My nephew, who used to be in charge of a barn rearing site, pointed out something that most of us wouldn't stop to think about - that free range chickens are more at risk of disease as you have no control of the wild birds that visit the site.
(Cave Duck, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 9:56, 1 reply, 15 years ago)

Oh well that's clearly an excellent argument for locking all chickens up in tiny cages isn't it.

(Bazongaloid, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 10:09, Reply)

^ this

( Noeli overtheshoulderboulderholderthingstraplatchboobs, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 10:10, Reply)

No, like I said it was a barn site where they had enough room to move freely (they mostly supplied the Halal market)
It is however a valid point about the general health of the birds.

Do at least try to understand the point before disagreeing.
(Cave Duck, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 10:12, Reply)

It's not a valid point at all
Birds, naturally, will sometimes get diseases, that's sad, but it's life. Growing up in a barn, even if there is a bit of room to run around and some CDs tied to string to "interest" the birds is no substitute for being able to walk in and out of their house and peck at the actual ground rather than a concrete floor covered in straw.

The fact that a small percentage of the birds doing that may contract a disease from a wild bird is nothing compared to the variety of horrific things that can happen to a chicken forced to live on straw soaking with its own shit and piss.

EDIT - and they supplied the Halal market, pretty much the most cruel and unpleasant way of killing an animal and you're using this as justification against some birds getting natural diseases?
(Bazongaloid, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 10:37, Reply)

Of course it's a valid point. It's in their commercial interest the the birds are in as good a condition as possible, and are disease free.
Who said anything about the straw being soaked with shit and piss? What are the many horrific things that you speak of?
(Cave Duck, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 10:45, Reply)

Sitting on bedding soaked in urine cause hock burns
Bird kept in cramped conditions end up eating each other. These are two pretty horrible things.

And my original point was that free range chicken tastes better than intensively reared or barn reared chicken. I also said I liked the idea of my chickens being about before being killed.

And so I said that catching a disease off a wild bird is far less of a problem than those problems which do occur in intensive chicken farms, I didn't even mention commercial interests, but the logical choice of the commercial interest IS intensive rearing as you get maximum chicken for minimum time and investment, but once again my point is that 1) it's not very nice and 2) it tastes rubbish compared to free range.
(Bazongaloid, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 10:54, Reply)

What you did is to use one small side point (made by someone who has worked in the industry and who had to complete the avian modules that a fully qualified vet would do) I was adding to the debate and tried to make it appear that it was being used as a justification for battery hen farming when it wasn't.
(Cave Duck, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 11:09, Reply)

yeah
It works for children, too.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 10:45, Reply)

Well they fucking deserve it

(Bazongaloid, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 10:55, Reply)