I tend to disagree with this way of thinking....they keep them in large enclosed buildings because it is cheaper and easier...the vet has to wear protective clothing in not to protect the chickens but to protect himself because they are likely so disease ridden.
^^^^^^^^^ ditto...chickens allowed to forage and have a good home are generally much healthier.
I would suggest that you may reconsider posting these types of statements. Until you actually run a business in which you have thousands of chickens to keep healthy for reproduction or for food, you can not say that its easier or cheaper. Also, CG is right. The protective clothing is not for HIS protection, but for the protection of the farmers investment. You many not like how it is done, but they are feeding a hell of a lot more people than you and have to do so in an effective and affordable manner. There are studies showing that the overall illness rate in factory farms are much lower than in free range/cage farms. Backyard flocks are more detrimental to the health of big farms. We do not vaccinate. We do not always use antibiotics. Our chickens have diseases from wild birds that can make our little lives a misery when we lose birds, but ruin a big farm.
SO, now imagine that vet who just tended your bird, went into one of these factory farms, and the disease, virus, what ever, is on his clothing, his shoes, in his hair. Now he messes with these big farm's birds with out following bio security measures. What happens? Hm... well, all those birds will go on a round of antibiotics.$$$ BUT if they are meat birds, and close to slaughter time, well now they can not be slaughtered and used for food for 2 weeks to 21 days depending on the antibiotics used. $$$ Some antibiotics have a 6 week withdrawal from slaughter and from egg use. AND all the birds will have to be treated. $$$ How many birds will be lost to what ever illness was introduced? Even more $$$ What if what your vet just treated your birds for was MG, and now he goes to one of these big egg farms. Some of them have 10,000 birds. All those birds will have to be slaughtered. And they are not packed in there all tight like you see in propaganda pics to make all big farms look bad. There is space. there is a lot of space. Chickens naturally flock and stick together. I know this myself, because with my 35 free range birds, 4 coops and a summer coop with 40 feet of roost space, they will all sit roost on only 20 of those feet.
You may not like it, but you shouldn't verbally crap on the hands that feeds most of America based on propaganda from a few groups who really have a chit track record of their own. They do not deserve it, nor should a great majority of them be classified as you seem to think they should because there are a few bad apples.
My birds do free range also. Happier? Probably, healthier? Not necessarily
Ok, I will get off the soap box. This was very hard to not go off the basis of the subject in question...
