Is Free Range Poultry really the kinder option?

[TrekkiePiggies]

I figured this would be better off in the Kitchen than in the Vegetarian forum, since most veg*ns don't need to worry about what kind of meat they purchase.

A lot of times I hear people say, "Oh, I only buy free range chicken," or, "I always make sure to buy free-range eggs."

Free range sounds really nice. I think a lot of misguided people hear "free range," and immediately this bucolic image of hens pecking away in a wide grassy field springs up in their minds' eyes.

This is not the case. In the UK, "Free Range Poultry" are poultry allowed continuous daytime access to the outdoors for at least 1/2 of their lifetime--this generally means access to a sparsely-grassed run or lot. Birds are still packed into their enclosures at very high stocking rates--in the UK, for example, the maximum stocking density for Free Range meat and egg hens is 13 birds per square meter in their shed/house, plus 1 square meter per bird of outdoor space. Ever seen a chicken in person? Chickens are large birds, especially the meat breeds.

In the US, there is no official regulation or definition of "free range," except that the animal has been given "access" to the outdoors. How much space and for how long is not defined. Also, given that the modern broiler is essentially bred to be the chicken equivalent of a morbidly obese Sumo wrestler, minus the muscle tone and healthy exercise, broilers don't move much. If you put one in a pen, you need to separate the food and water, or else the bird will literally plop down beside the feeder and waterer and eat, drink, eat, drink, sleep, etc. without ever getting up. They don't want to go outside unless you shove them out the door, whereupon they will plop down somewhere and wait for food to appear. Broiler breeders, who cannot be allowed to become fat like their offspring, live in a constant state of starvation because they would eat themselves into obesity if given free access to food. Obesity means a drop in fertility and therefore in profit.

In addition, Free Range birds in the US are still routinely debeaked--the last 1/3 of the beak is simultaneously cut off and cauterized with a hot blade, without anesthetic. This has been shown to cause long-term nerve damage and a lifetime of pain. As any pet-bird caretaker knows, the beak is like a hand--a highly sensitive, innervated, exploratory tool. Debeaked birds can experience pain with every activity requiring use of the beak--eating, drinking, preening, investigating, and interacting with other birds. Debeaking, along with reduced light levels, is used to reduce rates of cannibalism in densely-stocked flocks. Bright light is stimulatory and often leads to more aggressive behavior. Cannibalism of a chicken is a very slow and painful death. In laying hens especially the vent area is first picked at, causing bleeding, which attracts more pecking and eventually kills or permanently mutilates the bird. Debeaking curbs this. So, pain is caused to prevent pain. It's a tricky situation. In the UK, where debeaking is being phased out, non-debeaked, free-range (eg with access to bright light) layer flocks have mortality rates of up to 30% due solely to cannibalism.

So, for those of you who still eat eggs or meat, think about this.

[ctinaw]

Debeaking? Gah. Sometimes ignorance *is* bliss...

[Calliso]

It can be the kinder option I think. But aye you can;t just go up to the store and buy the eggs that say free range. You would have to search around until you found a farm that treats it;s chickens well..then visit it several times to get a feel of how they treat their chickens over time. Then hope they actually are willing to sell their eggs to you. Or raise them yourself. But then there is still the problem of the male chicks. What would you do with them or what does the farmer do with them? From what I have read about roosters they can be nasty and aggresive. So even if you or the farmer prevents most eggs from ever being hatched or something like that even if you manage to find a way to keep one maybe two tops roosters around..there is a still a high possiblity that some male chicks will have to die. So in short I think it can be the kinder option but I donlt think you could call it the kindest option.

[thalestral]

When I still ate eggs I purchased eggs that were labelled as free range AND organic, which in the UK means better conditions again than ones labelled as simply free range.

However, as I recently posted in the vegetarian board:

From the Vegan Society:
For every hen hatched for egg laying there is a cock chick that is killed almost immediately after struggling from the egg.

Official advice is to kill the chicks before they are 72 hours old using carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. Where small numbers of chicks are involved, neck dislocation or decapitation is also advised. (MAFF, 1987). Another often-used method is a mechanical 'homogeniser', which minces the chicks alive. About 30 million cock chicks a year are killed a year in Britain alone.

When it comes to the consumption of chickens or eggs, there is simply no escaping the cruelty and lack of compassion towards our fellow animals. These are industries, and profits come far before consideration of these animals feelings and lives.

[FoolOnTheHill]

I think having some time outside is better than being cramped into a tiny space for a chicken's entire life (what is it - an A4 piece of paper sized cage?) I find that disgusting. My family buy eggs that are from local free range farms so we know they are well looked after. Even better as we are doing soon, keep your own chickens for best peace of mind

[TX_2_Pigs]

Originally Posted by Calliso

From what I have read about roosters they can be nasty and aggresive.

That is game roosters.

We currently have probably 6 stags (adolescents) that were in our last hatch and 2 roosters. The 2 roosters don't really fight but the one will usually chase the other one away when it comes to the hens. But there are enough hens and they are free roaming so the one rooster just runs away and finds another girl.

I doubt that when they get old enough, the stags will fight either, but we don't need that many roosters so we will re-home them.

[deacucina]

Yes, "free range" certification in the USA is a joke. I never buy any kind of large-scale egg factory eggs because I don't know how the hens are being treated. All of the chicken and eggs my family buys are from small, local farmers where I am welcome to visit the farm and see the operations for myself. My local food co-op grocery carries eggs that I believe are organic AND ethical. I feel good about that decision, though it costs me a bit more money.

