DURANGO, Colo.—The lack of a local processing facility for poultry is limiting the availability of chickens at the Durango Farmers Market, leaving it to local buyers to slaughter their own birds.
Beef, pork, lamb, tilapia fish and chili bratwurst can all be had at the popular market, but no chicken.
According to the Durango Herald ( ), Sunnyside Meats is the only USDA-approved slaughterhouse in the region, but it can’t harvest chickens because poultry can’t be mixed with other kinds of meat for food safety reasons.
“Everybody and their grandma has a chicken in their backyard nowadays. Something needs to be done with those chickens when they’re done laying eggs. It would be nice if those chickens could service us at the end of their life as well,” said Ian Chamberlain, manager of Sunnyside Meats.
Judy Rohwer, a Cortez farmer, said she is frustrated by conflicting messages she gets from the government.
“I have a few butcher chickens right now for my own consumption,” she said in an email. “I believe there is a demand for these guys. People are tired of the government making them eat unhealthy foods. Amazing that you can legally buy marijuana but it’s illegal to buy a fresh butchered chicken from the farmer!”
Those who are game can pluck and slaughter it themselves.
“There’s nothing that prevents you or I from purchasing an un-slaughtered bird from a farmer, (but) it’s not something I would be comfortable with,” said Jeff Lawrence, director of environmental health and sustainability at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
To comply with regulations, the USDA suggests that small producers form a cooperative and establish their own slaughter facility or contract with a facility that is inspected by the USDA.
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Information from: Durango Herald,
