We have to use a processor here in Canada if we are selling to customers. I love your set up. I’d like to be able to do our own for our own personal use. My question is how do you decide if a bird is not safe for consumption. We had 14 birds condemned for a few different things but 10 for air saculitis. It’s supposedly from dusty bedding but our birds were outside. It just makes you wonder how they decide what’s safe and what’s not. I’d hate to process unsafe food but just wonder if they have a quota of condemned birds they need to fill. We were one of the last to be processed that day. Also the genetics of the Cornish cross predisposes them to illness so just wondering about how you tell if birds have some of the more obscure illnesses. Ours would get condemned for arthritis. The birds are 8 weeks old for goodness sakes. They shouldn’t have arthritis that bad yet. Anyway rant over hope you can enlighten me.
Sorry to hear of your experiences with the inspectors up there! I wish I could say the USDA was any better, but they are not. I have seen them destroy entire batches of birds because they were too big or too small. They will not allow the use of feet for anything except dog food and pour BLUE dye all over them if you want them back. Its like they never ate chicken noodle soup before... Here is what I can tell you, humans exist today because of our ability to humanely process animals without killing ourselves and our loved ones every time. We did it for thousands of years before the government stepped in and convinced us they are the arbiters of truth. They are not. Raise your animals humanely, outside, on pasture/grass. Learn what illnesses can effect them and treat them WHEN they have those illnesses. Take basic precautions when processing and cook everything appropriately. This is all you need to do. Ask yourself this "When is the last time I heard of a small farmer killing off his family or community due to improper farm raised/processed food?" then ask this one "When is the last time I heard of a national recall on food from a government inspected facility?" In the USA we had Romaine lettuce try to kill us four times in 2018/19....I think I will stick to small farms and trusting myself more than what they tell me. Good luck and just remember, when all else fails, it wont be your food that kills you.
Have you tried a USDA inspector? What was your experience like?
We have to use a processor here in Canada if we are selling to customers. I love your set up. I’d like to be able to do our own for our own personal use. My question is how do you decide if a bird is not safe for consumption. We had 14 birds condemned for a few different things but 10 for air saculitis. It’s supposedly from dusty bedding but our birds were outside. It just makes you wonder how they decide what’s safe and what’s not. I’d hate to process unsafe food but just wonder if they have a quota of condemned birds they need to fill. We were one of the last to be processed that day. Also the genetics of the Cornish cross predisposes them to illness so just wondering about how you tell if birds have some of the more obscure illnesses. Ours would get condemned for arthritis. The birds are 8 weeks old for goodness sakes. They shouldn’t have arthritis that bad yet. Anyway rant over hope you can enlighten me.
Sorry to hear of your experiences with the inspectors up there! I wish I could say the USDA was any better, but they are not. I have seen them destroy entire batches of birds because they were too big or too small. They will not allow the use of feet for anything except dog food and pour BLUE dye all over them if you want them back. Its like they never ate chicken noodle soup before...
Here is what I can tell you, humans exist today because of our ability to humanely process animals without killing ourselves and our loved ones every time. We did it for thousands of years before the government stepped in and convinced us they are the arbiters of truth.
They are not.
Raise your animals humanely, outside, on pasture/grass. Learn what illnesses can effect them and treat them WHEN they have those illnesses. Take basic precautions when processing and cook everything appropriately. This is all you need to do.
Ask yourself this "When is the last time I heard of a small farmer killing off his family or community due to improper farm raised/processed food?" then ask this one "When is the last time I heard of a national recall on food from a government inspected facility?"
In the USA we had Romaine lettuce try to kill us four times in 2018/19....I think I will stick to small farms and trusting myself more than what they tell me.
Good luck and just remember, when all else fails, it wont be your food that kills you.