Selling Live Birds and Free Slaughter

[casamc]

Hi All,

I would like to start selling my meat birds and I have several people who would love to buy them from us. Unfortunately the closest USDA processing facility is 2 hours away and charges $3.00 per bird.

It would seem the only way to legally sell them would be to sell the live bird and teach/help the new owner to slaughter the bird. We currently process our own birds and have all the necessary equipment, (Scalder, Whizbang Plucker and all the knifes and stainless steel tables).

Has anyone tried this method and if so did you run into any issues?

Thanks

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

My family had an "underground" butcher shop for years, until we got old & started dying off. Just be careful who you sell to. Shhhhhhh

 

[jerseygirl1]

Here, legally the way around it is that the person sells you his birds, you give him a receipt for buying, then butcher them and I forget the rest.............

 

[silkiechicken]

I have sold live birds and did a complementary killing and skinning in the back yard... but it was only to friends.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Quote:

Ours started out for only relatives, & the last year we butchered, we did 10 cows, 16 pigs, & no telling how many chickens, 104,784 722 345,988, it seemed like!

 

[wsdareme]

Could you offer a "Processing Clinic"? They would buy your birds, and then you would teach a "clinic" where they slaughter their birds at the clinic... Just a thought.

 

[eKo_birdies]

Quote:
this sounds like it may possibly work... i am wondering how one goes about coming up w/ a total price for the birds since the dressed weights would be unknown. i guess unless you just charge per bird and assume some will be smaller and some larger?

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

I am pretty sure the law states you can slaughter 1000 birds in your back yard exempt from the usda regulation as long as the bird was sold live. and they come to your farm to pick it up same with eggs you can sell them from your farm without usda regulations but once you leave home with it its a different story.

 

[eKo_birdies]

i was asking how one goes about coming up w/ a price per bird (live weight) since the dressed weight is unknown. as in, if there are those out there who do this, what are YOUR methods to ensure a "fair" price to both the producer and consumer?

ETA thanks silkie, that's what i was wondering.

 

[silkiechicken]

I just sold per bird live weight and explain that they are to expect approximately a 75% yield.