# Rotting Chicken, what can be done? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 7, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotting-chicken-what-can-be-done/706596 "2014-12-07T20:56:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mrdeals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotting-chicken-what-can-be-done/706596/1 "2014-12-07T20:56:19Z")
I don’t know the whole story on why this happened in the first place. But i was told by a warehouse who is in the business of buying unwanted food stuffs and reselling wholesale. Currently they have 48,000 pounds of chicken sitting in a reefer truck that is slowly rotting away. My question is, what can be done with such a load? The date for human consumption is fast approaching, or maybe even past. Can “slightly” (not sure if there is such a thing) spoiled chicken be turned into something edible again? Jerky maybe? Can it be cooked again and fed to pigs? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotting-chicken-what-can-be-done/706596/2 "2014-12-07T21:07:53Z")
Read this Wikipedia article on Rendering: > **[Rendering (animal products)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendering_%28animal_products%29)** > > Rendering is a process that converts waste animal tissue into stable, usable materials. Rendering can refer to any processing of animal products into more useful materials, or, more narrowly, to the rendering of whole animal fatty tissue into purified fats like lard or tallow. Rendering can be carried out on an industrial, farm, or kitchen scale. It can also be applied to non-animal products that are rendered down to pulp. In animal products, the majority of tissue processed comes from slaughterh... ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotting-chicken-what-can-be-done/706596/3 "2014-12-07T21:47:03Z")
If they have access to a composter who uses a lot of dry wood shavings he may have a good place to get rid of it. The millions of pounds of chickens killed for the New Castle out break were msotly just mixed with wood shavings and composted. Carbon, nitrogen and oxegen and it disolves odorlessly and quickly. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotting-chicken-what-can-be-done/706596/4 "2014-12-08T01:46:55Z")
Catfish bait. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotting-chicken-what-can-be-done/706596/5 "2014-12-08T01:52:46Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > If they have access to a composter who uses a lot of dry wood shavings he may have a good place to get rid of it. The millions of pounds of chickens killed for the New Castle out break were msotly just mixed with wood shavings and composted. Carbon, nitrogen and oxegen and it disolves odorlessly and quickly. Yet my gardening books tell me not to compost meat or bones. Is there a step I’m missing? ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotting-chicken-what-can-be-done/706596/6 "2014-12-08T02:00:47Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Yet my gardening books tell me not to compost meat or bones. Is there a step I’m missing? There is a commercial product that includes meat - its called blood and bone. I think the idea is that you’d best leave composting meat to experts. That is due to the risk of disease that may will KILL the persons exposed to incorrectly composted meat. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotting-chicken-what-can-be-done/706596/7 "2014-12-08T02:22:47Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Catfish bait. Gator bait. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotting-chicken-what-can-be-done/706596/8 "2014-12-08T02:30:30Z")
Good god, don’t cook and sell it. Imagine the liability if anyone got sick! /safety police ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotting-chicken-what-can-be-done/706596/9 "2014-12-08T02:31:42Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Yet my gardening books tell me not to compost meat or bones. Is there a step I’m missing? I think the idea is that the typical residential compost pile in the backyard is going to attract small animals. But a commercial composting operation is going to use an enclosed building. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotting-chicken-what-can-be-done/706596/10 "2014-12-08T02:54:36Z")
A residential compost pile is going to attract critters even without meat. I thought the idea was 1. less smell and 2. rotting meat can make the compost too hot. I have a friend who is mostly vegetarian, but will occasionally throw fish scraps, or uneaten hot dogs bits from the kid, in her pile. She reports no problems.