How to Use The Whole Chicken
I have some strange yet fascinating news!
You can use the whole bird!
Just about everything that goes into, comes out of, and is on a chicken, turkey, or pretty much any bird can be used. It may sound crazy, but it is true!
In reality, you may or may not do all of the below chores or appreciate all of the ideas, and that is completely fine. I hope it gives you an idea of how useful birds can be and provide some encouragement to get some of your own!
There is more to the chicken than its delicious meat and eggs. I have learned new ideas and skills over the years I have owned chickens.
Even if you are not the type of person who cares a great deal about having a use for everything you own, some of these ideas are just fun and can make you a bit of money on the side if you wish!
Prior to owning chickens and the current economic crisis I never cared too much about using one item in as many ways and as possible.
I was a typical 20 something that bought paper plates, would rather buy more silverware than wash dishes, and bought all premade foods and pantry items. I was a big part of the throw away culture.
It was not until I got chickens that I started to feel inspired to use what I have. Adding to that inspiration, a year or two later COVID happened, and now inflation has been a new cheerleader for me.
With everything going on in the world, my need to be a producer rather than a consumer is growing.
If this is anything like what you're feeling or if you're just curious I want to share some of the ways I, and you, can use the whole bird.
1. Use their amazing disposal skills
Use them to get rid of unwanted veggie ends or mushy (NOT molded) veggies or fruit. This is mostly for Chickens, Turkeys and smaller birds are much more delicate than the chicken.
This is my first year raising turkeys and I am still learning what they can and cannot eat. The internet seems to be in consensus that turkeys are able to eat less scrap food; stick with leafy veggies, but I will update this as I learn.
Chickens, however, are more willing and able to eat kitchen scraps. They are omnivores, meaning, as weird as it sounds, you can feed your chickens meat and veggies/fruits.
My laying hens in particular, LOVE beef. They don't get much more than a few small scraps that are at the bottom of the Sunday pot roast broth, but they are all over it. (Most of the beef scraps go to the pups as a treat, but not the onions.)
I do not feed my chickens all of my scraps; i make sure to put some scraps aside for making stock, but I only want so much onion in my broth or stock so I had to either throw it away or feed it to the birds.
*I have read onions are bad for them, same with tomatoes, but it seems to be the leaves of nightshade plants not the fruit.*
My chickens will eat just about anything I throw at them. My turkeys are picky, but they seem to like cabbage and lettuce.
2. They make/create great fertilizer
I am not referring to the bird itself. Hopefully you catch my drift, it comes out of the back of them and you have to shovel it up or it smells. Yep I think you got it now.
Mix it into your garden bed for some extra fertilizer! I have people who buy bags of it from me, for them there is nothing like fresh p***. It is not for everyone. Some people cannot get over the smell; some can. Regardless of how you feel about the smell; it can help your garden, compost, or maybe make you a few dollars.
3. They can get rid of garden pests
Chickens can help you weed your garden or get rid of pesky bugs in your garden. Warning! they will also eat the greens in your garden so doing this may ruin your garden at the same time.
I have seen some chicken owners build a run around or through their garden to allow the chickens to eat bugs and over running plants.
4. Parts of the chicken I do not use (but you can)
Before we move on i want to make it known that there are two parts of the bird I do not use; the head and the feet. I will not use them, it's too much for me. You CAN pickle feet, but SHOULD you?
That is for you to decide. I have seen what they step in.. no amount of cleaning will make me unsee those raptor claws on p***. I also do not process enough chickens at a time to make the effort of learning to pickle feet.
As for the head, those little eyes stared at me for food each day, and I have a hard enough time cleaning the bird.
I will not eat the head. You can eat chicken heads should you choose but I will not be exploring that delicacy with you. Love, you mean it, not for me. I throw them away.
5. Eat the organs
My family typically does not eat organ meats. Unless you count the puppers they LOVE my husband's dehydrated beef liver!
We do have one traditional dish that we use chicken organs for and that is giblet gravy.
My grandmother also gave me a recipe for fried chicken livers, but I never have enough to make it, plus I have yet to find a low carb method for chicken livers….I guess there is something new for me to explore.
You can fry up the organs or mix them in a gravy for a boost of nutrients. Once Thanksgiving rolls around I will share my grandmother's Giblet gravy recipe with you!
6. Roast the chicken
This is probably the most classic and obvious idea. There are many, MANY different ways to roast a chicken.
I brine mine for 24 hours and make a compound butter for the meat.
