Your views and possibly your help please

[Dobby]

The best thing you can do if it really boils your **** that much is raise your own animals for food at home (which Dobby is going to be doing )

And Dobby Magical Trevor was suggesting about not eating chicken...

I'd only be raising them for eggs though (couldn't kill em )

I must have skipped over that bit about not eating chicken. Thats not something i would ever expect to happen as its totally unrealistic. If people were to do that then we may as well go the whole whole hog and become veggies (ahhh parts of the thread are coming back to me now lol)

Personally, i think conditions can be radically improved for intensively farmed chickens (as per jamies prog last night) Although i feel the way i do about it all, i won't be a hypocrite and stop eating chicken but i will definitely buy free range (looks like the kids won't be having much chicken then)

It also shocked me about how much eggs are used in other products, of course i knew this but it had never occured to me till listening to it last night

A big thumbs up to Hellmans who stated they will soon be using only free range eggs in their products

Of course there is no way to prove if they do or they don't, we can only take their word for it and trust them

 

[H2DaE]

The problem you have is that this petition will go to the MD of Tesco or whatever, he will glance at it and then it will be on it's way to the recycling plant...

What you are basically asking is for the supermarkets to throw away millions of pounds worth of profits, and too many people are set to lose out for this to become a reality.

Unfortunately chickens do not have a voice and as such they are the ones that get the short straw

 

[Dobby]

Its not trying to get them to throw their produce out, its re-educating (if you like) people into knowing what their money pays for and what they are buying when they go for these BOGOF or 2 for a fiver deals

Knowing how these chickens have lived i wouldn't feel comfortable serving food to my kids that has been living in its own faeces and urine for its entire life

 

[Dobby]

Can anyone answer a question for me? When Hugh FW started his chicken farm and bought in the chicks why was the box tossed up and the chicks thrown to the ground? Is there any particular they do that?

It looked like it could cause them serious damage, why couldn't they just gently tip them out, why throw them from a height??

 

[H2DaE]

Its not trying to get them to throw their produce out, its re-educating (if you like) people into knowing what their money pays for and what they are buying when they go for these BOGOF or 2 for a fiver deals

Knowing how these chickens have lived i wouldn't feel comfortable serving food to my kids that has been living in its own faeces and urine for its entire life

I didn't mean that they would have to throw the produce out.

I'm talking about redesigning the facilities, the cost of the extra food and water, the fact the chickens take longer to get from egg to shelf, if there are less chickens per square metre then this also eats into profits

Also if the chickens are more expensive less people will buy them, again losing the supermarkets/producers money

 

[Dobby]

According to Jamies prog (again) to intensively farm the chickens in a more humane and kinder way would only cost and additional £1 per chicken

That really isn't much in the great scheme of things though

 

[H2DaE]

Can anyone answer a question for me? When Hugh FW started his chicken farm and bought in the chicks why was the box tossed up and the chicks thrown to the ground? Is there any particular they do that?

It looked like it could cause them serious damage, why couldn't they just gently tip them out, why throw them from a height??

I wondered that

But i doubt it does much damage as it would be pretty stupid from a business point of view damaging 'stock' like that

 

[H2DaE]

According to Jamies prog (again) to intensively farm the chickens in a more humane and kinder way would only cost and additional £1 per chicken

That really isn't much in the great scheme of things though

i would like to see the figures he used to work that out

maybe eventually it would but the costs would be enourmous to start with

 

[Dobby]

I wondered that

But i doubt it does much damage as it would be pretty stupid from a business point of view damaging 'stock' like that

i thought that too, but surely it can't be any good for the little ones who land first?

 

[Dobby]

i would like to see the figures he used to work that out

maybe eventually it would but the costs would be enourmous to start with

well like with every other aspect of this thread i'm only quoting what i've heard.

There are still a large amount of chickens there but not as many, they have simple things like perches, footballs and hay bales which all help the birds with their natural instincts

Perches, footballs and windows are things that don't have to be replaced every time a new batch of birds come in so its only a one off out lay.

You really could see the difference though in the 2 farms, the birds looked healthier, there were no hock burns and they were more active by running away from people coming towards them

It was interesting watching

 

[H2DaE]

But more active birds take longer to grow, which isn't as profitable

The people in this industry are all about profit. businessmen run these companies, not eco warriors. if they were left to Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall (sp) then they would likely go bust...

 

[Dobby]

But more active birds take longer to grow,...

Thats true, but not that much longer, you would be talking days not weeks or months

 

[H2DaE]

Thats true, but not that much longer, you would be talking days not weeks or months

wasn't it about 20 days? that's 50% longer which is a lot when you're talking the numbers these places push out...

 

[Dobby]

wasn't it about 20 days? that's 50% longer which is a lot when you're talking the numbers these places push out...

If i'm being totally honest i couldn't say how much longer it was (see? said i had a lot to learn )

 

[H2DaE]

I'm pretty sure it was around 40 days for intensive and around 60 for free range

Every little helps and all that lol

 

[Magical Trevor]

And Dobby Magical Trevor was suggesting about not eating chicken...

I wasn't trying to convert anyone into vegetarianism, I pointed out that it wouldnt kill anyone if they had to wait a little longer for their chickens.

 

[poggy]

It won't cost that much to introduce free range chickens and anything which is a niche market cost more until it becomes mainstream. I am not talking about setting up holiday camps for chickens, after all they are bread for food and I don't have a problem with that. I am not an animal "lover" as such, but there are minimum standards for which you have to pay if you want to eat meat. I am always amazed by people who have pets and are shocked when there is a case of dog suffering, but don't seem to care when other animal produce is poorly treated.

People used to eat and afford chickens before and taking inflation into account, the price of chickens has dropped dramatically over the last 10 years, so saying it has to be done because people can't afford it is nonsense because the standard of living has increased as well. Apart from a very small percentage of people, it is choice that makes them choose low cost chickens. People prefer to increase their disposable income to buy other things. Personally there shouldn't be a choice and acceptable standards of farming need to be mantained for the animals welfare.

 

[Dobby]

Please think about this next time you're at KFC. It isn't a pleasant video and shows images of pure animal cruelty

http://www.kfccruelty.com/

 

[Magical Trevor]

That really is beyond sickening, I just cant believe there are people like that in the world

I really hope all the regular KFC goers will take the time to watch that.

And I know the majority of that was filmed in America (apart from near the end were the birds are thrown at the wall and then stomped on, that was UK) ....but to buy KFC is supporting them.

And dont kid yourselves that that sort of practice doesnt go regulary in the UK.
Ignorance may be bliss, but sometimes you have look at what your contributing to and ask yourself if your really comfortable with that.

 

[Renegade_8]

I hope you do adopt some ex battery hens, if you do for the eggs get 2 now 2 next year then 2 the year after (or something like that) otherwise they will all get old and stop laying at the same time. Also lock them up at night, foxes get everywhere. After the intitial culure shock ex battery hens settle down to enjoy freedom. We signed up both petitions.