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Last Updated on December 6, 2020
When it comes to the Paleo diet meat is where the money goes. In this post I’m going to focus mainly on poultry and ways to save on it. The last time I priced pastured Chickens they were $6.99/lb. Yeah. I have never spent this much money on a bird, even back in the day when Mr. Bejelly and I were DINKS (Double income no kids).
One of the main concerns about conventionally raised chickens is that they have high level of arsenic – it’s in their food ya’ll. Also, I know you’ve seen the videos where they cram hundreds of chicken in a tiny space. I’ve raised chickens and they are messy beasts. Cute. but messy. When you pack animals in a tight space like that you have to give them antibiotics (which you get to eat) and they’re mucking about in a lot of bacteria.
(Judge Judy – one of the chickens that we raised)
Ok, so how to save on the bird. First there are some brands that tested so low on arsenic it’s barely traceable –
- Gerber’s Poultry
- Raised Right
- Smart Chicken
- Rosie and Rocky Jr by Petaluma Poultry
Petaluma Poutry is a brand that you can buy from Azure Standard at a fraction of the price of retail stores.
Also, look for brands that are labeled “Antibiotic-free” as they are often arsenic free.
1) Check with local poultry farmers and grill them on how they raise their chickens. I’m lucky to live in Oregon and I have two local poultry brands – Foster Farms and Draper Valley I can buy. Draper Valley Chickens are always going on sale for 80 cents a pound so I tend to stock up like crazy when they go on sale. Watch the ads for sales on the brands you have found and also talk to the butcher in your grocery store and ask them when they typically mark down the meat.
2) Check with your local farm store and craigslist. A lot of meat growers will have fliers or have meat for sale at them. I found an amazing cattle grower 30 minutes from my house and was able to get grass-fed steaks, roasts, ribs for $5/lb. Ground beef was $2.50/lb. Also, be prepared to haggle. Yes, break out your haggle skills and buy in bulk to get a better discount.
3) Raise them yourself or convince a friend with land to raise them with you. I don’t know if it will work out for us in our next home but I would love enough land to raise chickens for meat.
Great tips!
I wish my local grocery carried those brands.
great tips. thanks for sharing as I want to start paleo.
These are great tips. I’m going to look for poultry farms in my area.
I don’t know if there are any poultry farms in my area, but what great tips, Kelly!
perdue claims their chickens are organically feed thats not true? also u said chck cragis lits for chciken meat that totally surprised me
A lot of local farmers here put ads on craigslist 🙂 If the chicken is labeled organic than they are feed organic food. However, organic chicken feed can still have arsenic in it. Crazy huh. If you check out the link to Foster Farms you’ll see how specific they are about the food that they feed the chickens.
These are great tips. I really want to raise my own chickens this year for the eggs.
Great tips! I have a whole chicken in the freezer right now.
I don’t do Paleo but I try to eat healthy, and it is IMPOSSIBLE to find chicken in Miami that was fed organic feed. Seriously. Not even the organic buying club has them. I have just about given up.
I wish we could raise our own for meat too. Maybe when the kids are older. Our three layers stopped laying! Grrr…
It’s winter. Ours stopped from October to February. If you want them to keep laying eggs you have to give them enough light.
I don’t eat a whole lot of meat, but buying good chicken doesn’t just save you from burdensome chemicals, it taste a heck of a lot better and has better texture too.
Amen to that. The taste is WORTH the price.
Surely wish we could raise chickens. We raised them when I was a child, and it was so much fun!
Love these helpful tips and I’m laughing at loud at your chicken’s name!
Thanks for the tips! My uncle is a poultry farmer.. just wish he didn’t live a 2 hour plane ride away
Great tips. Seems like tons of people are on a Paleo diet nowadays.
I have never heard of these brands, but I will definitely be looking for them.
Great tips. I really wish I could find chicken that is organic fed. I think Florida is slow to realize what people need/want
I love raising my own chickens.
It scares me about the levels of arsenic in some of our food.
I thought Foster Farms was one of the bad ones… Funny how sometimes you hear the wrong thing. Good to know! Thanks!
Thanks for the great tips!
Great tips!
Thanks for sharing all this. I try to stay with companies I know are hormone free and additive free.
Thanks for the great tips.
Thanks for the tips! I don’t have a Paleo diet but chicken & turkey are the only meats that I eat so I definitely buy a lot of chicken!
Thanks for these great tips!