Wanna Get Pi$$ed Off..

[guido911]

...watch these monsters get after chickens.

http://www.startribune.com/local/134160418.html

[cannon_fodder]

Really the video is a mixed bag.  There are things that are wholly inappropriate and senseless, but other things in the video are unfortunate but don't show anything being done wrong. Still other aspects are debatable.

First of all - any farmer, and these people are farmers, who is unnecessarily cruel to their animals is a fool.  Ignoring any potential quandary.  Animals that are mistreated produce less.  Animals that are healthy, well fed, and not stressed will make the farmer MORE MONEY.  Do you think farmers throughout the ages have stopped kids from messing with their animals because of a moral obligation?  No, animals are a commodity to a farmer - it is their likelihoods, and messing with them hurts their bottom line.

Along those lines - swing live chickens around, stuffing them in your pocket, over crowding, and a lot of the other things they have shown are not only bad for business, they cross the line on decency.  No other discussion needed.

HOWEVER, showing shots of dead or dying chickens doesn't really show anything.  On the nicest family farm with free range chickens you will find the same thing.  Chickens die, they kill each other even.  They can then peck at each other and make a dead chicken pretty nasty in a relatively short period of time.  Trust me.

Getting rid of the beak point on a chick is done at every egg operation I'm aware of.  Otherwise they peck each other and the resulting infections are devastating to the population.  They do the same thing in the turkey farms that will be feeding us all next week.  Supposedly beak material is the same as a finger nail - burning off the end of your fingernail wouldn't be pleasant - but should not really be painful either.  I've never heard of anyone giving a bird pain killers for anything.

Close quarters is also an element of production.  The less movement, the less injury, the more production with less food.  Same reason pastures are measure in ares per cow, feed lots are cramped, and turkeys are given a certain amount of space.  Farms are all about production - the only time they really care about making the animals "happy" is when it makes more for the farm.  Cows are not sent out in spacious pastures because it makes them happy or because a cow in a green field looks good. 

And that's what it all comes down to.  The ridiculous behavior aside (that actual hurts the farms), the business of raising animals to feed people - and doing so profitably, is not really pleasant.  If you want to pay an extra 10 cents per egg you can get free range eggs.  Personally, I like the idea of a small group of chickens running around on a family farm. I had a plane ride with the people who provide free range eggs to Braum's and they proudly showed pictures of their farm.  But at the end of the day most people just want cheap eggs.

While I agree that the behavior outlined in that video is way over the line, the entire ag business a mixed bag.  The notion of a small farm where everyone loves the animals and Dorothy watches the hands slop the hogs is simply a myth.  We The People demand high quality, cheap, and plentiful food.  The farms provide it.

And yes, when I say farms I refer to factory farms.  Most farms are... 

[nathanm]

HOWEVER, showing shots of dead or dying chickens doesn't really show anything.  On the nicest family farm with free range chickens you will find the same thing.  Chickens die, they kill each other even.  They can then peck at each other and make a dead chicken pretty nasty in a relatively short period of time.  Trust me.

I didn't watch the video, so I can't say how many dead chickens there were, but if there were more than a couple, said farmer ought to be sending someone around to pick up the carcasses more often.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Welcome to factory farming in this country.  This is what it takes to get the cheapest food possible.

As far as treatment, well, if you don't trim beaks, you get from 10 to 40% losses from birds killing each other.  Trimming if done right, IS just like trimming fingernails.

Crowding as shown is a fact of life in the factory farms.  It is ridiculous.  The only excuse is maximum bird per unit volume cage, with NO consideration of the bird.  And it has been this way for 60 years.  If you want humane treatment of animals, buy form a local source who you know, who does free range (real, not factory propaganda) chickens/birds.  And pay a little bit more for the eggs - and sometimes even less!!

Support your LOCAL farmer!!

For an example of a good egg, Kenosha Cafe on 71st in Broken Arrow uses local eggs from somewhere near.  Noticeable difference in the eggs from usual breakfast fare.