This is what a balanced layer feed with no treats delivers

[Brooks_]

Trying to compare factory birds to birds raised in adequate conditions and then blaming the feed is myopic.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm no fan of commercial feed but the condition of the hen in the first post is not due to the quality of feed.
It's important as I've found out in my own dealings with Ex Battery hens (they are an experience I would recommend to any experienced chicken keeper) for the past couple of years to differentiate between the various types of commercial chicken farming.
The hens that come from pre enriched and post enriched batteries tend to look the worst and have the most immediate health issues. Getting enough feed is difficult for many of these hen and this is an important point. Most of the feather damage one sees on such hens is from feather eating and or rub spots. The cages are still wire.

This is Lima. She was a enriched cage battery hen. She looked like this when I first met her.

What she needed was lots of drained tinned mackerel and a bit of forage and commercial feed. She had a throat deformity, apparently from being wedged up against the front of the cage to ensure she got some food. It's quite common apparently.
Of course what I think made a lot of difference to her health was lots of love.

The hens that come from commercial cage free barns tend to be in much better condition.
The pasture raised birds look to be from what I've seen to be in good condition.

All the above got fed a commercial feed and while one could argue that the pasture raised birds forage extra nutrients the reality is 500 chickens on say an acre isn't going to be yielding much of anything after a few months.

All these chickens are considered spent between eighteen months and two years, depending on keeping conditions.
There is also the matter of the quality/makeup of the commercial feed they get fed. Some large commercial concerns have their feed tailored and given how competitive the feed business is assuming all commercial feeds for all commercial hens is the same would be incorrect.

I fed the Ex Battery hens commercial feed and while I did give other foods, with 20+ chickens the amount each got unless on the sick list was less than 5% of their diet. They all improved in condition.

While I agree that commercial feed leaves a lot to be desired the appauling condition of the caged rescues is not due to the type of feed they get and ti's important to be clear that the conditions these creatures are kept is responsible for their terrible state.

 

[Brooks_]

pre enriched and post enriched batteries

I don't understand what is meant by that.

 

[Shadrach]

Rescued cage battery hens.

Battery hens but pasture raised.

 

[Shadrach]

I don't understand what is meant by that.

From the Internet.

"What is the difference between a battery cage and an enriched cage?

Enriched cages are similar to conventional battery cages, stacked on top of one another in row upon row, but they also provide limited facilities for nesting, perching and scratching. There are various designs of enriched cages, including colony cages that can house up to 60 or more hens."

In the UK the commercial concerns have been moving to the enriched cage system mainly due to legislation, over the past few years. The egg industry of course is presenting itself as wondeful and caring due to the changes.

 

[Brooks_]

From the Internet.

"What is the difference between a battery cage and an enriched cage?

Enriched cages are similar to conventional battery cages, stacked on top of one another in row upon row, but they also provide limited facilities for nesting, perching and scratching. There are various designs of enriched cages, including colony cages that can house up to 60 or more hens."

In the UK the commercial concerns have been moving to the enriched cage system mainly due to legislation, over the past few years. The egg industry of course is presenting itself as wondeful and caring due to the changes.

Then I guess it;s the "post enrichment" that I don't get.

 

[Shadrach]

Pre enrichment > before the adoption of the enriched cage system.
Post enrichment > after the adoption of the enriched cage system.

 

[Brooks_]

Pre enrichment > before the adoption of the enriched cage system.
Post enrichment > after the adoption of the enriched cage system.

Makes perfect sense now.

 

[Smokerbill]

 

[21hens-incharge]

Final thought.....

Commercial egg producers aren't buying the 50# bags of feed the rest of us are.
Their feed is made in bulk just for them. The formula they feed is not the same formula we see in our commercially manufactured feeds.