[something else]

Now, I know I may catch heat for posting this, but I have always been a skeptic and critic of industrial animal operations/confined animal feeding operations/factory farms -- all of which feed our desire for bargain basement prices on milk, eggs, and meats. I'm all about the family, small, local farm. I'm not sure if you've read it, or seen the video, but AP posted a story that caught my attention. Here is the video on chick grinding.

Now... granted I do not profess or urge people to go vegan, I love meat and eggs and dairy and always will consume red meat, but something has got to change with our "corporate agribusiness." Legislation and USDA regulations favor large factory operations over small farms. Meet your Meat. Ohio Fresh Eggs.

I someday will be raising my own on a small 'hobby' farm. My Aunt, who is a Nurse, and my Uncle has a barber shop, raise their own.. Happy Cows? Yes. Happy Hens? Yes.

 

[bassman]

My parents used to have their own chickens....they were always pretty happy until a coon would find it's way into the pen. Then it was order some new chicks for next year.

As bad as the video looks, I don't think they are being THAT rough on the chicks. The little things are fairly tough for their size. It's like baby humans, they are pretty soft still and can absorb some heavy bad falls (NO I DON'T ADVOCATE DROPPING CHILDREN!). And the beak thing...it kind of reminds me of getting circumsized. I'm sure it hurt like hell, but I don't remember a damned thing about it. And they do that so the chickens don't peck out each other's eyes, chickens are brutal like that to each other.

It's sad about the male chicks...but really if there is no market for them that is the best thing to do. I do agree though that the whole "agribusiness" is bad for animals, but then again we do like cheap food. I'm not sure I'd like to pay a premium (and it would be a huge premium) to know my food had a happy life before it was slaughtered.

 

[ScottXGTR]

gonna be a lot of heat in this thread. just wait.

if people have a problem with the chicks being ground alive, then pay somebody to sit there and bash them with a bat. then grind them up when they are dead.

oh wait, then people will complain that someone is beating them with a bat.

matter of fact, people are gonna complain about everything. was it chris rock that talked about how we only want to save the cute animals?

 

[roastbeef]

the dangers of many farming rules and regulations is the cost of products go up. imorted food then becomes cheaper, and its coming in from a much less regulated source that what we began with.

 

[drobs]

That's life.

"There is, unfortunately, no way to breed eggs that only produce female hens," Head said. "If someone has a need for 200 million male chicks, we're happy to provide them to anyone who wants them. But we can find no market, no need."

Using a grinder, Head said, "is the most instantaneous way to euthanize chicks."

Side note.

I find it funny all the people that think hunting is cruel but will gladly go buy their chicken breasts and steaks from the grocery store or stop by the local fast food resturant.

It's a fact of life that animals must die for you to eat meat.
When I hunt I take part in the process of life and death. I also take part in the cleaning and processing of the animal. When you smell the guts and get blood on your hands it brings you closer to understanding what life, death, and survival is all about.

 

[08_Nismo]

That's life.

"There is, unfortunately, no way to breed eggs that only produce female hens," Head said. "If someone has a need for 200 million male chicks, we're happy to provide them to anyone who wants them. But we can find no market, no need."

Using a grinder, Head said, "is the most instantaneous way to euthanize chicks."

Side note.

I find it funny all the people that think hunting is cruel but will gladly go buy their chicken breasts and steaks from the grocery store or stop by the local fast food resturant.

It's a fact of life that animals must die for you to eat meat.
When I hunt I take part in the process of life and death. I also take part in the cleaning and processing of the animal. When you smell the guts and get blood on your hands it brings you closer to understanding what life, death, and survival is all about.

I agree completely

I eat red meat, deer, chicken, pork, etc. I will never stop because of how my dinner was treated before it got on my plate. All i know is that it taste good and fills me up.

If you want to eat Happy animal meat then buy Kobe Beef. The cows drink beer and and are pampered until the day they are slaughtered. And god damn they taste insanely good.

 

[something else]

I agree completely

I eat red meat, deer, chicken, pork, etc. I will never stop because of how my dinner was treated before it got on my plate. All i know is that it taste good and fills me up.

