Hanging birds

I usually clean mine the day they are shot but I also will put them feathers and all in my beer fridge in the garage and clean them the following day. Never had any issues, seems the meat is more tender if I put them in the fridge overnight.
 
KansasGsp said:
I usually clean mine the day they are shot but I also will put them feathers and all in my beer fridge in the garage and clean them the following day. Never had any issues, seems the meat is more tender if I put them in the fridge overnight.
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I think the main thing is is to get them on ice as fast as possible, and keep them cold until you clean them. Even if it's the next day or the day after. Just keep them on ice basically.
 
I try to pull the guts as soon as reasonably possible, during a morning break or lunch. I clean out the cavity with paper towel, and leave the feather on. If a day trip I will breast them out the next day, if I am away hunting for up to three days I will do the same when I get home.

All that said the weather is usually cool daytime in the low 50's and night around freezing. I keep them in a cooler with the lid open at night and close it up during the day.
 
Feathers on, guts in. I prefer to hang them by the neck for 4-5 days in temps 55 & below. If warmer than that, I'll lay them in the fridge. That's not quite as good, because then blood/etc tends to pool where you don't really want it. If they're hung, everything tends to pool downward, NOT in the breast meat.
 
I'm guessing the majority of you don't deer hunt. Imagine leaving the guts in a deer and hanging it like that.
 
For 23 years, +\-, we lay birds on a piece of raised 4’ x 8’ plywood in a garage…assuming it gets down to 35 or so at night…probably 6000, 7000 birds, likely more, have been through the routine…usually hunt part of Tuesday or Wednesday-Saturday, travel Sunday…never had an issue. I historically do 6-8 trips with 4-8 guys, usually at least 50 birds on the board by Saturday, oftentimes closer to 80, 90, many trips over 100. Not suggesting anybody change their routine, but this works just fine. I wouldn’t do it if it didn’t get sufficiently chilly at night. Important that birds aren’t touching one another. One year some birds went missing, we thought a farmer was messing with us. A cat moved about 8 birds inside the garage, hiding them behind some plywood leaning up against the wall. One bird may have been gnawed on a bit. We stay in a new place sometimes, same owner as the other place, and we use pallets lying on the concrete floor of the unheated shop…better air circulation with pallets, I suppose…
 
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Why can't you hang a deer, exactly? I hang every single one I shoot after I field dress it. Get a rope and tie it up. Been doing it for 31 years.
 
I never trusted it, but started doing it a few years ago. I still think that freshly killed/cleaned/cooked pheasant tastes the best and I haven't noticed any huge difference in flavor or texture with aged birds, but I prefer to clean in bulk, rather than each night that I hunt. re: laziness. I haven't aged anything this year yet, but will start now that it's getting cooler outside.
 
In the heat of September while hunting prairie grouse and Huns, birds go into a frig after cooling down in the van for several hours…the bottom drawers get filled first…then the lower areas of the frig…transport home in a cooler…sometimes 6, 7 days old…no issue
 
benelli-banger said:
For 23 years, +\-, we lay birds on a piece of raised 4’ x 8’ plywood in a garage…assuming it gets down to 35 or so at night…probably 6000, 7000 birds, likely more, have been through the routine…usually hunt part of Tuesday or Wednesday-Saturday, travel Sunday…never had an issue. I historically do 6-8 trips with 4-8 guys, usually at least 50 birds on the board by Saturday, oftentimes closer to 80, 90, many trips over 100. Not suggesting anybody change their routine, but this works just fine. I wouldn’t do it if it didn’t get sufficiently chilly at night. Important that birds aren’t touching one another. One year some birds went missing, we thought a farmer was messing with us. A cat moved about 8 birds inside the garage, hiding them behind some plywood leaning up against the wall. One bird may have been gnawed on a bit. We stay in a new place sometimes, same owner as the other place, and we use pallets lying on the concrete floor of the unheated shop…better air circulation with pallets, I suppose…
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Do you notice a taste/texture difference?
 
Yes, the birds are more tender…in my experience…it’s noticeable when fileting the meat off the breast bone, and, when eating it. Same with the sharpies and Huns…not sure the taste is different, but texture for sure…I rarely eat birds the same day they’re bagged…I have, for sure, but more common to clean them that day, so I know what they’re like texture-wise when being cleaned that first day…I breast my birds, which normally can’t be done legally if they’re gonna be transported…but I’ve breasted them day 1 in camp if we want to have them for supper that nite…again, I wouldn’t just put my birds on the plywood whole if there was a downside…spoilage, less palatable, etc…but as long as it gets down to 35-38-40 at nite, I haven’t had issues. Early season with no frig, if it’s 45-50 at nite for the lows, it’s not really advisable…I’ll go the frig route if possible, or I’ll butcher them and put them on ice in the cooler…
 
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I don't age birds on purpose but we used to hang ducks during an away from home hunt. We gutted them, wrapped a rope around the necks and strung the line between a couple trees in the shade. Like a clothesline of ducks, drew some looks at the fishing resort where we stayed. Temps would have been warm 40-50 at night. Don't recall a difference in the meat. As to the bacteria risk I think that is more of a problem if you rinse the cavity with water. Regardless, I think its most important to quickly cool the birds. Nowadays I clean and freeze everything same day unless I'm cooking it.
Pheasant thighs/legs are boiled, meat removed from the bone and used for soups or other dishes. Deer used to hang for 2-3 days (gutted, hide on). If it was warm I laid them in a shady spot, put bags of ice in the cavity and wrapped them in a tarp. Now, because of CWD restrictions, I skin and quarter, putting meat in a fridge or cooler until I can get home.
 
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