Home-grown cornishX tastes better, but WHY?

[twentynine]

I think it is all those things mentioned--- plus the idea of raising your own.

 

[theOEGBman]

Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay :

Quote:
Lets not get carried away with the unproven sensationalism.

Oh never mind..................................

MMMhmmm,

Large producers actually put a lot of work into getting the perfect ration to produce large, healthy birds. I'm not going to go on about it, but I'm a Poultry Science major and have been in the facilities and have learned quite a bit about them. It's not the Hell everyone assumes.​

 

[smith2]

Thank you. I live down the road from some Menonites that raise commercial poultry and they are very caring and compassionate people. The houses are reasonably clean, and the birds are well cared for. Yes, they have thousands in a house at a time and yes, it does create its own set of production issues, but I would not consider their houses the "disaster" some people would have you believe they are. While I personally would not be happy caring for animals in that type of environment, I was impressed by their attention to their animals and the attitude with which they make their living. The animals are able to move around and don't seem to be stressed out in any way. Their houses are cleaned several times a cycle and yes, they do have to control for parasites and pests, but they have monitoring in place and don't treat unnessarily. I guess it all comes down to the caretakers attitudes and attention to animal husbandry. I also think the more of us that monitor these things is general the more attention producers pay to their "consumer image." That factor alone may make conditions for some animals better.


Quote:
Lets not get carried away with the unproven sensationalism.

Oh never mind..................................

MMMhmmm,

Large producers actually put a lot of work into getting the perfect ration to produce large, healthy birds. I'm not going to go on about it, but I'm a Poultry Science major and have been in the facilities and have learned quite a bit about them. It's not the Hell everyone assumes.

 

[theOEGBman]

Very well put. Producers must take good care of their birds. Sick birds don't sell, and if they don't sell, you lose your business.

 

[Buster52]

I believe the farmers contracted by the big meat bird corporations are probably like most folks. Some are good at what they do, and some are not. Some care about the birds and their welfare, some don't. It isn't them I blame. They get roped into these contracts with these companies and are for the most part employees of that company, and must raise the birds the way the company says or they lose their contract. They supply all of the capital for the project in the form of buildings and feed, labor and land, taking all of the risks. The company supplies the birds and tells them how to do their job.

It isn't the producers themselves that are to blame for the inhumane and unhealthy treatment of the birds under their care. It is the system they are forced to work under, and the corporations that make them do it.

 

[theOEGBman]

I don't know about other states, but here in CA, our big producer is Foster Farms. The company owns everything. Their hatchery, their farms, their processing plant, everything they need. So for that company, everything is ran under one group. I've toured a Foster Farms broiler farm. The birds were extremely well cared for and the systems they have set up to ensure the birds safety and health were absolutely amazing.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Quote:
Typically the farmer builds the building an is paid a per head or per turn fee for the building. For this fee the farmer is reaponsible for the care of the livestock. The Company provides the animals, feed, medicine, trucking, and all other production expenses. In actuality the company is taking all of the risk, the risk of the farmer is that the company will not honor the contract.

Jim

 

[FortWorthChicks]

Quote:
WOW, I somehow kept everything you wrote there way in the back of my head but now its there. Clear as day. I am allowed to have 12 chickens here in Fort Worth Central and since my laying flock is only 5 this has sealed the deal. I will be raising some "meaties" ASAP on a small scale basis!!

Shocking even though I already knew it... somehow I ignored it.

Thanks !

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
You don't reckon since you were an animal science major the university was taking you to (and Fosters Farms inviting you to) their showcase farms, do you?

I'm sure different companies have various scenarios and relationships with the growers, but the situation I described does in fact exist because I heard it from the producers mouths. As to how well the birds are cared for in factory farms and how humane it is to treat any animal like a cog in a machine...

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
WOW, I somehow kept everything you wrote there way in the back of my head but now its there. Clear as day. I am allowed to have 12 chickens here in Fort Worth Central and since my laying flock is only 5 this has sealed the deal. I will be raising some "meaties" ASAP on a small scale basis!!

I agree. It's a big reason why some of us started raising birds in the first place.