If you want to eat Happy animal meat then buy Kobe Beef. The cows drink beer and and are pampered until the day they are slaughtered. And god damn they taste insanely good.

That's what I'm sayinn! happy animals = yummy meats. happy hens = yummy eggs. happy cows = yummy cheezes and milk.

The taste difference between a bargain egg and a happy hen egg is unbelievable.

Of course there's no market for 200 million male chicks. "They don't grow fast or big enough to be profitable"... (for a large industry). I see the size of some of these chicken breasts in the stores and say holy cow! That was a huge chicken! Unnatural to be that huge. pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. anyways, I bet chick grind turns into dog food.

I would be happier buying meats and such if I knew for certain the animals had a decent life. I have no problem killing for food, we've been eating animals for thousands upon thousands of years. That's how the carnivore food chain works. BUT - uneeded abuse and unsanitary living conditions are just despicable. Up until the point we chop their heads off, they can feel pain and agony every bit as much as we can. So, why not have happy animals and then chop their heads off instead of driving them insane?

Sometimes when I see the prices at the grocery for some items, I think to myself that is way too low to be good for anyone involved! Obviously to get the price THIS low there were shortcuts taken. Ohio Fresh Eggs = $0.99/dozen. I posted the video for them in the first one.

That's why I'm sayin BUY LOCAL or Grow your own.

**Edit: i should start an egg business someday. "Happy Hen Eggs" sounds catchy.

 

[bassman]

I find it funny all the people that think hunting is cruel but will gladly go buy their chicken breasts and steaks from the grocery store or stop by the local fast food resturant.

It's a fact of life that animals must die for you to eat meat.
When I hunt I take part in the process of life and death. I also take part in the cleaning and processing of the animal. When you smell the guts and get blood on your hands it brings you closer to understanding what life, death, and survival is all about.

Amen man! I'd much rather eat an animal I've taken from the field. I know what it ate and where it lived, and I know exactly how it got to my plate.

 

[ScottXGTR]

its not like the ground up chicks go to waste. im sure its sold off, processed, and turned into animal feed for other farm animals.

 

[roastbeef]

YouTube - Cinco My Eggs - !boj taerg wohs emosewa cire & mit

 

[06_footy]

That's what I'm sayinn! happy animals = yummy meats. happy hens = yummy eggs. happy cows = yummy cheezes and milk.

The taste difference between a bargain egg and a happy hen egg is unbelievable.

Of course there's no market for 200 million male chicks. "They don't grow fast or big enough to be profitable"... (for a large industry). I see the size of some of these chicken breasts in the stores and say holy cow! That was a huge chicken! Unnatural to be that huge. pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. anyways, I bet chick grind turns into dog food.

I would be happier buying meats and such if I knew for certain the animals had a decent life. I have no problem killing for food, we've been eating animals for thousands upon thousands of years. That's how the carnivore food chain works. BUT - uneeded abuse and unsanitary living conditions are just despicable. Up until the point we chop their heads off, they can feel pain and agony every bit as much as we can. So, why not have happy animals and then chop their heads off instead of driving them insane?

Sometimes when I see the prices at the grocery for some items, I think to myself that is way too low to be good for anyone involved! Obviously to get the price THIS low there were shortcuts taken. Ohio Fresh Eggs = $0.99/dozen. I posted the video for them in the first one.

That's why I'm sayin BUY LOCAL or Grow your own.

**Edit: i should start an egg business someday. "Happy Hen Eggs" sounds catchy.

Happy cows come from California....:laugh:

 

[drobs]

Last summer while camping in NW Wisconsin we spotted a sign that said fresh eggs for sale.

Pulled in to the farm and talked with the farmer for awhile about raising chickens, feed costs, and care.

He was a truck driver by trade and a hobby farmer on the side, told me, he couldn't taste any difference between store bought eggs and his free range eggs but hears all the time how his eggs taste so much better.

Sold us a dozen eggs for $0.50. I think I got the friends and family price, after chatting with him for awhile, as my truck has Illinois plates on it and most from WI refer to people from IL as FIBs (Freaking Illinois Bastards). I would've gladly paid more.

We're trying to buy a house on 15 acres of land in MO, having problems with the bank right now. I want to get chickens on the land whenever I get back.