McDonald's finally did something right

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Actually they do use some cage free. Many of the largest fast food restaurants in the U.S. started using a percentage of cage free eggs in the past few years. McDonald's has been a holdout with their board actually advising stockholders to vote against a measure to start using some cage free eggs last year, which they did. McDonald's did finally concede though and said in May that were going to start using 1 million cage free eggs a month, a rather small amount given their sales...

 

[deerman]

Quote:
I don't understand your comment. Cage free and organic eggs are available in most stores.

No, i mean Cage free well never be in macdonalds...

And you do know that just because they are cage free does not mean they live in any better conndtions, in fact some of the avery designs that stores get there cage free eggs from are worse conditons then caged birds.

Actualy, i am in support of caged eggs most days.... Does not mean mine are caged. i just support it for everyday peoples, because they tend to be safer.

Yes cage free ,where the chicken are throw in a barn, with no room is worst. the cage chicken would be ok . if about half the number of the hens they have in there.

like the meat birds those are cage free......thats the way the laying hens would be house in cage free. one on top of each other.

 

[chickened]

If we truly care for the health of the chicken then the cage is proven to be more disease resistant than the ground. Unfortunately what we really want is what is emotionally pleasing to the eyegate and what we arrogantly assume the chicken is feeling.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
I've participated in discussion groups with owners and representatives from several large egg production companies. That argument is often given by those that still use cages or use aviary systems and screened porches to provide token outdoor access for organic production. They feel that keeping the birds off the soil, away from predators, segregated from any manure, in a climate controlled facility is in the best interest of the birds.

Obviously there is more to it than that though... Animals need to be able to express their natural behaviors. For chickens, that consists of scratching, running, jumping, and socializing with the rest of the flock as they see fit. The animal that doesn't have the opportunity for natural behaviors doesn't necessarily adjust to conditions that suppress these behaviors, but reacts with stress and anxiety. While a cage may protect the chicken from disease, chickens that aren't allowed natural movements such as running and jumping also have problems with muscular and skeletal development.

While you may think that this is all emotionally pleasing "fluff", I have attended lectures and personally spoken with some of the top geneticists in the poultry industry. These folks are running the industry breeding programs and are not only breeding for efficiency in production, but are also breeding for behavioral aspects. They understand the behavioral aspects of chickens in production settings better than anybody and will tell you much of the same.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
I've participated in discussion groups with owners and representatives from several large egg production companies. That argument is often given by those that still use cages or use aviary systems and screened porches to provide token outdoor access for organic production. They feel that keeping the birds off the soil, away from predators, segregated from any manure, in a climate controlled facility is in the best interest of the birds.

Obviously there is more to it than that though... Animals need to be able to express their natural behaviors. For chickens, that consists of scratching, running, jumping, and socializing with the rest of the flock as they see fit. The animal that doesn't have the opportunity for natural behaviors doesn't necessarily adjust to conditions that suppress these behaviors, but reacts with stress and anxiety. While a cage may protect the chicken from disease, chickens that aren't allowed natural movements such as running and jumping also have problems with muscular and skeletal development.

While you may think that this is all emotionally pleasing "fluff", I have attended lectures and personally spoken with some of the top geneticists in the poultry industry. These folks are running the industry breeding programs and are not only breeding for efficiency in production, but are also breeding for behavioral aspects. They understand the behavioral aspects of chickens in production settings better than anybody and will tell you much of the same.

True the best for the birds, by far is the way backyard chicken are raised.


my point was better in the laying cages rather than packed wall to wall in barns. mast production of eggs even if cage free will alway be cruel, more so if caged free packed in barns.

 

[debilorrah]

While all this is not exactly what I had in mind when I posted, I am glad to see it is staying civil.

 

[OSUman]

heres an example of cage free systems
http://www.choretimeegg.com/uploads/videos/Chore_Time_Aviary1005_25[1].wmv
http://www.choretimeegg.com/uploads/videos/Chore_Time_Aviary1005_24.wmv

 

[deerman]

Quote:
the first i couldn't get to work......the 2nd one is of a breeding set-up....not one for egg production...note all the roosters.

 

[OSUman]

Quote:
the first i couldn't get to work......the 2nd one is of a breeding set-up....not one for egg production...note all the roosters.

I got it from this site http://www.choretimeegg.com/products.php?product_id=366

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
I wouldn't go that far either... When you say "the birds" which birds are you talking about? Don't confuse backyard pets with a food production system that feeds hundreds of millions of people. There are varying degrees of what is considered humane that can be applied. At one extreme you find folks that believe that any use of animals for our own purposes is inhumane. At the other extreme you find those that lack any sort of empathy and abuse animals. Somewhere in between I think we can apply backyard pets and mass production models, although not necessarily to the same degree for each.

There is a lot more to a safe, ethical food production system than just letting chickens run around outside. Most backyard setups are lacking on immunization, biosecurity, rodent and pest control, and general food safety measures. All of these are things that need to taken into account when designing a production system that lets birds run willy-nilly outdoors.