Pellet vs free ranging thread drift

[saysfaa]

The giant pink elephant in the room called reality.
... In the picture below are two hens on their first day out that are the product of these wonderful advances in chicken keeping and chicken health. They’ve eaten nothing but commercial feed, never been exposed to the dangers of free ranging. They’ve been carefully bred with the aid of some of the best genetic science available. They’ve been kept in well ventilated and pest free environment providing clean water and constant access to commercial feed. If they are lucky they might just struggle to 4 years old, finally succumbing to one of the cancers common to high production hens.

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On the other hand here is a pair of dirt scrabbling mutts who have eaten everything from mice to Orkney mature cheddar cheese. Every day they risk predation by free ranging. Given a choice they’ll drink from a muddy puddle. No scientist has improved their health with careful breeding, special diets and ideal keeping conditions. If they can dodge the predators and keep out of fights they may live to ten, or twelve years old.

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How you keep your chickens is your choice; unfortunately for the chicken.

You have listed several factors (food, water, predation, etc) as if they were all the factors.

Chickens are social creatures. Battery hens (here, at least) are usually kept isolated in individual cages.

Limited options for mental stimulation or expressing instinctive behaviors such as dust bathing may also be factors.

This is the equivalent of feeding one flock starter pellets and water for nearly three days and another flock grower pellets and no water for nearly three days and claiming the results prove starter pellets are better.

 

[Shadrach]

You have listed several factors (food, water, predation, etc) as if they were all the factors.

Chickens are social creatures. Battery hens (here, at least) are usually kept isolated in individual cages.

Limited options for mental stimulation or expressing instinctive behaviors such as dust bathing may also be factors.

This is the equivalent of feeding one flock starter pellets and water for nearly three days and another flock grower pellets and no water for nearly three days and claiming the results prove starter pellets are better.

Nope, these were not caged hens.

 

[saysfaa]

What was their living arrangment?

 

[Shadrach]

What was their living arrangment?

These two at the front of the picture came from what is advertised in the UK as barn kept chickens. The barn was owned by a large supermarket chain in the UK.
Eventually animal welfare forced them to close. These are two of the hens out of thousands who were "rescued".

 

[saysfaa]

Like this?
https://www.chickencoopsandhouses.c... (BHWT),battery hens and give them a new home.

"Battery hens have never been able to do what comes naturally to them. The cramped conditions these chickens live in mean they can’t scratch the ground, forage, or nest as they’re laying their eggs...pens where they can’t even fully expand their wings.
...
The biggest myth surrounding battery hens is that their feathers don’t grow back. Chickens molt and replace their feathers once a year, however, battery hens are constantly kept under midsummer lighting so they lay eggs all year round. It’s commonly accepted that this is why battery hens don’t regrow their plumage after molting...
don’t allow the birds to do these activities, exercise, or rest without being disturbed....Chickens kept in battery cages will begin pecking at other hens and plucking their feathers. As chickens can’t forage on the ground, this behaviour manifests by pecking at the birds around them...

 

[saysfaa]

Oh. The above might not include the barn style, I'm not sure how battery is defined or how loosely it us used ... https://www.rspcaassured.org.uk/farm-animal-welfare/egg-laying-hens/what-is-a-battery-hen/

If it was bad enough to be closed by welfare, it was highly stressful... still closer to there being a factor besides the feed making the difference.

 

[Shadrach]

Oh. The above might not include the barn style, I'm not sure how battery is defined or how loosely it us used ... https://www.rspcaassured.org.uk/farm-animal-welfare/egg-laying-hens/what-is-a-battery-hen/

If it was bad enough to be closed by welfare, it was highly stressful... still closer to there being a factor besides the feed making the difference.

Barn style is essentially an internally open structure with roost bars, feeders and waterers. The hens can move anywhere they want in the barn.
Some are better than others. My understanding is the closure of the the one in question was due to stocking density. Apparently this is a common problem with such keeping arrangements.
We do have, or rather had a couple of caged battery hens. There wasn't much difference in their overall condition.