Underground meatbird farming

[Cinnamon Roll]

I don’t understand why you would put yourself and chickens through this. There are probably farmers in your area that are raising real chickens, not “trash” that you could buy from. Call your local extension office and see if they have any leads. Small farmers need support from those of us that are not happy with industrial agriculture.

Confining animals to your garage for their whole life is not good animal husbandry, that’s confinement just the Big Ag companies do.

 

[K0k0shka]

And this is why we have towns banning chickens and making it hard for everyone

 

[Happy hen lover]

I'm doing it. I don't care anymore. You can't force me to feed my family trash from the supermarket.



I have raised a lot of meat birds over the years but I had to move into an area where owning chickens is outlawed. I'm going to run a batch of cornish x in my garage. Anyone done anything similar? My thoughts are that in 8 weeks someone has to find out, tell someone that matters, the town has to get a warrant to go inside my garage, effectuate said, warn me, wait 2 weeks, then come back and give a ticket, wait for a court date, etc. It's not all going to work out in an 8 week span and frozen chicken parts simply aren't evidence of anything.

Tips for avoiding detection?

Don't tell anyone.
We have our coop tucked just under fence line of our privacy fence. No roosters here so pretty quiet. Meat birds would be easier I wish you all the best. So stupid we have to be covert about something that was encouraged by uncle Sam in my parents day!!!.

 

[imacowgirl2]

There are probably farmers in your area that are raising real chickens, not “trash” that you could buy from. Call your local extension office and see if they have any leads. Small farmers need support from those of us that are not happy with industrial agriculture.

I will start out by saying…I don’t necessarily agree with the OPs intentions, but…

As a member of the farming industry, I do not know a single farmer in my area that would be willing to raise meat birds for a complete stranger. It sounds great in theory/on paper, but the logistics of raising meat birds for other people is much more complicated. Do they pay up front or at harvest time? If they pay up front, do they get certain birds and whatever losses are sustained in that group they deal with? Or do they get x live birds at harvest weight and the farmer absorbs the expense of any deaths? If they pay at harvest, how does the farmer ensure they don’t get ghosted and stuck with a bunch of birds they can’t sell? Those are just a few of the many complications — and quite frankly most people, even those who are fed up with big ag, aren’t willing to pay the farmer what it would take to make it worth his time and effort and use of his facilities.

 

[Isadora]

I will start out by saying…I don’t necessarily agree with the OPs intentions, but…

As a member of the farming industry, I do not know a single farmer in my area that would be willing to raise meat birds for a complete stranger. It sounds great in theory/on paper, but the logistics of raising meat birds for other people is much more complicated. Do they pay up front or at harvest time? If they pay up front, do they get certain birds and whatever losses are sustained in that group they deal with? Or do they get x live birds at harvest weight and the farmer absorbs the expense of any deaths? If they pay at harvest, how does the farmer ensure they don’t get ghosted and stuck with a bunch of birds they can’t sell? Those are just a few of the many complications — and quite frankly most people, even those who are fed up with big ag, aren’t willing to pay the farmer what it would take to make it worth his time and effort and use of his facilities.

I thought cinnamon roll meant meat to sell from better raised chickens...not that these farmers were raising live birds for people.

 

[imacowgirl2]

I thought cinnamon roll meant meat to sell from better raised chickens...not that these farmers were raising live birds for people.

That’s possible…and even more unlikely to find a farmer willing to do that, due to the sheer quantity of laws and rules and regulations that must be followed (at least in my state) if you are raising and processing meat and selling processed meat to the public. Maybe there is less red tape for that in other states?

 

[Isadora]

That’s possible…and even more unlikely to find a farmer willing to do that, due to the sheer quantity of laws and rules and regulations that must be followed (at least in my state) if you are raising and processing meat and selling processed meat to the public. Maybe there is less red tape for that in other states?

Could be. Here in Indiana I can sell meat birds I raise without hassle. I don't need a permit/certified butcher house or anything.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I understand completely why you'd want to do bigger batches to stock the freezer. A batch of ten every eight weeks (minus losses) isn't going to cut it to feed the family for a year, is it? But your activities in the garage cannot go unnoticed. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it - I'm 100% on your side and I despise HOA's and laws against small livestock or gardening on your own property. But I've raised similar sized batches of CornishX myself, and I'm aware it's no small feat even if you have the space and facilities, and neighbors who mind their own business.

How will you dispose of the soiled litter and manure without detection? You couldn't put it in trash bags at the curb, and it might be challenging to explain why you're hauling so much garbage away in your vehicle. Not to mention bringing home bales of straw or wood chips, and 50# bags of feed - how will you secretly unload them as well? Can't put the empty bags in the trash, either.

How will you manage the noise and mess of slaughter, scalding, plucking, and butcher for so many birds (I'm seeing LOTS of water mess, feathers, blood and body parts) inside an enclosed space without detection? I think that no matter how careful you are, feathers and bits of litter are going to escape somehow; and the neighbors will have to wonder why it's necessary to hose down the garage floor so often - and the bits of litter or feathers that wash out with it..... (And 'what the heck is that smell?!? Why is he running that big blower fan all the time?')

So YEAH, I understand perfectly why you'd ask for tips to avoid detection. To be honest, I can only think of one: Find a friend or family member somewhere outside the reaches of those laws (rural?) with an unused building you can convert to the purpose, and share some of the harvest with them to allow you to use it. Or lease somewhere. Sorry I can't help more.

 

[LhickenChicken]

Don't tell anyone.
We have our coop tucked just under fence line of our privacy fence. No roosters here so pretty quiet. Meat birds would be easier I wish you all the best. So stupid we have to be covert about something that was encouraged by uncle Sam in my parents day!!!.

Uncle Sam is my rooster

I don't know how to help but I'm in a rural area and I have layers not meat birds but I sometimes off the older chickens, and the cockerels from hatching. Sorry I can't help more, because I haven't ever had to deal with something like this.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

That’s possible…and even more unlikely to find a farmer willing to do that, due to the sheer quantity of laws and rules and regulations that must be followed (at least in my state) if you are raising and processing meat and selling processed meat to the public. Maybe there is less red tape for that in other states?

I believe the USDA rules are no more than 1,000 birds a year and you can process without inspection. Obviously states have their own rules but it’s not unheard of all across the country. I’ve lived lots of places and found farm raised meat to buy directly from the farm in all of them. Right now in SE Georgia I can buy chicken, duck, and turkey directly from farmers, and of course all the bigger types of livestock are available too.