Commercial Hens Will No Longer Be Starved But They Will Still Suffer

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Quote:
Can i come to your house unannounced and snoop around your chicken setup? I didn't think so.....................................

If this thread follows true to form the posts will continue to pain broad, inaccurate brush strokes about commercial chicken and egg production. As some point there will be a post of a You Tube video with a "revelation" of conditions in a commercial production facility then we will jump to the DeCoster fiasco as an example of the evils of commercial egg production.

Moderators, why don't you just shut this down now?

Jim

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Maybe this piece is loaded with fluff to "tug on heartstrings" or whatever, but the truth is in there too, just as much as the fluff. Everybody on BYC knows what is done to chickens on a percentage of commercial farms. Everybody on BYC knows it is best to raise your own birds for meat and eggs. Just the quality of the meat/eggs alone is tremendously different from commercial meat/eggs. We all know why that is. This is what got most of us into keeping chickens in the first place.

There are articles who demonize commercial farms just as there are articles who demonize back yard poultry. People will publish anything they think anyone wants to read, and the more sensationalized the better.

Glean from this article what you will. I have, and I love my backyard babies all the more for having read it. No, I do not swallow this hook, line, and sinker. There is likely some truth to be found among the fluff, and some fluff to be found among the truth.

Thanks OP for posting this!

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

I believe forced molts are sometimes used by show people to ensure that their birds are in full feather for an important show. Done properly, it does not overly stress the birds or these people would not do it to their top stock.

I have had friends who make their lively hood in commercial broiler and egg operations.

I have found them to be good, well meaning people who try to do their best by the birds. Please note that the profit margin for these farm families is so low that many have their children on subsidized meals at school.

The situation is a product of the overall system. People want their food to be really cheap so they can buy other things. The government knows that "bread and circuses" keep the population orderly, so they support this system. If our farmers do not find the cheapest way to raise food, we import it from China just like we do everything else.

Americans in general are bottom feeders, wanting the cheapest prices on everything, and our diet and other aspects of our life show it. I know BYCers are often trying for something better and I applaud that.

I try not to support factory farming, but I do not like to see the farmers who are driven to it villified. It is a system wide issue. Educating consumers about the true cost of producing healthy food is better than slaming the farm families, who are just trying to send their kids to college like the rest of us.

Now I am sure to be vilified myself here, but I wanted to point out that agriculture is against a wall, and only the CONSUMER can realease them by being willing to pay more for sustainably produced food.

 

[BitsyB]

(I said)Oh wait , they won't let anyone see inside those chicken houses...

Can i come to your house unannounced and snoop around your chicken setup? I didn't think so.....................................

If this thread follows true to form the posts will continue to pain broad, inaccurate brush strokes about commercial chicken and egg production. As some point there will be a post of a You Tube video with a "revelation" of conditions in a commercial production facility then we will jump to the DeCoster fiasco as an example of the evils of commercial egg production.

Moderators, why don't you just shut this down now?

Jim

I am glad to show any one who's interested in my chickens how healthy they are and what a natural life they get to have.

But what puzzles me the most, is why, on a website titled Backyard Chickens, some would defend commercial chicken/egg production. And why so anxious to have the moderators shut it down?

And thank you, Cindiloowho (sorry if I spelled your name wrong) for a very rational contribution to the discussion.​

 

[mulewagon]

In this age of webcams, nobody needs to invade a chickenhouse to see how their own food is raised. I just googled a gazillion chicken cams. They're all by backyard chicken-growers, except one that Israeli animal-rights activists claim to have smuggled into a commercial coop: http://www.anonymous.org.il/art731.html

Perhaps the large growers just don't know about this easy way to allay the public's misconceptions?

 

[mulewagon]

Quote:
Yes, our region is dotted with empty chickenhouses. Lots of folks have lost lots of money, trying to keep up with Tyson's demands for "improvements" (I don't know if the improvements would have bettered the chickens' quality of life).

Don't know if I can agree about the show people - I know that horse show world is continually rife with scandal about folks misusing or abusing their stock - even staging "accidental" barn fires for the insurance money!

Yes, absolutely the consumer could change the conditions in which food is produced. But they definitely won't unless they know what the conditions actually are.

 

[DuckLady]

As always, this type of post causes problems so we do not allow it here.

Thank you.

Please see rule #2