Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens (96 page)

Although a blister is uncomfortable, it does not pose a serious health risk unless it becomes infected. The blister may, however, mar the appearance of the bird’s meat.

Avoid blisters in utility breeds by keeping them on soft litter or grassy pasture and by not furnishing roosts. Avoid breast blisters in commercial-strain broilers by reducing their rate of growth using the same methods as would be used to minimize lameness.

As short as the life of a meat bird is, commercial-strain broilers run the risk of dying prematurely from heart failure. Their little hearts and lungs simply can’t keep up with the exaggerated growth rate of their body muscles. The high oxygen demand of rapid muscle growth, coupled with too-little space for blood flow through the capillaries of the lungs, causes
ascites
— the pooling of yellowish or bloody fluids in the abdomen. The condition is thus commonly called
broiler ascites
,
dropsy
, or
water belly
.

Affected broilers grow more slowly, sit around with ruffled feathers and are reluctant to move, and may die suddenly from heart failure. This condition is more likely to occur in commercial-strain broilers pushed for maximum growth than in the same strain sensibly managed in your backyard. Like leg and joint problems, heart failure is not an issue for slower-growing utility meat breeds.

Selling meat birds can be profitable. It can also be economically risky. For starters you’ll have a hard time competing with low market prices unless you find customers willing to pay a premium for homegrown meat. For another thing, many customers are not prepared for the differences in taste, texture, and appearance between homegrown and commercially grown chicken, although some folks are wising up to industrial practices and starting to seek out healthier alternatives. Still, selling poultry meat may require you to provide a certain amount of consumer education.

To add to your woes, you may need expensive state-approved facilities and a license to sell dressed birds, although in some states small producers enjoy exemptions. Your state poultry specialist can fill you in on the details. You may be able to get around dressed-bird laws by using a little creativity, such as selling live birds and giving buyers the option of plucking their own or having you pick the birds for free.

Marketing possibilities available in some areas include selling live birds to local butchers, custom pickers, or processing plants. The latter generally want
huge numbers of birds and operate under various kinds of contracts. At one end of the spectrum, you may be required to purchase all your chicks and feed, with the understanding that you’ll sell back the finished birds. At the other end, chicks and feed may be furnished without charge and you’ll be paid for your labor and expenses. Be sure to read the fine print, including who’s responsible for chickens that die or fail to measure up to market quality.

Unless you’re willing literally to eat your profits, determine who your customers will be before embarking on a meat-bird marketing venture. Also educate yourself regarding the descriptive terminology you are legally allowed to use, which changes with frustrating regularity.

Depending on your style of management, you may or may not be allowed to use such terms as free range, natural, or organic. Even the poultry class designations (broiler, roaster, and so forth) are occasionally changed, and you may run into trouble calling your chickens broilers or fryers if they weigh less or take longer to reach market weight than the USDA says they should, based on the growth rate of industrial strains. Here are some basic definitions set by law, subject to change at any time:

Free range
— generally means a significant portion of a chicken’s life is spent outdoors; federal regulations say the birds must be allowed access to the outside but doesn’t say they actually have to go outside

Free roaming
— chickens have room to move around (are not caged)

Loose housing
— free roaming within the confines of a building

Naturally raised
— chickens are raised without growth promotants, fed no animal by-products, and given no antibiotics with the exception of coccidiostats called ionosphores that are chemically similar to antibiotics; this definition does not address such things as housing in confinement, genetic engineering, and the use of pesticides

Natural
— the meat contains no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed; the label must explain the use of the term “natural,” such as “No added colorings or artificial ingredients; minimally processed”

Minimally processed
— processed by methods traditionally used to make food edible, preserve it, or make it safe to eat (such as freezing) but that do not fundamentally alter the raw product; a whole chicken separated into parts is considered minimally processed

Natural versus synthetic
— the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances lists synthetic substances that may be used for organic production, as well as natural substances that are prohibited. Any natural substances not on
this list are allowed. Items on this list that are commonly used for poultry production include disinfectants, sanitizers, medical treatments, topical treatments, and feed additives. Some ingredients for processing are also listed. The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) keeps a list of generic and brand-name products that are permitted and includes brand-name mineral mixes, botanicals, probiotics, kelp, and homeopathic preparations.

Organic
— certified by an agency as, among other things, having been raised in conditions that are less crowded than conventional birds; fed a vegetarian, antibiotic-free diet; and processed according to organic specifications.

In addition to legal definitions of terms that may be used in marketing chickens, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) offers the following definition of heritage chickens used for meat production. The breed must:

have been recognized by the American Poultry Association prior to the midtwentieth century (as listed in the table opposite)

reproduce through natural mating

have the genetic ability to live a long, vigorous life (breeding hens should be productive for 5 to 7 years, cocks for 3 to 5 years)

thrive outdoors under pasture-based management

have a moderate to slow rate of growth (reaching market weight in no less than 16 weeks).

Such terms as heirloom, antique, old-fashioned, and old-timey are considered to be synonymous with heritage. The ALBC suggests that when any such terms are used in the marketing of chicken meat (or eggs), the variety and breed name should be indicated on the label.

Determining what exactly “organic” means has been problematic since the word came into common use decades ago. Those of us who raise chickens to provide our own families with healthful meat and eggs can set our own standards. Those who produce poultry for sale, however, must comply with a myriad of regulations before labeling products as being organic.

Numerous state and private certifying agencies have sprung up throughout the United States, each with its own set of standards regarding what exactly organic means. The USDA has worked out a set of standards called the National Organic Program (NOP), which in typical government fashion includes many unclarified areas, leaving interpretation to the various certifying agencies. Each agency therefore makes judgment calls as to whether a particular poultry producer is in compliance or violation.

HERITAGE MEAT (ANDLAYING) BREEDS AS DEFINED BY ALBC

Until the day that all agencies agree to a standardized interpretation, if you want to gain organic certification, you must comply with the interpretations of the agency certifying your operation. To give you a hint of what’s involved, here are some NOP standards:

Poultry or poultry products must come from chickens that have been under organic management from the second day of life.