"free range"--let's get rid of this nonsense term

[3KillerBs]

OT, but after reading all this I watched Super Size Me 2. I don’t have chickens, I keep quail, so maybe this is a dumb question, how did Murray Mcmurray hatchery gender those day old, seemingly identical all white (yellow) chicks by sight?

They are vent-sexed by experts who can see the small differences between male and female hatchlings.

IIRC, vent sexing can only be done on VERY young chicks.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

They are vent-sexed by experts who can see the small differences between male and female hatchlings.

IIRC, vent sexing can only be done on VERY young chicks.

Yep, it can't even be done when they arrive on your porch at day 3. They're too old then and it can damage them too badly

 

[FloorCandy]

What breed were they? There's one sex link where girls are yellow and males are whitish or yellow with a head spot I think

They were white broilers. The big ones who get so fat they can barely stand.

The movie was pretty brutal to “big chicken” and other than slow motion videos of the sorters tossing chicks into the boxes, there was nothing negative he could really say about Murray mcmurray, which isn’t part of the big chicken consortium. Seeing their facility made me feel more comfortable about their health and sanitation practices. When the grower who is contracted to big chicken saw Morgan’s chicks growing, he seemed really impressed by them vs the ones he receives from the company he’s contracted to. Big chicken seemed so worried about him snooping around, but if they were on the up and up and embraced him, it could have been good publicity. The big chicken group wouldn’t let him in their office building, forget about filming any of their birds at the independent farms. Murray Mcmurray let him come in and help package his chicks, film them hatching etc.

 

[Carson213]

my favorite part about this topic is that it's absolutely irrelevant...and at the same time polarizing.

ironically...nobody with a 10 acre run would ever use the term "free range."

"free range" is marketing and means nothing except to consumers in the grocery store or possibly people with 3 chickens that live in city limits.

 

[SpotTheCat]

my favorite part about this topic is that it's absolutely irrelevant...and at the same time polarizing.

ironically...nobody with a 10 acre run would ever use the term "free range."

"free range" is marketing and means nothing except to consumers in the grocery store or possibly people with 3 chickens that live in city limits.

I am pretty sure some people with 10 acres call it free range, I would

 

[Carson213]

I am pretty sure some people with 10 acres call it free range, I would

i've never met anyone with that amount of space that says "free range."...but that's because they are actually chicken farmers with 1000's of chickens.

 

[SpotTheCat]

i've never met anyone with that amount of space that says "free range."...but that's because they are actually chicken farmers with 1000's of chickens.

Just because you have not met one does not mean they don’t. I think I heard somebody on this forum say they do, not sure though

 

[Carson213]

if you meet somebody who says " i have free range chickens" ...what that means is that "i have 10 or leas chickens."

Just because you have not met one does not mean they don’t. I think I heard somebody on this forum say they do, not sure though

it was kind of a joke. nobody who farms chickens wouldn't have a fence. you have to protect your investment and you'd never use the term "free range."

 

[SpotTheCat]

if you meet somebody who says " i have free range chickens" ...what that means is that "i have 10 or leas chickens."

it was kind of a joke. nobody who farms chickens wouldn't have a fence. you have to protect your investment and you'd never use the term "free range."

I am not talking about commercial farms and I would still call it free range if you have a fence, depending on the fence

 

[Carson213]

if you meet somebody who says " i have free range chickens" ...what that means is that "i have 10 or leas chickens."

it was kind of a joke. nobody who farms chickens wouldn't have a fence. you have to protect your investment and you'd never use the term "free range."

I am not talking about commercial farms and I would still call it free range if you have a fence, depending on the fence

but realize who is pushing this term...it's the walmart's of the world