if I could do it. I had all fears of someone who had never processed an animal. By the end of the day with the help of an experienced friend I had completely understood why this piece is worth doing. The birds you are raising are superior to what you can purchase in a store but you need to own the whole process to get that quality and flavor.


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