Hugh's Chicken Run (Merged Discussion)

~Chameleon~

Details on the link below to contact your supermarket requesting they stock more free range chicken and also raise the standards of welfare on their "cheap chicken" lines.

http://www.ciwf.org.uk/campaigns/primary_campaigns/challenge-your-supermarket.html

There's a template to email Tesco and Somerfield direct, and addresses for Asda and Morrison as apparently they don't accept direct email

Lotus-eater

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

He'd already got the shed before he ordered the eggs to be incubated. What he didn't realise though, hence my earlier comment as to his naivety, is that the shed would need so much work doing to it just to bring it up to bare minimum standard. In fact, if you recall from the programme, it wasn't until the Irish stockman he'd hired came over to see where the chickens were going to be raised that he was made aware of exactly how much work would be involved in getting it up and running.

Yeah, but who orders thousands of chicks, without knowing how to build a home for them? You do your research first, then you order when you know how long its going to take to be ready. He must have been very naive, or making good telly

~Chameleon~

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Yeah, but who orders thousands of chicks, without knowing how to build a home for them?

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall!!!! :rotfl:

Lotus-eater wrote: »

You do your research first, then you order when you know how long its going to take to be ready. He must have been very naive, or making good telly

I can fully understand how somebody so passionate about their cause could act on impulse and rush headlong into a project without fully thinking through the consequences

Not that I've ever done anything like that of course! :whistle:

Lotus-eater

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I can fully understand how somebody so passionate about their cause could act on impulse and rush headlong into a project without fully thinking through the consequences

Not that I've ever done anything like that of course! :whistle:

Ahh, yes you have a point, I have been known to do that once or twice (a week )

Gem_

kethry wrote: »

Its to do with addressing flystrike (wikipedia has more info). i didn't know either and had to look it up. Not terribly pleasant reading. even more unpleasant to have it though i suppose..

keth
xx

Fly strike is horrible for the sheep and farmers do as much as possible to prevent it (and trust me it is a b**ger to treat), however, this horrible sounding treatment is not done in the UK!

Castration and tail docking are for hygene and safety. Tail docking for hygene (to avoid things like fly strike and other infections as poop tends to get stuck in the tail after the runs associated with rich spring grass), male sheep can be really dangerous to handle (they are associated with more deaths and injuries in the UK than Bulls) so castration is largely for the safetly of the farmer and the rest of the flock.

Tail Docking and castration are painless. All you do is put an elastic band around the area and the loss of blood supply leads it to die and drop off. The pain level is exactly the same as putting a tight elastic band around your own finger - although I don't recomend you leave it on too long

Sheep are generally one of the best kept animals in the UK as it is almost impossible to rear them inside/ in restricted conditions and make any kind of profit. I do totally agree that the transport to market can be a worrying welfare issue and wish more could be done on that score.

Gem (the ex sheep farmer)

kethry

Gem_ wrote: »

Sheep are generally one of the best kept animals in the UK as it is almost impossible to rear them inside/ in restricted conditions and make any kind of profit. I do totally agree that the transport to market can be a worrying welfare issue and wish more could be done on that score.

Many thanks for that info. I think given that info i'll edge my meat shopping towards lamb/sheep meat and free range chicken, and only buy pork/bacon that's been raised in good conditions. easily said. Now i have to find a supplier for it!! (and i don't have credit/debit cards, so can't shop at the online places - am restricted to what i can find locally.)

keth
xx

~Chameleon~

I received this reply from Tesco today in response to the email sent via the link I posted further up.

Dear xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thank you for your email.

I am grateful to you for setting out your commitment to animal welfare. I would like to assure you that animal welfare is also extremely important to us.

We have a dedicated agricultural team within Tesco who works hard with our suppliers to improve standards within the industry. This dedicated team also works with animal welfare experts including veterinarians, who together, have established individual Livestock Codes of Practice for each farmed species. These Codes of Practice encompass standards on food safety, environment and requirements concerned with animal health and welfare. These Codes are based on legislation, farm assurance requirements and our own Tesco requirements which often go beyond the legal baseline.

