Will freezing a whole raw chicken make it worse?

[UnimaginableWindBird]

We'll be having a small family Christmas this year, so I thought that rather than cook turkey, I'd get a really good quality herb-fed chicken, but the place that I get my chicken from doubles the price for just before Christmas.

If I get the chicken in advance and defrost it for Christmas, would it affect the quality of the meat? Alternatively, where can I get a fabulous bird for Christmas for a reasonable price?

You can freeze a whole chicken no problem at all, I do all the time :)

Just make sure you defrost for 24hrs before cooking, it’ll be absolutely fine.

We freeze whole raw chickens often and I’ve not noticed any issue with quality when they’re cooked.

Lucky you to have a delicious chicken for Christmas rather than turkey.

This. If it's only frozen for a few weeks it will be delicious.

I would allocate more than 24h in a fridge to defrost