Natural chicken vs store bought?
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bluej85
Posts: 16 Member
We're about to cull eight of ours, and it was pointed out to me that the calorie amounts might be different than what can usually be found as the standards for chicken by the ounce online, due to different diets and fat content. These have been doing a lot of wild foraging.
Is there anything to this, or rather is it possible it could enough of a difference I'd need to worry about it? I assume if anything ours would be less calories anyhow.
Is there anything to this, or rather is it possible it could enough of a difference I'd need to worry about it? I assume if anything ours would be less calories anyhow.
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Replies
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Without running bioanalytics on your birds I would think the macros would be essentially the same pound-for-pound 🤷🏿♀️ Perhaps a smidgen leaner. Where you'd get the advantages would be in the micronutrients (again, an educated guess)
btw, when I Googled...
"wild chicken" nutrition
...the first result was an MFP food diary entry. So it's in there but it may not be specific to how your birds were raised. Ideally, close enough though.
Hope the cull is a positive thing for you? I know a lot of small farms and producers are suffering right now.4 -
We're about to cull eight of ours, and it was pointed out to me that the calorie amounts might be different than what can usually be found as the standards for chicken by the ounce online, due to different diets and fat content. These have been doing a lot of wild foraging.
Is there anything to this, or rather is it possible it could enough of a difference I'd need to worry about it? I assume if anything ours would be less calories anyhow.
Not likely to be significantly different and impossible to determine. Calories for store bought chicken (or anything else) aren't exact either...none of this is an exact science. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good, or good enough.8 -
Are store bought chickens not natural?
If not, where do you buy your chickens?4 -
My home-raised chickens have always been a bit leaner than store-bought (USA) chickens, but I just use the standard USDA information.3
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OK, thanks everyone. Seems my first instinct was right and if anything it would just be a bit leaner.
@MaltedTea Appreciate the concern, and we're doing fine, everything we raise is just for ourselves so it's not a financial thing. These were some we were mostly letting run wild after a major jailbreak a few months ago, that have just been getting a little too aggressive for their own good.
@sgt1372 There's very little that's natural about the way meat bought in most stores is raised unfortunately, and no way to even know what country it's from for that matter thanks to deceptive labeling. (For instance "Product of USA" only means it was processed in the US, nothing more.)2 -
@sgt1372 There's very little that's natural about the way meat bought in most stores is raised unfortunately, and no way to even know what country it's from for that matter thanks to deceptive labeling. (For instance "Product of USA" only means it was processed in the US, nothing more.)
Sorry but I think that this response is pure nonsense.
So, what you you suggest people do in order to buy (other than becoming a vegan or vegetarian) to buy meat that you consider "natural" and aurhentic?
Just buy raise and buther your own or directly from local ranchers?
That' possible for some but not most people and, if you eat meat, like I do, you just have to use your eyes and other senses when buying meat and trust that your local store is buying from legitimate sources.
If you feel the need to do more than that, knock yourself out!
BTW, my family use to OWN a meat market.6 -
I get my meat (mostly) from local farms, and did the whole time I was losing, and I just used the USDA entry for chicken (and the rest). The difference, if any, is not enough to make any difference (I do think the chicken is a bit leaner, although that will only matter if you cook it skin on, as I do, and same with beef, while pork is typically less lean due to breed differences). For chicken in particular the difference seems likely to be tiny.
The only exception is if you buy chicken with some kind of caloric additions when buying in the store, and there I'd use the label entry anyway, not USDA chicken, and personally I've never done that anyway. (I buy from a neighborhood meat market or butcher counter at WF or the like if not from a farm, so it also doesn't come in any kind of saline solution, and I think that's pretty much the same thing as from a local farm -- I just like supporting my local farms.)3 -
@sgt1372 There's very little that's natural about the way meat bought in most stores is raised unfortunately, and no way to even know what country it's from for that matter thanks to deceptive labeling. (For instance "Product of USA" only means it was processed in the US, nothing more.)
Sorry but I think that this response is pure nonsense.
So, what you you suggest people do in order to buy (other than becoming a vegan or vegetarian) to buy meat that you consider "natural" and aurhentic?
Just buy raise and buther your own or directly from local ranchers?
That' possible for some but not most people and, if you eat meat, like I do, you just have to use your eyes and other senses when buying meat and trust that your local store is buying from legitimate sources.
If you feel the need to do more than that, knock yourself out!
BTW, my family use to OWN a meat market.just_Tomek wrote: »
@sgt1372 There's very little that's natural about the way meat bought in most stores is raised unfortunately, and no way to even know what country it's from for that matter thanks to deceptive labeling. (For instance "Product of USA" only means it was processed in the US, nothing more.)
