TYSON made us sad

[CoopDelisle]

My DH and I had to go to Jackson, MS the other day. On the way back, we passed a semi truck from Tyson Farms. (Why do they call their operation a FARM I wonder???) Anyway, the trailer it was pulling was full of chickens. We looked at them and could not speak. There were so many crammed in there, and we saw many many pairs of feet stuck up in the air, obviously from the poor chickens that didn't make it. Almost everyone looked like they had been pecked of most of their feathers. We were quiet and sad for so long, and when we got home, we went out and pet our own chickens. I tell you, some things done these days in the name of progress just break your heart. BUT, to end on a positive note, it sure makes me feel good to see how many people really do take care and have empathy for their animals, even if they are being raised for food. Bless you all.

 

[Kanchii]

That's so sad.

 

[Barnyard]

OMG! I know what you mean. I got behind one of those trucks a couple of weeks ago, and I broke down and cried like a baby! I just wanted to reach up and open the door and let them all go. My dear hubby of course thought that I was crazy.....

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
I am ABSOLUTELY NOT NOT NOT defending Tyson in particular nor factory-farming in general, not not not.

However, I feel that I should point out that commercial broiler chickens tend to *naturally* have considerable bald acreage, largely because they grow so fast and partly because they poo so much it's awful hard to keep their breast feathers clean. Neither type of baldness seems to bother the birds.

I am very ambivalent about the whole Cornish X broiler thing... on the one hand, it seems wrong to me to breed animals to be so far away from any recognizeable 'chickenness', and to have so little fun (although, when raised well, probably no misery either - their opinions seem to have been bred out of them).

But on the other hand, if we're going to kill animals to eat them, I wonder if it is not better to sacrifice a smaller number of lives for X pounds of meat. If you're going to eat X amount of meat, you can do it at the expense of a lot fewer Cornish X lives than you would from any other breed.

OTOH you can eat X amount of meat at the cost of far, FAR fewer animals' lives if you stick to beef.

I dunno. I am not sure there is a single right answer.

Pat

 

[Barnyard]

Quote:
I am ABSOLUTELY NOT NOT NOT defending Tyson in particular nor factory-farming in general, not not not.

However, I feel that I should point out that commercial broiler chickens tend to *naturally* have considerable bald acreage, largely because they grow so fast and partly because they poo so much it's awful hard to keep their breast feathers clean. Neither type of baldness seems to bother the birds.

I am very ambivalent about the whole Cornish X broiler thing... on the one hand, it seems wrong to me to breed animals to be so far away from any recognizeable 'chickenness', and to have so little fun (although, when raised well, probably no misery either - their opinions seem to have been bred out of them).

But on the other hand, if we're going to kill animals to eat them, I wonder if it is not better to sacrifice a smaller number of lives for X pounds of meat. If you're going to eat X amount of meat, you can do it at the expense of a lot fewer Cornish X lives than you would from any other breed.

OTOH you can eat X amount of meat at the cost of far, FAR fewer animals' lives if you stick to beef.

I dunno. I am not sure there is a single right answer.

Pat

good point......my birds are only for pets

 

[RoostersCrow]

I am in the middle of Purdue country here.

They almost exclusively harvest the houses and move the birds around here at night, I believe, to stay as much out of public sight as possible. If you have never seen them empty a house.... count your blessings.

 

[MRNpoultry]

These trucks go past us all the time. It makes me sad they have to live that way, thats why I have been thinking about raising some meat chickens. Patandchickens is right about them having less feather. They grow so fast it is hard for there organs to keep up, so some will have health problems.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Yes, it is sad. We actually saw a wreck involving a semi-truck full of chickens one time. It was really bad.

I'm glad that there are actually people out there that do take care of their animals too!

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
Ooooo! And to think we eat those birds. YUCK! Makes me kinda sick.

 

[MRNpoultry]

Quote:
Ooooo! And to think we eat those birds. YUCK! Makes me kinda sick.

Thats why I want to raise my own. When you buy food you don't always know what you are eating.