for those of you who sell your processed meaties

[CARS]

I hope this link works. Should answer all of your UDSA questions (o.k., maybe not all but it's pretty informative.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/1494103/USDA-Poultry-Slaughter-Exemption-0406

 

[CARS]

BTW: The link works, I think it answers a TON of processing/selling questions. If anyone sees a reason for it NOT to be a sticky, please point out why. Otherwise I am going to suggest it be at the top of a few different sections.

 

[the_great_snag]

I believe MN allows you to process and sell up to 1000 birds per year without requiring a license or USDA inspection. I think we also must actually sell the birds ourselves too, and not use a middleman.

I have not reached anywhere near the level where I have needed to worry about it though. I would definitely check with the local authorities before I went into selling meat.

Honestly I would just sell to family and friends anyway, and most of my birds are given away in exchange for helping us butcher.

I think your birds should be fine OP. I've seen a lot of pinfeathers and shoddy knifework on store birds over the years, and it doesn't hurt the taste one bit.

If you are worried though, I think you are right in that you and your family should eat the OOPS birds and sell the pretty ones to your customers.

 

[the_great_snag]

Quote:
This is an excellent link. Thanks!

 

[AHappychick]

great link thanks

 

[Intheswamp]

Here's the link on the USDA website so you don't have to register or whatever.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISNotices/Poultry_Slaughter_Exemption_0406.pdf

Ed

 

[pasturedchickendinner]

I place mine in bags I get from ULINE. 1-mil thick, USDA approved plastic bags with green wire twist ties. Very cheap. Look on page 104 and onward. http://catalog.uline.com/WebProjectF.asp?BookCode=uda09flx&SectionIndex=0 I forget what size I am using this year. I think 12x14". I'm very happy with it except: 1) bags are made in Twain, 2)sometimes a bag will leak at the bottom. Perhaps 1 of every 25 or less. Very good since bags are around $0.05 each or less pending on thickness.
1-mil is acceptable. Next time I'll get 2-mil, but I don't recommend going over 2-mil thickness.

As for the chicken, I remove the tail, but leave the neck on. The neck always "wows" the customer. I think the customers feel like they are getting a better deal when they get the neck, despite they likely don't consume the neck in any form. Pull the head off for a consistent neck length.
I don't take the time to serperate the gizzards and such. All of that waste gets sold as dog food for those who want to feed their dogs raw foods. I've had people offer to pay $1/pound for the waste. I just charge a Mountain Dew soda and Payday candy bar for all of it.

As for the torn skin, you may want to give more attention to scalding temperature and how long the birds are in the hot water.

 

[CARS]

Quote:
You had to register?

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
You had to register?

To view it I didn't but to download it (save a copy) it appears that you have to be a registered user at the scribd.com website. I like to save some files to hd.

Thanks for the article!

Ed

 

[Rafter_R_Ranch]

I wrote a response to 'where do you get your chickens processed in Upstate New York', but I think it went into the wrong forum. Please excuse, I'm a newbie to this site.

Anyway, we will be processing our 100 meat chickens Memorial weekend. If you woud like us to process yours, you'll get a discounted rate as we are already set up to do our own. Let us know if you are interested. Tracy Rieks, Rafter_R_Ranch, Moravia, NY email [email protected]