Cutting up a whole chicken - GIF

[Frank S]

We didn't keep thousands, But I despatched hundreds. And I agree that chickens have to be the dirtiest little animals I have ever worked with. Nasty little things actually. But a well fed meat chicken can be tasty. We kept ours eating all the normal outside farm stuff even though I only have 7 acres. Most of which is forest. Pigs were much cleaner. Both taste much better than store bought. But they cost more than store bought as well. Kind of messed up if you think it through. And we bought feed corn from a local farmer and potatoes and soybeans that I cooked for the pigs and chickens. They ate well so I would eat well.

It is not messed up that just about everything you raise or grow yourself will taste better. It is not phycological either, unless you are raising animals for the market place it is highly unlikely that you are feeding them the growth hormones and loading up their systems with massive doses of antibiotics. unlike all of the major growers are forced to do by guberment oversight regulations. The reason for these regulations are, meat products have to have extended shelf life to remain edible for weeks and in many cases months before it is processed packaged and sold. When was the last time you bought a ham that didn't say right on the package injected with water as much as 70% by volume . Just try finding a ham or a shank that has been fully cured wrapped in cloth and hanging above the meat counter instead of down in the refrigerated bin
Produce is the same way much of it must be harvested long before a ripened state, shipped to a processing plant and gassed with ethylene to cause it to ripen but not spoil before making it to the counter.