I’ve heard they finish on champagne and caviarI wonder..... if her refusal to sample the meat is due not only to the color, but also to something else she's reluctant to admit...... like, does she have any problem with the fact that they were raised, slaughtered and butchered at home, and not from the grocery store? I mean, I know folks who will not eat hamburger if they have to touch and cook it, but if it's from McD's or BK, it's fine. The first time I cooked chicken that I'd raised, killed and processed, I experienced a bit of "ick" factor, too. Took me a few times to get over it.
BTW, for most heritage and dual-purpose breeds, butchering at 18-weeks is the OLDEST you want to process. Ideally, it's at about 16 weeks. After that, the meat becomes tougher and you'd have to pressure cook or slow-cook it for tenderness. I do brine my birds for a few days before freezing to help retain the moisture and tenderness. (They are barnyard mixes.) Still, they are a little more rubbery than CornishX from the store and the flavor is more intense. That's taking some getting used to. I can't wait to see how the Bresse turn out, if I semi-follow the French protocol for finishing them.