What to look for if I want humanely raised chicken to eat?

[galanie]

Quote:
Gotta expect some of that on a public forum but at least here there's a minimum of it.

So far as how they are slaughtered, many of us differ on our opinions as to what is humane. Check out the options and decide for yourself what qualifies as humane to you. Most just separate their heads some way. Some use "kill cones" and only sever the main arteries and let them bleed to death. IMO hanging them upside down by their feet in a line that's moving like the really big operations do then severing their heads in such an assembly line sounds horrific.

 

[Ridgerunner]

As always, personal opinion. There are many different ways to humanely slaughter chickens. To me, the key is that it be quick and sure. Once the nerves are severed the chicken does not feel anything. It will have certain reactions and body movement, but these are nervous reflexes, not consciously thought out movements.

One place I am looking at slaughters on the farm, is uninspected and "labels" the meat "not for human consumption"--I am thinking this may actually be a good thing?? They also allow us to visit so we may go out there.
Why do you think that a place that are taking steps to avoid inspection would be a good thing? Each State has different regulations, so I don't know what the rules are in your state. Heck, I don't even know what they are for mine. I am not a commercial business so I don't have to worry about getting licenses and meeting basic cleanliness rules. But yes, I think a visit by you would be important.

However, if they are raising birds and not just slaughtering other people's birds for them, don't be too surprised if they restrict you from looking at certain parts of the operation. Biosecurity should be important to them. Some places require people to totally change clothing or at least put on coveralls and wash their shoes in a disinfectant bath. Delivery trucks may have to roll through an antiseptic bath to disinfect their tires. If you come visit, I'll show you my chickens without doing any of that, but i don't have thousands of chickens that can be wiped out by someone tracking in a chicken disease on their shoes.


And why not Cornish X? Are they sort of a Frankenbird--like, bred so much for meat so as not to be self-sufficient?

I don't know why someone else was so adament against Cornish X. I'll not assume to guess what goes in in someone else's brain. Let them explain where they are coming from.

The Cornish X, also known as broilers, are a specific breed developed to maximize weight gain per pound of food they eat. They generally reach slaughter age at about 6 to 8 weeks, so they are extremely tender and don't have the deeper flavor of the dual purpose birds. Many people think the tenderness and blander flavor has to do with breed. I think it has a lot more to do with age, somewhat like veal is more tender and blander than beef. That may not be a great analogy because veal is also mainly milk fed as opposed to pasture or grain, but I really do think age has a whole lot to do with it. They can be raised organically and they can be pastured. There are people on this forum that do. But, no, they are not self-sufficient. If allowed to eat what they want, they gain so much weight that their body breaks down from growing too fast. You can keep them and breed them by severely restricting their diet. That is what the commercial operations pretty much do, although that gets a bit more complicated to explain. But even if you do restrict their diet, you still often have high mortality.

If you are really interested, this video helps explain how they breed them.

 

[PotterWatch]

We have a fair amount of information posted on our website about how our chickens are raised, it may give you an idea of what to look for if our practices meld with what you want. http://www.newfrontierfamilyfarm.com
We raise our birds in tractors, too many predators to let them free range. They get moved to fresh ground every day and their pasture grazing is supplemented with organic feed. We do all the processing on our property so the birds don't go through a stressful move and truck ride down the highway. Those are the main things I would be looking for if I were in the market.

 

[LivingRootsFarm]

Go to your local farmers market and check websites like local harvest. The most important thing once you find a potential meat source is to ask if you can visit their farm. If they don't want you to come out they are probably hiding something. If they do let you come out then you can investigate their living conditions and ask more questions. I raise hens for egg production and display pictures of my chickens and their living conditions in my tent at the farmers market. I also give farm tours and some people come out to the farm during the week to pick up eggs. I have found a good meat source that is about a hours drive from where I live. They allow you to walk around and observe their chickens. I usually buy them a case at a time and pay I believe around $4 a pound. Just make sure that you change your shoes and clothes if you have chickens and go to other peoples farms so you don't bring back any diseases to your flock.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I raise good clean healthy meat, and no, sorry, you will not be allowed to come out and wander around. It's a bio-security issue. It doesn't mean I am hiding anything.

Lots of people don't like the concept of Cornish Cross. Fine. They don't have to raise them if they don't want them. But several of them seem to think it is their life's mission to blast the birds at every opportunity.

I like them because of the large tender breast meat, good feed conversion, and fast turn-around. I have never ever in my entire life had a Cornish Cross die from a heart attack or be crippled. I did have one drown. They aren't very good swimmers. That is the only Cornish Cross I've ever lost.

Most of the people blasting Cornish Cross at every opportunity don't even raise them. So if they've never raised them, how do they know what they are like to raise?

I've certainly seen a lot of people complaining about theirs dying when it is a husbandry issue, not a problem with the type of birds.

If you are buying from the people who raised the birds, they will be happy to tell you how the birds were raised and what they were fed.

There is no legal definition of "free range". It means nothing. I consider my own birds to be free range, even though they are safely confined inside an orchard that is 150 feet by 150 feet. Then they go into very secure runs at night. Someone else will insist that they can't be free range, because I have a predator-proof fence involved.

I could care less what their definition is. My birds get plenty of exercise, lots of fresh air and sunshine, and all the bugs they can catch.

One small problem, though. I don't sell any of my table birds. To sell them, I have to truck them 120 miles to a licensed slaughter house and pay several dollars per bird to get them processed. Not happening. So my birds are for my own table (plus a few given as gifts)

 

[eggbuster]

Quote:
Agreed.

 

[jdywntr]

This is the non-profit that does humane inspections http://www.certifiedhumane.org/

 

[LilyD]

We tried to free range our Cornish X and they just didn't do well at it. They would sneak into the other coops to eat all the food in there rather than foraging. I don't think they understand the concept of foraging very well.

We stopped doing Cornish X not because we don't like the meat or the birds but because we want to be able to allow our meat birds to run with the flock all day and be free rangers. Our Dual Purpose birds are out will all the rest of the egg layers each day and I think that it is reflected in the taste after processing.

If you want birds raised humanely I agree with posters above who have said that you should check your local farms and find one that treats the birds in ways that you like. That way you know that you are getting what you are looking for in the chickens.

Just my opinion.
Lily