Got Very Sick Off Eating Raw Chicken

[Zack]

Hello, I am new to eating raw meats. I need to know if there are certain repercussions you should take when you first start eating raw meats; and if there are any 'rules' to eating raw meat/fish. All the meat I buy is local and grass-fed. I started eating raw beef liver and ground beef with no problems and I like how light it feels going through the digestive system. So I progressed to trying chicken hearts which didn't go too well. The next day after eating the raw chicken hearts I had a fever, migraine, coughed up blood and mucous. I had thought I just caught a flu or something so I had more chicken hearts after I was just getting over this and I instantly knew this was the initial perpetrator. Got same symptoms again but worse and was bedridden for about a day and a half. It was an absolutely miserable experience.

So does anyone know why this happened? And is there anything I should know before I proceed further into this diet?

[cherimoya_kid]

I've eaten raw chicken livers a number of times, but I don't recommend eating raw chicken generally, unless you can personally verify the chickens' diet.  Nearly all chicken that you can buy at a store is fed an unacceptable diet, and is quite often contaminated with some nasty bacteria.

[Zack]

The chicken hearts were purchased from a small, local farm. I've met the husband and wife who own the farm as well. I wouldn't question that they aren't grass fed organic as per the label. Maybe they weren't handled properly?

[cherimoya_kid]

If those chicken are getting mostly grain, or ALL grain, they're not worth eating.  And there's no such thing as grassfed chickens.  They're actually bug eaters, mainly, although they will enthusiastically eat anything from grated coconut to minced beef.

A little bit of grain isn't going to ruin the meat, but the vast majority of even truly free-range chickens get far too much grain. I've seen it for myself, on the farms.

[Dr. D]

Yes, ever notice how marketing claims by farms suggest that their "organic vegetarian-fed free-range" chickens are the epitome of health? Well, that's like claiming a vegan eating grains as 80% of their diet is the epitome of a healthy human, we know that just can't be so. Eggs tend to be a little more resilient but the actual chicken itself I think may not be that great. I have a turkey waiting in my freezer that was supposedly only on my suppliers pasture for 50% of the year, the rest of the time the turkeys were wild. I haven't tasted it yet but IMO I can't imagine it to be that bad.

After all, wouldn't grass-fed beef be about the same (or less including organs and fat as farmers usually give that away) as those chickens? Plus, beef has a lot more nutrition than chicken, the red-meat is very energizing!

[PaleoPhil]

Coughing up blood is a serious symptom which I've never seen any rawist report. If it were me, I would see a physician.

I've eaten plenty of raw chicken hearts without any problems.