That's such BS it's just plain wrong.
You guys don't know what the poster meant by "natural" - I assumed it included backyard/small farm vs CAFO raising (and if you are not aware of any differences may I suggest Power Steer and The Omnivore's Dilemma) - but if anyone wants to explore this further, let's do it in Debate, k?3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »@sgt1372 There's very little that's natural about the way meat bought in most stores is raised unfortunately, and no way to even know what country it's from for that matter thanks to deceptive labeling. (For instance "Product of USA" only means it was processed in the US, nothing more.)
Sorry but I think that this response is pure nonsense.
So, what you you suggest people do in order to buy (other than becoming a vegan or vegetarian) to buy meat that you consider "natural" and aurhentic?
Just buy raise and buther your own or directly from local ranchers?
That' possible for some but not most people and, if you eat meat, like I do, you just have to use your eyes and other senses when buying meat and trust that your local store is buying from legitimate sources.
If you feel the need to do more than that, knock yourself out!
BTW, my family use to OWN a meat market.just_Tomek wrote: »
@sgt1372 There's very little that's natural about the way meat bought in most stores is raised unfortunately, and no way to even know what country it's from for that matter thanks to deceptive labeling. (For instance "Product of USA" only means it was processed in the US, nothing more.)
That's such BS it's just plain wrong.
You guys don't know what the poster meant by "natural" - I assumed it included backyard/small farm vs CAFO raising (and if you are not aware of any differences may I suggest Power Steer and The Omnivore's Dilemma) - but if anyone wants to explore this further, let's do it in Debate, k?
That was the problem: the OP never defined what s/he meant by "natural," but IMO any chicken born from a egg is "natural."
So, if you want hand-raised, backyard, range-free, "organic" (whatever that means), hormone-free chicken and/or whatever other variation may exist, then say so but unless it's artificially inseminated and raised in a test tube it's all "natural" to me.
BTW, I've also SLAUGHTERED my own backyard chickens a few times and no one can tell me those chickens weren't "natural."
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Without running bioanalytics on your birds I would think the macros would be essentially the same pound-for-pound 🤷🏿♀️ Perhaps a smidgen leaner. Where you'd get the advantages would be in the micronutrients (again, an educated guess)
btw, when I Googled...
"wild chicken" nutrition
...the first result was an MFP food diary entry. So it's in there but it may not be specific to how your birds were raised. Ideally, close enough though.
Hope the cull is a positive thing for you? I know a lot of small farms and producers are suffering right now.
However, store-bought may have water added which adds weight but not calories. It wouldn't make a huge difference however as the leaner meat should cancel this out.1 -
Lillymoo01 wrote: »Without running bioanalytics on your birds I would think the macros would be essentially the same pound-for-pound 🤷🏿♀️ Perhaps a smidgen leaner. Where you'd get the advantages would be in the micronutrients (again, an educated guess)
btw, when I Googled...
"wild chicken" nutrition
...the first result was an MFP food diary entry. So it's in there but it may not be specific to how your birds were raised. Ideally, close enough though.
Hope the cull is a positive thing for you? I know a lot of small farms and producers are suffering right now.
However, store-bought may have water added which adds weight but not calories. It wouldn't make a huge difference however as the leaner meat should cancel this out.
Good point, and why if one buys packaged meat the number on the label is the best one to use. If one gets it from a butcher or farm, the USDA number is best.2 -
This is a twisted post of opinions and not scientific fact. I would like to friend the poster as I raise chickens and butchered recently. I can offer actual advice based on experience. I can't however get the invite friend tab to work on my tablet. If you'd like to talk chicken, food and fitness please friend me.2
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Along the line of the original question, I'm building a recipe and wondering at the differences between the first lamb entry and the New Zealand entry. I assume NZ lamb has less calories because the lambs are running around more? In which case, that's the one I'm using, as this lamb is from my uncle and they are definitely running around.
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kshama2001 wrote: »Along the line of the original question, I'm building a recipe and wondering at the differences between the first lamb entry and the New Zealand entry. I assume NZ lamb has less calories because the lambs are running around more? In which case, that's the one I'm using, as this lamb is from my uncle and they are definitely running around.
Hey @kshama2001 - I just bought lamb liver the other day and according to my local butcher - American Lamb *typicallyhas more fat content/marbling because they are typically grain finished compared to NZ lamb which is grass fed and grass finished which is leaner.
(*There is grass fed American lamb as well - but one really has to know the source of their meat to know how it was finished.. 🤷♀️)3
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