[muffin]

One of my boyfriend's work colleagues bought a house in the country and keeps free range chickens, so I get eggs from him. When I don't I buy Sainsbury's woodland eggs, apparently the chickens are free to roam under the natural shelter of trees. Sounds harder to fake than just free-range. Can you tell I don't trust supermarkets?

Battery Hens - The Battery Hen Welfare Trust
This is a link to the website of a wonderful charity. She rehomes ex battery chickens to live out their days in peace. Her site has lots of info, but most importantly she doesn't blame egg farmers in the UK because she knows that they have to use the practices they do in order to compete with foreign imports, which have worse welfare standards, and are hence cheaper. Free range is getting higher on the egg shoppers' agenda generally I think.

[crazywiggy]

I wouldn't necessarily say "free range" means totally cruelty free, but if you do eat chicken or eggs I think it is far better than battery or broiler farming.

I pesronally try to get the free range woodland eggs, or organic free range. I would love to know someone who keeps chickens and get my eggs direct, but I don't - so supermarket it is for now.

[Char-x]

I have free range here but usually the majority of eggs I have are from my own chickens...

[MCR_Rox]

They can still bunch them up so bad. If they are free-range, they have more room to stuff them, meaning that they can fit more to kill. I doubt the chicken's life is long. Just because they are free-range doesn't mean that they aren't cramped.

[julsie]

Check your local farmers' markets for truly free-range eggs. You might be pleasantly surprised. I get most of my eggs from a few different hobby farmers, and the chickens have literally acres to roam.

I love the idea of adopting hens from the egg industry! Does anybody know of a way to do this in the US?

[vics2004]

Free range is kinder than non free range yes. It may not be kinder than there not being any livestock at all, but meat eaters (and vegetarians who aren't vegans-seen as you asre mentioning eggs) don't believe in not eating meat and all animal products.

[cavyinhawaii]

Here in Hawaii some people have gone to owning thier own chickens. I live on Goverment property so I can't have any. In most states you would run into zoning problems etc. Not to mention the weather, Here its warm all the time. When we drive around out of town you can see lots of chickens running around.

[Char-x]

Originally Posted by landhermie

They can still bunch them up so bad. If they are free-range, they have more room to stuff them, meaning that they can fit more to kill. I doubt the chicken's life is long. Just because they are free-range doesn't mean that they aren't cramped.

Free-range doesnt mean they can fit more in to kill. Infact the reason free range is more expensive/rare in ingrediants is because of the fact the farmers cannot "stuff" as many in, therefore need to charge more to make ends meet.

If I'm honest I'm not going to slam free-range completely because I don't want people to think that free-range is "just as bad" and not bother with it, when yes in the end males still get killed BUT if pulling out the positives of this type of farming encourages people to steer clear of battery and barn eggs then I think it's important that we take things one step at a time, first phase out the whole battery/barn egg/meat, which is slowely (more slow than I or anyone who cares would like) being frowned upon, and THEN tackle free-range.

[Stephanae]

Free range is nothing but a joke in the U.S. It means nothing. And I find factory farming abhorrent, because I don't believe in torturing other living things for any reason. That being said, I'm going to throw myself on the fire.

I've raised chickens. I've raised broilers, chopped their heads off, plucked them, gutted them, and eaten them. I've also raised laying flocks. Our answer to excess roosters was to wait until they were big enough then slaughter them and eat them, too.

I'm not a vegetarian; perhaps you've guessed that already. I am a huge lover of nature, and nature is cruel. All life is sustained by other life. The only way to live is to take life. I believe in giving thanks for the life that allows me to live, and I believe in respecting that life even as I take it. But I do believe in taking it.

Chickens are foul creatures. Broilers are a genetic aberration. The only way to end their suffering is to extinct the species. No matter what kind of conditions you try to raise them in, they are bred to feed until they can't sustain their own weight. They have few feathers and lie around naked near their food dishes. Even without cannibalism and in the best of conditions, many of them die from overeating. How do you propose to extinct the species? Is extinction more merciful than eating them?

Laying flocks are little better. Watching a flock is like conjuring images of the worst domestic violence. The rooster rules the hens with an iron claw and screws the hens until they have no feathers left on their backs. The ruling hen passes the violence on down the line. And roosters are vicious. A rooster I once chose not to slaughter and left to roam outside of the coop once attacked my small son. Some roosters may be able to co-exist, but one reason there are cock fights is that cocks really like to fight.

So, this is very far from being a defense of factory farming. It's also not a defense of the lack of regulation associated with the term free range. I simply bring all of this up about chickens because I have much more respect for the gentle spinach I grow in my garden. I eat it, too. And if you feel animal life is much more important than plant life, perhaps you can begin to gain a perspective into the viewpoint of those who feel human life is much more important than animal life. I value all life. I value it, and I'm grateful for the many sacrifices it takes to keep me alive. These sacrifices remind me of the lesson that we must all both give and take, sacrifice and benefit from sacrifice. Nature is just not nice.

I know my viewpoint is unlikely to be popular in this forum. I do not mean any disrespect for your viewpoints, but I thought I'd share mine, anyway.

With all respect,
Stephanae

[greenbeans]

Originally Posted by Stephanae

Chickens are foul creatures. Broilers are a genetic aberration. The only way to end their suffering is to extinct the species. No matter what kind of conditions you try to raise them in, they are bred to feed until they can't sustain their own weight. They have few feathers and lie around naked near their food dishes. Even without cannibalism and in the best of conditions, many of them die from overeating. How do you propose to extinct the species? Is extinction more merciful than eating them?

OK...do you mean ending the species of chickens (seems unlikely.