Can Keeping Backyard Chickens Kill you??

[ChickenCurt]

I have been through Tyson Barns which is why I post against that kind of animal husbandry.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

I would like to ask a question......... and please be honest.

How many of you (that are stating all of these facts about how filthy commercial chickens are) have ever even been inside of a commercial breeder/layer house?

I have never been in one. I have no idea what they look like, I only know what I see on TV and on the news when one of them is investigated.
No, personal experience on my part.

 

[NinjaRooster]

I would like to ask a question......... and please be honest.

How many of you (that are stating all of these facts about how filthy commercial chickens are) have ever even been inside of a commercial breeder/layer house?

That's a good question. I have never been inside of an OPERATIONAL tysons house. However, when the winds are just right, (where I live, you cannot escape those houses, there everywhere!) the smell is unparalleled. Now I have seen plenty of videos/documentaries about them.

 

[enola]

I don't want to start a problem here.........

Why would anyone believe EVERY documentary they see on TV? Don't you realize they are biased? If the documentary is made to show the bad side of something, do you think they will find ANYTHING positive to show?

Do you believe EVERY thing you read on the internet? I sure hope you don't. Heck, there is a certain amount of false information right here on this site.

I have worked in commercial breeder houses. I agree whole heartedly the chickens are crowded. I would never keep my chickens crowded like that either. But the chickens are NOT wading in manure like some descriptions I have seen. 2/3 of the floor space is raised slatted flooring that the manure falls through. The manure in these 'pits' is what the community smells. The other 1/3 of the floor is DEEP pine chips. New chips are added as needed.

Chickens suffering in any manner are culled immediately and incinerated or composted daily. The breeding chickens are not on constant medications, like our chickens they are only medicated when need be.

Breeder houses are not heated or air conditioned, the heat and humidity are controlled by raising and lowering the curtains that run full-length of the house. Misters are installed to help with the high temperatures in summer.

The hens and roosters eat seperate/different diets. They are fed two times a day. They are weighed regularly, if they are gaining too much weight, the amount of feed is adjusted to compensate. The hens and roosters appear to be clean. It is very interesting to see several thousand chickens taking a dust bath with the afternoon sun streaming through the open curtains shining right on them.

The hens are very tame. Some times to get them to move so you can walk through the flock you have to move them aside with your foot. Not because they are that crowded but because they all want to walk with you.

I am not trying to paint a rosey picture of the broiler industry. I am just trying to let the public know that the business is not quite the night mare, cruelty filled, abomination that it is painted. Please keep in mind that I am reporting my observations not trying to get this thread closed down. Please do not attack me, either these are not opinions..........

 

[earlybird10842]

Quote: I have been inside a free-range organic egg farm,and the conditions I found quite good. Healthy hens, clean barns and pens.

 

[bobbi-j]

Here's the deal: A person can go online or watch documentaries or do whatever other "research" they may do to find information to support their view on any matter. You want "proof" that raising backyard chickens can kill you? You'll find it. You want "proof" that all commercial chicken houses are filthy, over-crowded, disease-ridden places? You'll find it. You'll also find "proof" that backyard chickens are a good, healthy hobby with benefits, and that there are commercial houses that are clean with well-fed healthy birds, as Enola attested to. I'm going to presume that *most* - not all, but most - commercial houses are well-managed, and for one simple reason. Money. They raise these chickens to make money. They are not going to throw away money by having sick, injured, unhealthy birds that they can't sell. (I'm assuming, of course, that FDA or someone is keeping an eye on these things.) Of course there are places that don't understand the correlation between raising healthy chickens and making money. But for the most part, I think the big operations know that every dead chicken is money lost, and try to do what they can to prevent it. I won't go into whether or not these birds are constantly being fed antibiotics or not, because frankly - I don't know. I haven't decided what I want to believe, so I haven't done any research to prove my point.

 

[NinjaRooster]

I agree, everything is biased in someway or another. But it still ain't pretty!

 

[enola]

Here is another fact I forgot to mention.......

In the big broiler business (Tyson, Perdue, George's) the farmer owns the buildings (the chicken houses). The chicken company owns the chickens. The breeder houses, the farmer gets paid per dozen of eggs produced. The broiler houses, the farmer gets paid per pound of bird produced.

So, in order to make the payments on the building and support himself he HAS to take good care of the chickens.

And then there is the fact that if the company doesn't like the way the birds were taken care of they won't offer you another contract.

 

[NinjaRooster]

Here is another fact I forgot to mention.......

In the big broiler business (Tyson, Perdue, George's) the farmer owns the buildings (the chicken houses). The chicken company owns the chickens. The breeder houses, the farmer gets paid per dozen of eggs produced. The broiler houses, the farmer gets paid per pound of bird produced.

So, in order to make the payments on the building and support himself he HAS to take good care of the chickens.

And then there is the fact that if the company doesn't like the way the birds were taken care of they won't offer you another contract.

To the last paragraph:
But companies have also phased out the older style coops with windows. Now they are all walled and the birds don't get to see the sun.

Anyway, backyard coops are still better in my opinion.

 

[myfinefeatheredfriends]

People have raised chickens for years without ill effects. As long as your girls are healthy and you practice good sanitation methods (aka clean out the old poo regularly) there is nothing to worry about. So many people are misinformed about chickens. Just think... you eat chicken from the store raised in stressful conditions and the most hostile environment ever and are ok. How could having them happy in your backyard hurt you?