No culinary school, here, but I grew up with a Ukrainian Jewish grandmother and my own mother. Chickens came from the butcher minus the head and the feathers. I received my first anatomy lesson from watching them butcher the chicken. They would peel the feet and put them in the stock. There would be one large unshelled/unlayed egg in a hen. It would be carefully removed w/a slotted spoon and quickly poached in the simmering broth. It was a delicious treat we would wait for.
Skin and fat would be saved to make schmaltz with griebens (chicken skin cracklings). Added wonderful depth of flavor to everything. The old folks would spread schmaltz on a piece of pumpernickle and top it with sliced long white radishes for a snack. Garbanzos were fried in schmaltz and salted for a snack. Livers saved up to make chopped liver. Gizzards/hearts/kidneys saved up to add to rice or gravy.
There is now a gourmand cult of offal among foodies. It is good eating and nutritious.
Here is a link I found for making schmaltz and gribines :http://www.sadiesalome.com/recipes/schmaltz.html
K. That set my mouth watering. I learned about fried chicken skin with onions when I was 21, from a Jewish lay leader in the small community where I was stationed. (he also taught me to read Hebrew)
And everything I've learned since then gives me great respect for the babushkas from the old country.
Dem gals can cook.
/johnny