We also employ an independent auditing company who undertake inspections for us, based on product trace, on animal feed, at hatcheries, on farms, during transport and at slaughter and through this process we are consistently engaged with our suppliers to ensure the maintenance of our standards within our supply base. These same high standards apply to all chicken products sold in the fresh and chilled convenience categories at Tesco. Farms overseas are subject to the same strict requirements and auditing protocols as those within the UK. Some other supermarket standards only apply to fresh chicken.

We will continue to offer a range of chicken to our customers which are clearly labelled. It is our policy to actively promote free range and organic chicken, however, a large number of our customers are on a tight budget and rely on lower cost foods to feed their families. We believe it would be wrong to remove these options for them overnight. Instead we will continue to offer a choice of chicken whilst explaining clearly the welfare and environmental benefits of each product so that customers can make an informed choice.

We are also actively promoting Willow Farm, which is a more affordable welfare friendly option grown on UK farms. The Willow Farm range, priced between standard and free-range and organic, demonstrates we are serious about giving customers the opportunity to support welfare-friendly poultry production at prices that more people can afford. These chickens are housed in spacious barns at the RSPCA recommended stocking density, with straw bales to perch on and large windows providing the birds with natural light.

In addition to this, we invest in research and specialist advice to drive improvements on animal welfare. For example, over the past six years we have committed more than £1 million to support research through Oxford University’s Food and Animal Initiative. This research facility develops sustainable farm systems that provide benefits to animal welfare, and shares its knowledge with farmers and the general public.

I hope this information has reassured you and thank you for your comments.

Kind Regards

Lynne Ormsby
Tesco Customer Service

Lotus-eater

So the Willow farm is the one we saw in James fowl dinners. That looked ok.
I was in Asda today, not one piece of, or whole freerange chicken, not one! Couldn't even see a spot for it.
Bit pi**ed off with Asda over the whole thing, at least tescos and sainburys are talking about it and starting to do something.

arkonite_babe

my local Sainsburys were completely sold out of all free range and organic chicken last night, not one to be had at all. Lots of cheap stuff on the shelves though.

lesley1960

margaretclare wrote: »

Hello geordiejoe, was interested in you saying you live between towns and to get a free-range chicken you'd have to walk to Tesco which is difficult for you.

When I lived on my own, 1992-97, and was certainly not in anyway affluent - widowed and redundant with a mortgage - I used to buy meat from here: http://www.helenbrowningorganics.co.uk/index.phtml

A box of meat from Helen Browning, including a chicken, would last me ages. I used to re-pack all the items into smaller bags and freeze them. No need to go to Somerfield, Tesco or anywhere else for meat. I would sometimes get a chicken from my local butcher and he'd chop it into quarters for me. That butcher knew where all the meat he sold came from and whether it was organic or not. The whole chicken from Helen I would keep for when family came and I gave them a cooked dinner.

Since that time the idea of farmers' markets has grown tremendously. We have one every month March to November. A local farmer who sells meat from their beef shorthorn herd, also an organic chicken farmer, a lot of other goodies. Farmers' markets are an obvious outlet for small producers, by-passing the supermarkets and their demands.

If you have a small butcher, baker or anyone else, use them or lose them. We buy our bread from a small local bakery which bakes fresh every night, yet the same arguments apply - 'oh I can't afford £1.15 for a freshly-baked wholemeal loaf, I have to get one for 35p from the supermarket'. DH and I are retired wrinklies and we prefer quality to quantity. We only buy free-range eggs and from now on, will never buy anything but organic chicken, which is free-range by definition, as someone on this thread has already clarified.

Margaret

I buy my meat from Helen Browning , and had some delivered yesterday , it is more expensive then supermarket meat ( especially chicken ) but it tastes much better . Its not just about animal welfare I am also dont want to eat meat that has come from god knows where and passed through the hands of many people before it gets to me , the thought of loads of people poking around with my food isnt pleasant