Canadians complain about shortage of ethnic chickens

[Anna N]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadians-crying-fowl-over-lack-of-chickens-for-ethnic-market-1.2930621

Silkies, Hong Kong chickens and kosher chickens are in short supply in Canada according to this CBC piece. Halal chickens are plentiful.

I have noticed the ready availability of halal chickens in most supermarkets but rarely see a kosher chicken there and certainly Silkies and Hong Kong chickens seem to be only available in Asian markets.

I would put money on only about 10% of Canadians knowing that there is anything other than supermarket chickens.

[Tri2Cook]

I would put money on only about 10% of Canadians knowing that there is anything other than supermarket chickens.

I know of the existence of the chickens of which you speak, they just don't exist anywhere near where I live. There's only one kind of chicken in the grocery store where I live. They're just marked "chicken" with no other special designation. There are no specialty or ethnic markets in the area. Mini chickens (cornish hens) and water chickens (duck) make an occasional appearance... but they're not always there.

 

[Anna N]

In the Asian stores that I frequent the Hong Kong chickens are packaged in such a way that their heads and feet are not visible. Given that many people are extremely squeamish about such things I often giggle to myself wondering about the screams when an unsuspecting shopper gets one of these home and opens the package. A Silkie is obviously different but not so the Hong Kongs.

[Naftal]

In the Asian stores that I frequent the Hong Kong chickens are packaged in such a way that their heads and feet are not visible. Given that many people are extremely squeamish about such things I often giggle to myself wondering about the screams when an unsuspecting shopper gets one of these home and opens the package. A Silkie is obviously different but not so the Hong Kongs.

[dcarch]

What exactly is a Silkie?

[ElsieD]

My SIL actually has live silkies on their hobby farm so I am familiar with them. Kosher chickens are readily available here as are halal. T & T carry chicken with head and feet attached.

Edited January 24, 2015 by ElsieD (log)

[Naftal]

Black skin, black meat chicken.

 

With feather, live one are very decorative.

 

Supposedly has medicinal properties.

 

 

dcarch

Thanks!

[liuzhou]

 

What exactly is a Silkie?

Edited January 26, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Hey Anna N,

 

Thank you for your intriguing post.

 

I can find more info on Google on halal, kosher and silkie chickens, and I'd heard of all of them before.

 

I'd seen the silkie carcasses in liuzhou's posts before with their startling, to this Westerner, blackness. They are absolutely delightful looking with their furry feathers, and are said to make great pets. I'd love to have one, but as a kid who had a more mainstream pet chicken who lost an eye when a cat climbed the redwood fence in our backyard with my pet in his jaws, and my mother grabbed the chicken away from the cat at the last moment, it's just not in the cards for me.

 

The one I can't find is Hong Kong chicken as a breed/species, even after searching for chicken breeds and looking for them specifically. Only Hong Kong style recipes come up when searching for "hong kong chicken".

 

Are they indeed a separate strain? Maybe they are chickens processed in a manner specific to Hong Kong? Or maybe it's a Canadian term for asian market chicken with head and feet attached?

 

Please do tell.

[ChrisTaylor]

From what I understand, a Hong Kong chook is a 'normal' chicken that includes some of the bits that are normally removed. Namely the head and the feet.

[Anna N]

From what I understand, a Hong Kong chook is a 'normal' chicken that includes some of the bits that are normally removed. Namely the head and the feet.

You are correct, Chris and it is actually explained in the link.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Thank you Chris and Anna for correcting my ignorance.

 

The local Korean/pan-Asian market S-mart Offers beef and pork in refrigerated meat cases. They also offer live fish swimming in aerated tanks, and some fish buried in ice.

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/s-mart-cary-2

 

I've often wondered about the fact that there is NO poultry on offer here in the grocery.

 

I know the easiest, most logical route would be to ask employees, but most don't speak English, and/or aren't very friendly.

 

So my question is: do you think they keep the chickens out back to kill on order (which I think is very unlikely, as it's illegal in my jurisdiction) or do they just not sell poultry because if it's not a fresh kill it's undesirable?

 

I know they offer poultry (chicken and duck) on the menu of their onsite cafe.

 

I know I should just woman up and ask, but I was wondering if anyone else had encountered this at a Korean/pan-Asian market in the US.

Edited January 26, 2015 by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

[huiray]

BTW one can also find what I suppose are "Hong Kong Chickens" as Anna N calls them, but of a variety that are distinctly yellow-skinned.  Other than the "Ayam Kampung" dominant in Malaysia for Hainanese Chicken Rice, these are the types preferred for making HCR here in North America.  Yes, they will have head and feet attached.  They are not cheap, comparatively speaking, but still cheaper than those oh-so-special chickens sold by (Western) vendors at Farmers' Markets.  At my local Chinese grocery they would be around $14-15 for a 4-ish pound chicken; not chickenfeed by the relative costs of stuff otherwise sold at great prices in such places.

[patrickamory]

Note the immature eggs in the silkie that liuzhou posted. I came across some of those in an old stewing fowl that I bought from a Chinese market in Flushing - really had me guessing until I figure it out!

[liuzhou]

Note the immature eggs in the silkie that liuzhou posted. I came across some of those in an old stewing fowl that I bought from a Chinese market in Flushing - really had me guessing until I figure it out!

 

Yes, it is very common in China to see chickens with immature eggs.  In fact, in my local market, the chicken sellers proudly display halved chickens complete with eggs. They are considered superior to the egg-less.

Edited May 31, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[demiglace]

The closest place to buy Kosher chicken for me is about 1 hour away..if they have it in. There are a few butchers that carry specialty birds but at an extreme cost. I try to buy chickens that had a good life but it's not always easy.

[liuzhou]

Here is some chicken showing more clearly the immature eggs as mentioned above.

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

liuzhou,

 

Thanks for your post about what I thought was a figment of someone's imagination.

 

I conjecture I have never seen this phenomenon, despite having butchered many chickens, because we never slaughtered young layers. It makes perfect sense that something as large as a chicken egg doesn't materialize out of thin air.

 

If one were to slaughter young hens, I would bet they would be absolutely prime eating quality.

 

Looks a little like roe sacs in fish.