The quality and price of chicken in your country

I'm having chicken tonight. I'm not sure what the price breakdown will be, because she came from my back yard. I'm not raising them in high enough volume that I am doing a price breakout (I'm not selling chicken, just eggs - too many hoops to jump through to sell chickens at a small volume).

Pre-COVID, chicken I bought was in Tasty's categories of 3 and 4, mostly 3. During COVID it is 2 and 3. I only purchase dark meat. Okay, I did purchase bone in skin on breast once in order to test if it is improved by sous vide. (It is.) I've cooked some of my own chicken that way.

My chickens are essentially free range, but not organic: they do eat organic, soy-free feed (once they become layers, which means any associated roosters also eat that feed), while growing they usually eat organic but not soy free. The property they free-range* on could technically be called organic, if I wanted to go through the paperwork. But they also eat kitchen scraps of which some is, and some is not organic.

* Free range here means they go outdoors during the day time, but only if I am here most of the day. So they probably do go out more this year than the previous since I'm not travelling so much these days. They go in at night. And I got paranoid when I lost two chickens to a fox in a week, so they didn't go outdoors for two weeks after that. They also have NO interest in going out when there's snow on the ground.

I'll check prices of chicken next time I am out. Oh, i have a deal of $4 a stewing hen from a local farmer, that I will be taking him up on. He has nine; I'll probably take three. (Stewing hens are chickens intended for egg laying, that are too old to lay efficiently any more. People just raising a few chickens usually just leave them alone to lay just a couple eggs ever so often.)

The one for dinner tonight is a small Cornish meat hen - ten or eleven weeks old. (The supermarket ones are no older than 8 weeks)
 
Mountain Cat said:
I'm having chicken tonight. I'm not sure what the price breakdown will be, because she came from my back yard. I'm not raising them in high enough volume that I am doing a price breakout (I'm not selling chicken, just eggs - too many hoops to jump through to sell chickens at a small volume).

Pre-COVID, chicken I bought was in Tasty's categories of 3 and 4, mostly 3. During COVID it is 2 and 3. I only purchase dark meat. Okay, I did purchase bone in skin on breast once in order to test if it is improved by sous vide. (It is.) I've cooked some of my own chicken that way.

My chickens are essentially free range, but not organic: they do eat organic, soy-free feed (once they become layers, which means any associated roosters also eat that feed), while growing they usually eat organic but not soy free. The property they free-range* on could technically be called organic, if I wanted to go through the paperwork. But they also eat kitchen scraps of which some is, and some is not organic.

* Free range here means they go outdoors during the day time, but only if I am here most of the day. So they probably do go out more this year than the previous since I'm not travelling so much these days. They go in at night. And I got paranoid when I lost two chickens to a fox in a week, so they didn't go outdoors for two weeks after that. They also have NO interest in going out when there's snow on the ground.

I'll check prices of chicken next time I am out. Oh, i have a deal of $4 a stewing hen from a local farmer, that I will be taking him up on. He has nine; I'll probably take three. (Stewing hens are chickens intended for egg laying, that are too old to lay efficiently any more. People just raising a few chickens usually just leave them alone to lay just a couple eggs ever so often.)

The one for dinner tonight is a small Cornish meat hen - ten or eleven weeks old. (The supermarket ones are no older than 8 weeks)
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I learned quite a bit from your post. Thank you for taking the time to share this.
 
I have no chicken in this race, this is strictly educational / informational.....

in USA our dearly beloved government has defined what is "legally" free range chicken.
the definition requires a hole in the chicken shed/coop which allows a chicken to go outside, if they wish.

I think everyone can see the idiocy in that statement.

if you truly want a "free range chicken" - for whatever legal / moral / ethical / other reason floats your boat - you'll need to find a local farm that does that. factory chicken coops with 300,00-500,000 chickens inside a 'structure' - the chickens have "legal access" - but very very very few venture that far from the feed trough.

facts. just those pesky facts.
 
TastyReuben said:
[Mod. edit: this post and following few moved to form new thread (MG)]


ALDI is regularly singled out for exceptional whole chickens. I've bought a few and they're fine.

The chicken I have easy access to falls into four categories (of my own naming):

1. Cheap (usually labeled something like "Value Farms," or "Price Choice Chicken").
2. Mainstream (the stuff sold by Tyson & Perdue).
3. Upper-Class Mainstream (seems to be the same as 2, just that it costa more).
4. Local, Free-Range, Organic, Humane (the most expensive, but we're not talking buying a car, so it's still reasonably affordable).

I generally buy 3 or 4, but have bought more 2 since the pandemic, because that's what's available in my town. I have to drive a bit to get 3 or 4. In my experience, a 4 chicken costs about twice what a 2 chicken costs.
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Kroger's Simple Truth branded chicken is good quality. Not a huge selection of cuts, but good.

My favorite place to buy chicken, and other meats, it COSTCO. They have two Tiers -- basic Tyson level, and organic free range.

CD
 
Morning Glory said:
Thanks - I will attempt to compare prices - its always tricky as our weights and our currency are different. Maybe it needs yet another new thread.... (done)
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Chicken prices here have been fluctuating during the pandemic. There were even times when there was no chicken in stores.

CD
 
CookieMonster said:
in USA our dearly beloved government has defined what is "legally" free range chicken.
the definition requires a hole in the chicken shed/coop which allows a chicken to go outside, if they wish.
Click to expand...
I actually prefer well kept barn reared chickens to free range, the image of my mothers flock attacking and devouring a living rat in a trap is still with me. Any carrion (decaying flesh) will be eaten. Where you have grain you get rats. My Mum never used poison because she feared her chickens eating the carcass of a poisoned rat.
CookieMonster said:
in USA our dearly beloved government has defined what is "legally" free range chicken.
the definition requires a hole in the chicken shed/coop which allows a chicken to go outside, if they wish.
Click to expand...
Chickens without a rooster are leaderless. They get very stressed outside and take time to acclimatizes, some of my mothers hens never went out voluntarily. Force them out and they don't lay as well
 
I preferred capons to turkey. I prefer boiling fowl (stewing hens) to Roasters.
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