Hugh's Chicken Run (Merged Discussion)

boo81

Well basically the defra (part of the government) are the regulatory body for people like the soil association so whatever else is written this is the document that is followed. I cant find any evidence on their website that rules have been relaxed.

The density is relative to the space anyway so I think its pretty irrelevant to be honest in some respects. If in their indoor space (as much of their time will be outdoors anyway) they still have to enough room to scratch, flap wings etc they cant be kept intensively like we have witnessed on tv and the farms have frequent inspections. They also have to have the environmental enrichment and wont be the species prone to the fast development.

Soil association birds without doubt have the best lives and 70% of organic produce in the UK is certified by them but organic in general is still a less wooly definition than standard free range.

kate83

G-G wrote: »

I agree.. I watched this programme and was really annoyed at the way he was forcing his opinion on others, just like a vegetarian who thinks no-one else should eat meat and makes comments.. (not that all vegys do that )..

There are very strict animal welfare laws in this country and so I doubt that they are broken all the time as was suggested in the programme.

& I hate to say it, because I am all for animal welfare, but chickens have very small brains and they are being reared for food, they are not pets and they are not as intelligent as say a dog... People seem to forget this.. What next, heated fluffy beds for them to sleep in?

I sound really horrid now don't I

I'm all for free range, but at the end of the day you shouldn't have 'celebrity' type people TELLING you that you are a bad person by not buying free range.

I would much rather put the £2 I saved on the chicken towards my monthly direct debit for the RSPCA..

Sorry if I have offended anyone, but this is my honest feeling...

Gem

It's not just a matter of saying chickens are reared for food and don't know any different. Why would you want to eat something that has barely moved in weeks and left to marinate in it's own s***. All other arguments aside - free range might cost more but you get more meat from each bird and it's better quality (both taste and health wise)

To everyone who said that the supermarkets didn't have any in stock - it's probably because they keep so few in stock that it only takes a few extra people to buy free range to clear them out - hopefully supermarkets should order more in if this is happening.

Gingham_Ribbon

The ethics behing buying cheap meat are probably best discussed in the ethical money saving board, so I'll move this over now. Thanks.

ivyleaf

After this week's programmes I was amused but pleased to find today that our local butcher's had free-range chickens (we've been using the butcher's for the last few months, for everything except chicken as they didn't have free-range so we were still buying that at the supermarket.). We did buy one, as we are anxious to support local small shops, but it was very dear compared to the prices some posters have been quoting - £9.51 for a chicken weighing 1.74 kg. So I hope they keep selling them there, but we won't be able to afford one very often.

phizzimum

I only saw this week's programme but found it compelling viewing.

Can anyone tell me the significance of hock burns that Hugh pointed out on the cheap tesco chickens?

I think we need programmes like this to make us stop and think about our actions - I would never dream of buying battery eggs and yet I hadn't applied the same standards to the meat I buy, which is crazy really.

Also many thanks for the links about pink veal. I'm amazed that all these years I would chose cheap chicken over veal and think I was doing the right thing.

geordie_joe

phizzimum wrote: »

Can anyone tell me the significance of hock burns that Hugh pointed out on the cheap tesco chickens?

Think nappy rash. They are burns from the ammonia in the birds waste.

This is caused by the birds not having room to move, they either dirty on them selves, or other birds dirty on them and sometimes they fall onto their knees and because they are all squashed together they can't get back up again so spend a long time kneeling in waste. Sometimes the bird is too sick to stand too.

geordie_joe

phizzimum wrote: »

Can anyone tell me the significance of hock burns that Hugh pointed out on the cheap tesco chickens?

Forgot to mention that the chickens are intensively fed, and denied exercise so they grow very quickly. This means their bodies grow much quicker than their legs and they often end up with their legs not being strong enough to support their bodies. So they spend their last few days on their knees in waste.

~Chameleon~

phizzimum wrote: »

Can anyone tell me the significance of hock burns that Hugh pointed out on the cheap tesco chickens?

The "broiler house" chickens that are intensively farmed are kept in conditions that makes them eat almost non-stop as they only get 30 mins of darkness within a 24 hour period. This is what fattens them in such a short time - most broilers are ready for slaughter in 5-6 weeks - and the consequence is that their legs are simply not mature or strong enough to carry their weight, coupled with the fact they don't have any room to move and flap their wings or get any other form of exercise.

As a result they end up sitting on the ground most of the time amongst the mass of faeces that is produced by tens of thousands of birds in an enclosed area, so their hocks become burned due to the ammonia-soaked shavings underfoot.


ETA: Sorry Geordie Joe I'd started typing before seeing your responses but got delayed in hitting send, so I'm just repeating what you've already said

geordie_joe

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

ETA: Sorry Geordie Joe I'd started typing before seeing your responses but got delayed in hitting send, so I'm just repeating what you've already said

No probs, you said it much better than I did.

Han

mummyto3 wrote: »

I watched last night and was shocked to see the waste you can read more and sign the campaign on:
http://www.chickenout.tv/

Ive signed upto this..