I Hate Chicken

I hate chicken.

That is exactly what our box delivery driver said to me this week.

His reason surprised me at first, but then it didn’t. He has been inside big chicken houses. The kind that hold tens of thousands of birds. He told me he has watched chickens eating their own poop.

Then, without missing a beat, he said, “I still eat KFC every now and then.”

That led to a friendly back-and-forth about chicken, how it is raised, and why we see it so differently.

Here’s the thing. Chickens do practice something called coprophagia. That just means they sometimes peck at manure. It is not because they are gross animals. It is because they are opportunistic foragers. In a natural setting, chickens scratch through soil looking for bugs, seeds, and undigested nutrients. When they are on pasture, manure breaks down into the ground, feeds insects, and becomes part of a healthy cycle.

But when chickens are confined by the thousands in enclosed houses, that natural behavior changes.

When birds are in those houses, standing/sitting on litter that never sees sunlight or fresh grass, there is nowhere else to forage. No bugs. No living soil. Just what is under their feet. Over and over again.

That is where his discomfort came from. And honestly, I get it.

This is where our conversation shifted.

Our chickens are raised outside on pasture. They are moved regularly onto fresh ground. They eat grass, bugs, and non-GMO, soy-free feed. Sunlight, airflow, space to move, and clean ground are not bonuses. They are the baseline.

Does that mean our chickens never peck at something questionable? They are still chickens. But the environment matters. A lot.

Big chicken relies on confinement, speed, and efficiency. We rely on time, space, and letting chickens be chickens.

As for KFC, we didn't reach an agreement on that. He still enjoys it now and then and we haven't been to a KFC in over ten years.

Food choices are personal. My job is not to shame anyone. It is to be transparent about how your food is raised and let you decide what aligns with your values.

If you have ever said “I hate chicken” or felt weird about how it is produced, I understand that more than you know.

That is why we do it differently.

Talk soon,
Marci
Rattlesnake Meat Company