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I thought you just boil the feathers and they just "fall off" at least what I was told.........don't know if its true I never done it before.
That makes sense you and me both although I would like to learn, someone told me they were quoted $600 but I can't remember if it was for two or per animal.
unfortunatly not quite.
you "scald" poultry after deheading bu dunking them in water with a temp of 135-140 degrees, (needs to be hot enough to loosen the feathers but not so hot as to start cooking the bird) this opens up the folicles and allows the feathers to be plucked easily...
then once the folicles are open you then have to pluck...
plucking isnt "difficult" per say, but it can be messy and time consuming, especially if you butcher when the bird is going through a moult (lots of pin feathers and they can be realy difficult to remove)
in terms of processing cost while itll vary depending on location.
and depending on if there paying by hanging weight or cut weight...(hanging weight being the weight of the animal after kill with skin and bone)
its usually based on a set fee to kill the animalthen everything else is based on weight.
the fee to process (kill) will be ALOT lower for poultry and small game than for large animals like cows.
and while $600 for a single animal seems kind of high...if you take of a $50 processing fee, thats $550 to butcher (cut up) wrap and freeze a whole cow...assuming a 800lb hanigng weight, and a 50% dress out (its usually closer to 55-65% but math is hard lol) youll be paying $550 for 400lbs of meat at an average of about $1.38 per lb of beef its a STEAL! lol. (now obviously that doesnt take into accout cost of feeding that cow to butcher weight but itll still be a little bit cheaper (and alot healtheir) than most grocery store meat)
That figures the guys were making it sound like the feathers just fall off from the boiled water.
Hmmmmm....when you break down the figures that way it makes more sense. At the spur of the moment kind of deal it seems steep, IMO. But I'll take that one time fee compared to paying near $3 or $4 more per pound for beef. Ridiculous. So I only purchase it on sale or if I feel not enough variety is in my boy's meal I'll bite and pay the $15 for a 2.5 pack of ground beef. Other times I take the manager's special meats.....even for myself if its not too bruised.
I have been noticing people advertising on Craigslist asking for any freezer burned meat or unwanted meat to feed their dogs. Some even ask for any unwanted barnyard animals.
I have been noticing people advertising on Craigslist asking for any freezer burned meat or unwanted meat to feed their dogs. Some even ask for any unwanted barnyard animals.
I do that...but not the unwanted animals. I have 2 people that call me whenever they clean out their freezer. I take it all and dump what I can't use. Easy for them, cheap for me.
i do the same with manager special meats, but more for me than the dogs lol...im on a TIGHT budget and assuming it hits the freezer imediatly its usually fine for ht elikes of stews and stuff...but yes perfectly fine for dogs and cats.
freezer burnt is also great for dogs (though ive found cats more picky about frozen meat, they seem to prefer theresas fresh as possible...(im talking still warm if you can handle it lol)
as raw becomes more popular and money becomes tighter i think we'll be seeing alot more "wanted: freezer burnt" adds.
ill be honest though, I use most of my freezer burnt stuff too, not for eating like you would a sirloin steak or roast chicken but it works just fine for anything going in the crockpot all day with plenty of seasonings...lol.
VERY little goes to waste around here which is why i need to get my meat production up in order to switch to full raw...i need to make sure my own protein needs are met as well as my dogs...
i know that feeling.
make sure to get on your grocery store butchers good side.
talk to them a few times and you can usually find out what day the meat usually gets marked down...
sometimes you cna even talk them into setting you aside any "sell by today" sale meats at the end of thier last "safe" day to pick up at closing, even if there off colored (heck even SLIGHTLY ripe smelling) there dog safe.
at minimum though by talking to them you cna usually find out what day/time markdowns o meat usually get done so you can get to the store and be waiting
ive not had much luck on craigslist...they always flag me for looking for freezer burnt meats and such...dont know why they flag me...its annoying, but still...
You know I never thought of that as much times as they seen me push a cart full of meat. I have never said anything to them. I will now.......Just in time for pay day......Sign
Sorry Foxy I just find that odd....I see postings on CL for meat and even some ads for raw meat all the time. Its not against any rules that I know of.
i wonder if theres another raw feeder in the area and they dont want someone moving in on thier freezer burnt/scrap sources lol
you know how territorial some folks can get!
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from the boiled water. 
