Does he REALLY believe this???

[Judy]

Quote:
One of the down sides to a free press. I'll still take free, thanks.

 

[ChickenWisperer]

That is absolutely disgusting.....

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Quote:
I agree with Chick_a_dee.

I understood them to be talking about large layer operations, not backyard chickens. And if that is what was meant, then they are correct.
From what I have seen, "Cage-free" in large operations, means chickens packed into large chicken houses on the floor, with not much more room per chicken than battery cages.
So instead of bunking closely with 3 other hens, they have thousands of them trampling over each other trying to get out of each others way.
They stay in the same place until their laying days are over, the barns are not cleaned, they just walk through and pick up the dead hens every day (at least they are supposed to).
When the hens are spent...they are sold cheaply. The barns are opened and cleaned out with heavy machinery and are made ready for the next set of layers.

Jean

 

[English Chick]

As the 23,000 members of BYC decide to march against battery hen farming..... chanting...... Free range free range is da best.................

 

[debilorrah]

Hey it takes stupid people to makes this world go around.

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

Well because Im a nosey person, I decided to send an email and got a reply tonight...

What he replied is bolded.

Dear Jason,
I am a caretaker of allot of chickens at our farms and I received this email to try and help you to understand the life of chickens. I will address each statement so neither of us can get confused as to what is said.
"Chickens are both aggressive and cannibalistic animals that when allowed too much freedom will attack one another by pecking, which can cause them to bleed to death and to acquire infections through their open wounds."

That is a complete lie. Chickens are neither cannibalistic or aggressive animals. If they are allowed freedom they don't show any of the above statements. (those are all caused by overcrowding.) (cages.)

Chickens are omnivores which mean that they can and will eat anything they want to eat.
Cannibalism is a learned behavior and, once established, can spread throughout a flock. Because chickens are attracted to blood, outbreaks can be initiated by the injury of one bird and
subsequent pecking of the injury by a flock. Once they find the blood they don't stop till the weaker bird dies. Have you ever heard the phrase Pecking Order or Hen Pecked? The literal translation is listed in the start of this paragraph. There is always going to be the Leader(Aggressive) Hen and there will always be the Follower Hens.
"Scratch areas are needed for hens in mite infested environments like so many floor houses (cage free) because of the sawdust and litter used for bedding and to soak up their manure. "

Scratching and dust bathing are both instinctive, and is done in even the best environments. Another Lie.

Chickens groom and clean themselves in cage free and free range environments. Cage Free and Free Range are more susceptible to mites and lice, however dust bathing is not needed in caged environments because you don't have the dust on them that they are trying to knock off and they still groom themselves while inside a cage.

"Caged hens are offered protection by limiting the number of hens per cage compared to an angry mob in cage free houses trying to peck each other when laying an egg every 24-26 hours."

Yet another lie. Chickens when in the right environment DO NOT vent peck. That usually only happens when they are overcrowded.

Part of the Same answer as above but pertinent to this question as well.
Chickens are omnivores which mean that they can and will eat anything they want to eat.
Cannibalism is a learned behavior and, once established, can spread throughout a flock. Because chickens are attracted to blood, outbreaks can be initiated by the injury of one bird and
subsequent pecking of the injury by a flock. Once they find the blood they don't stop till the weaker bird dies. I mentioned that Pecking Order Phrase above and it is same here.

"Cages prevent hens from overcrowding as they tend to do in cage free houses because they are easily scared by noises such as wind or thunder which can cause them to pile and suffocate one another."

When in the right environment chickens will not crowd.

I guess if there were never any thunder, lightning, loud noises or predators you might have the right environment but I believe all the above mentioned are around us today. I am not sure if you have any animals but if you do, do they not get scared when things are different around their environment? I know even my dogs and cat hide when thunder is in the sky. If you have chickens and they hear thunder they will pile. It's what they do to try and get away from the thunder or the predator.


Mortality and production are two of the leading indicators of healthy birds. In any free range or cage free system the mortality percentage is always going to be higher. Production is better in cages because the chickens get more consistent feed, water, and air because they have better access to these things and none of them are fighting to eat or drink.
Also there are six billion people in the world today and they say by year 2050 the population will grow to nine billion. We are feeding a hungry world and will continue to do so with the most up to date technology when available. We are constantly looking at ways of improving the health of our chickens but going away from cages is not the answer when you consider that mortality is half or one third of other systems.

If you have any other questions please email me so I can help to address your questions. I will be happy to converse with you on this issue at any time.

Thank you for your time,

KY Hendrix
VP Production
Rose Acre Farms

Best For The Hen And Best For You!

Thank you,
Jason​

 

[Paganbird]

"Thank you for your time,

KY Hendrix
VP Production
Rose Acre Farms

Best For The Hen And Best For You!

Thanks you,
Jason"

When he wrote, "Best for the hen and best for you!" was he trying to indicate that you, personally, would be better off in a cage?

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

Quote:
I never thought of that!!

 

[Fruit Juice]

that just makes me mad! "chickens with to much space kill eachother" Stupid! It's the other way around!

 

[Sharons7]

I'm a hairdresser. I had a client in my chair one day that ran a factory chicken house. I didn't have chickens at the time and was asking him questions. He told me how strange it was that chickens that run free never get sick like they do when they are raised for food only in big chicken houses, thus the need for all the hormones and antibiotics.. I wanted to slap him but kept myself restrained. It was like he didn't get what he just said. I should add here that we were discussing the health and difference in his form of chicken raising and the natural ways of letting the chickens be chickens... grrrr. Happy chickens is a healthier chicken (or any living thing).
Be allowed to be what you are. chicken or cow or person.