However, you decide to roast your whole chicken I am sure it will be delicious. I will share my recipe in the future!
7. Make a stock or broth
We do not raise meat birds, they do not live long and they do not produce eggs. I'm sure they would lay if they lived long enough, but meat birds are bred for just that meat.
They are top heavy and do not usually live longer than a few months before their hearts and legs give under the weight and stress.
We raise dual purpose hens, they are large enough to roast and produce a good amount of eggs; so it’s a win win for our family. However, dual purpose chickens do not always have a ton of meat on them.
If our bird is particularly scrawny or we process a rooster (they are tougher and gamey-er) I typically use them for stock or bone broth.
Make chicken stock:
There is really no wrong way to make a broth, although you can make a flavorless one. Not that I have ever done that..*cough*. All you need are meat, veggies, spices, and time.
There is a difference in stock and broth, bone or otherwise, and that difference is time. Stock is the quickest, cooked for a max of 2 hours or as little as half an hour it typically will have the most seasoning and veggies. Stock is best used for soups.
For the broth, use the whole chicken or just bones and veggies with minimal seasonings. It takes a minimum of 4 hours to break down tissue and infuse the broth.
Make a bone broth:
Bone broth typically uses bones and cartilage; some people add vinegar to help break down the calcium and collagen in the bones and skin. It is also cooked for the longest time clocking in at 12 to 24 hours. The longer you cook the bone broth the more likely it is to gel. I make chicken, pork, and beef bone broth. You can buy soup bones to make broth, however I usually just buy bone in meats and save them over time.
8. Use the feathers in crafts
Instead of buying feathers from Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or Joanns use your chickens feathers! Technically you can do this any time you find feathers, like when they molt or the quickest way is to save them when you harvest the chicken. You will have to find a place to dry them, but it is worth it. You can use them in a dream catcher, tie some flies for the hubs (or give them to your hubs and have him tie the flies…which is what I do. For those of you who do not know they are the lures used in fly fishing.), Stuff a pillow, Make a feather duster with the longer wing feathers, or use them to make jewelry. The options are endless.
*Feathers can also be composted if you do not use feathers in crafts*
9. Use their eggs and eggshells
There are a lot of uses for eggs and egg shells. Use eggs by simply cooking them, learn to preserve eggs for future use, make egg drop soup, or just boil them! You can get more creative with the egg shells with some of the below ideas.
Add them to your pup or chickens food for an extra boost of calcium
I usually save them up and bake them to sanitize them. Low and slow, 250 for 20 - 25 minutes. Once cooled I use a hand held coffee grinder to powder them.
Make them into decorations!
This is a time consuming use for your eggs, but we got some quail eggs and they were just such an adorable shade of blue l I couldn't resist! If you poke a hole in one end of the egg you slowly and I mean SLOWLY coax out the innards. Quail eggs are so small I had to poke a hole on either end and force the egg out with air pressure.
Compost them
I have yet to start a composting bin, I live near too many people and I am not sure how smelly it gets, but eggshells are compostable.
Use them as seed starters
If you are careful with your egg breaking you can use your egg shells as seed starting pots.
Speaking of gardens; You can also add them to your tomato plants for extra calcium.
Pest deterrent
Crush them and sprinkle them around your garden; it works particularly well on slugs, snails, and cutworms.
Add them to your bone broth
Eggs shells are full of calcium and collagen, add them to your bone broth for a boost of vitamins. Collagen is also what helps with gelling if you are trying to get your bone broth to gel.
Use as an abrasive to clean pots and pans
Crush your egg shells and use them to clean dirty pots and pans. It helps me get stuck on messes off my cast iron in particular. Be careful using eggshells on your Teflon pans.
Grind it into a powder and use for calcium boost in food or in your coffee
As odd as it may seem you can add calcium and collagen to your food or coffee by adding some egg shell powder. Some people use the egg shell to take the bitterness out of coffee. I tried it and……not for me.
Toss them into your disposal for an easy sharpening hack.
Shove some in your disposal for a deep cleaning. Egg shells are also abrasive enough they can help sharpen your disposal blades.
There are many things you do with the birds you are raising before and after you harvest your birds.
The life cycle of my chickens is found in each of these suggestions. I use their eggs, their excrement, their feathers, their meat, and then their bones.
Chickens are a great resource and will provide you and your family with sustenance in their lifespan and beyond. Feel free to share some of the ways you use the whole chicken!
