Convincing someone home slaughtered birds are more sanitary and safer to eat

[bluere11e]

I'm in the middle of a "meatie" project. There's 100 birds spread out to 7 people. I am hawking the birds I have to see if I can get friends and family to buy some down home, grass fed, free ranged. no antibiotic, no hormone, no ground up other chickens or chicken poop feed. Healthier for you and safer to eat. Some are saying, eww.. It's not sanitary.. Your not in a sterile environment like the factories. Your not inspected.. EWwWW!!

I try to quote father Joel Salatin and explain WHY it's far more sanitary and there's less pathogens.. so on and so forth.
I give up . More chickens for me and none for them..
You can lead a horse to water , but you can't make him drink.
Do other people have this problem?

 

[booker81]

For each person who is concerned, there is someone else who does get it. Their loss I would imagine those who are concerned haven't been or worked in a slaughter facility - not that there is a problem with most facilities, but it's eye opening. When I was in High School, we raised meaties for FFA as a group, and we went to the slaughter facility to process them and have them graded. I think I was in 10th grade. It was interesting - the one thing I had a hard time coming to terms with wasn't the killing or anything, but the plucker. The birds where killed in cones, and then tossed into the big giant tub of hot water that rotated and plucked - poo, blood, yuck and all. They were then pulled out, hung on the rotating hangers, and we were put on the line if we wanted to pull pin feathers. I can't remember when the gutting was done, I was pinning, but I just hold "ewww" memories of that plucker full of yuck. Slaughter facilities definately aren't sterile - they have to maintain cleanliness standards, but sterility - no way.

That was a smaller facility, not something like a Tyson facility, but it still did quite a bit of business. I image huge facilities are pretty much the same.

Now, since then, I've worked in food safety and have a degree in Microbiology/Molecular Biotech, and I know pretty well how food bacteria works. The company I used to work for supplied a lot of the testing kits to the major companies (Tyson, Conagra, etc), and we made a lot of money during recall time. I've worked with enough bacteria to know what is safe and what starts to become dangerous, and I trust my own hand at processing much more than I do commercial places - I am able to take the time and care needed to wash poo and yuck off before scalding, keep the guts contained and not make a mess, and while I'm not assembly line fast, I do get the job done quickly, cleanly and with a closer connection to the bird than any slaughter facility can.

Like I said, some folks understand, some don't. There isn't any use in trying to convince folks that don't get it. They might come around when they see how much nicer your product is

 

[Frost Homestead]

wow, I don't even eat meat but I'll tell you one thing, if I did there would be no argument from me that your birds are *way* healthier and safer than anything that comes from a big factory!

 

[Baymule]

You just keep on doing what you know is healthy for you, your family and your birds. Word will get around what you are doing and you will have plenty customers for your chickens.

 

[Oregon Blues]

(shrug) You can't fix stupid.

If people want to think that the meat in the cellophane wrapper at the market was manufactured in a sterile factory in the back of the supermarket, and no living animal was harmed, then all you can do is tell them once. If they can't understand what you are saying, you waste your time to try to get through to them.

Like you said: more for you.

Seriously, you won't have any problem finding people who are willing to pay a premium for humanely raised chicken.

 

[Montana-Hens]

I am on the opposite end. I only do a few for myself and all my friends and neighbors wish I'd do enough that they could buy in.

 

[donrae]

I would find other things to discuss with those folks, if they're a part of your life. As stated, you can't fix stupid.

 

[Life is Good!]

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I'm ending up with more birds than I originally intended to have - wanted 10 meaties, getting 25 due to minimum order of Freedom Rangers.

I've offered to several dear friends I know - layed out costs and asked their interest. Surprisingly enough, when push came to shove - they'd rather buy the $1.99/# special of the week parts only chicken than my $2.99/# whole bird. Strange, but these women tell me they don't know what they'd do with a whole chicken (we're all early 40's with families of teenage boys - food disappearing isn't a problem!) They don't cook a whole bird. They just get legs or chests in bulk. Really?! No Sunday dinner roast? Am I the only one in suburbia cooking old-school?!

Of the 'oh yeah, we're in!' for 6 birds each...they now are saying, well, maybe just one or two to 'try'. Except the family who was raised in the backwoods of the South and who KNOW what a chicken is supposed to taste like. They want all they can get! Cost isn't an issue for quality. I need more friends like them! LOL.

Anyone know of a good sale on freezers? We're going to need another one soon...yum!

 

[ray2310]

I hate to say it but your wasting your time. Some people just don't get it. They think that everything in a store is superior to what can be raised at home. They feel that all the government regulations are going to protect them.

How about sending them one of the hundreds of undercover factory farm videos that are out there and tell them if that's what they would rather eat than your humanely raised birds then have at it.

 

[booker81]

Strange, but these women tell me they don't know what they'd do with a whole chicken (we're all early 40's with families of teenage boys - food disappearing isn't a problem!) They don't cook a whole bird. They just get legs or chests in bulk. Really?! No Sunday dinner roast? Am I the only one in suburbia cooking old-school?!

I've found, when selling some of mine, that many people don't even know how to part out a bird - as in cut up a whole chicken to make parts for frying or something. I thought that was common knowledge, but I've found it really isn't.

I do help these folks out and part out the bird for them, since it takes me about a minute or less to do it. I just found it odd. I prefer to do roasts on my CX, because they turn out so nicely