Still good?

[Will_m]

You can get away with wayyyyy more than you think.

If it looks and smells okay, you are good.

 

[S.Clancy]

Lots of people let upland birds and ducks hang to let blood settle.
It makes the flavor better.

I have heard of hanging birds for 2-3 days before processing. It’s just how some people do things because of their environment and experience.


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2-3 days....I've let them hang 2 weeks in the right temps in my garage.

 

[Deeker]

That makes no sense.

What doesn’t make sense?

 

[LongWayAround]

What doesn’t make sense?

Mostly keeping birds in the cab of your truck for a day or two.

This thread was started about a turkey. I can only assume you didn't mean turkeys.

Pheasants take maybe a minute or so to clean and I can't imagine a good reason not to take care of them the same day.

Waterfowl I can understand waiting a day or two because days can get long and it's probably cold enough. Even so, I think leaving them uncleaned is being lazy (myself included).

 

[KurtR]

We used to have guys from over seas who came pheasant hunting. They would hang them for at least 3 days maybe 5. I thought it was gross but they do that will all birds there. I clean them all as soon as i can.

 

[grfox92]

Rotten mean smells rotten. Thats my rule.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

I'd eat it without a second thought.

 

[MuleDeerMike]

You can get away with wayyyyy more than you think.

If it looks and smells okay, you are good.

Agreed.

 

[Deeker]

Mostly keeping birds in the cab of your truck for a day or two.

This thread was started about a turkey. I can only assume you didn't mean turkeys.

Pheasants take maybe a minute or so to clean and I can't imagine a good reason not to take care of them the same day.

Waterfowl I can understand waiting a day or two because days can get long and it's probably cold enough. Even so, I think leaving them uncleaned is being lazy (myself included).

We used to clean them every day. But then my hunting partner heard about letting them sit. So he tried it, and he swears it makes them more tender. So that is what we do now. Makes no difference to me, it is easier to clean up the bird cleaning room every other day though. We have been doing it last 6 years or so with no noticeable difference. For what it’s worth I can’t tell the difference in how tender they are…

 

[hikenhunt]

For turkeys, I have been gutting and then sliding a frozen water bottle into the cavity. Depending on the length of the trip, I might swap the original bottle out with another frozen one. The great state of WA requires "the fully feathered head and beard to be attached to the carcass" until I get home (not camp or truck or hotel, my actual house).