[Kimbo]

Yes, well said Dan!

[Q]

Someone actually likes Mr Powell's abusive post??

That was me - I liked it because it amused me.
 

[Stereo]

I think it was loaded from the start. In the US they call those Tyson sheds 'bankruptcy sheds' I think. You start out with big ideas and then find out you are running a concentration camp, wearing a biohazard suit all day and are at the mercy of a huge corp. to sign you up for another contract or you are going to lose the farm. Lovely.  Good luck B Powell. There are plenty of company insolvency forums on the net which you will need in a few years.

[devonlady]

Whilst we ignorant wannabes will still be enjoying our tiny flocks and, hopefully making our tiny profit

[Womble]

Careful Devonlady. Ignorant, yes.  Wannabe? Definitely not! 

[devonlady]

True! BPowell is the wannabe, we've done it

[Marches Farmer]

I see that the H5N2 avian flu presently sweeping through the USA has led to the slaughter of 4 million birds on just two farms in Iowa.  That's what you call a large-scale commercial operation.  My poor brain aches at trying to imagine the scale of it, let alone what that many carcases looks like.  Apparently they restrict light for the first two weeks, so the bird doesn't grow so fast its' frame fails before it can be slaughtered ... at five weeks old.  Feed is presented on a moving conveyor belt to keep up its' interest in feeding and the sheds are heated so it doesn't waste energy in keeping warm but puts it all into growing. 

[Kimbo]

Oh please don't. That's a horror story 

[princesslayer]

I've just read 'Farmageddon' (fantastic book by the way) and aside from the welfare, the sheer scale of the amount of chicken s**t destroying the surrounding environment is just mind boggling. Certainly had an affect on my purchasing choices, that's for sure.

[Dan]

I've just read 'Farmageddon' (fantastic book by the way) and aside from the welfare, the sheer scale of the amount of chicken s**t destroying the surrounding environment is just mind boggling. Certainly had an affect on my purchasing choices, that's for sure.

Same story with feedlot beef in the US and slurry. 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' was where I read about it, and the lunacy of the US corn industry.

[Jukes Mum]

Just a bunch of wannabes

I'm such I should laugh at this or even sympathise but 

Wannabe? I have wanted this all my life- I live in the middle of nowhere with enough animals to put food on my table and I know they've lived a happy life. How could anyone want more than that?? 

[Fieldfare]

How did a very polite smallholding question in the post below get 2 pages of generally impolite and off-topic sarcasm?? Can the moderators step in when this happens to continue to keep this forum a place where anyone can ask an interesting question without being shot down with snide remarks?

What kind of money is involved in being a commercial chicken producer for a company like Perdue or Tyson?  How much does it cost to put up the houses and get started?  How hard is it to get started?  Just wondering if a good living can be made by running chicken houses.  Any info would be great.

[Eve]

How did a very polite smallholding question in the post below get 2 pages of generally impolite and off-topic sarcasm?? Can the moderators step in when this happens to continue to keep this forum a place where anyone can ask an interesting question without being shot down with snide remarks?

So you really missed the fact that the person who posted that initial question is also the one who was so very rude and insulting to those of us were (politely!) answering it?!?

[lord flynn]

How did a very polite smallholding question in the post below get 2 pages of generally impolite and off-topic sarcasm?? Can the moderators step in when this happens to continue to keep this forum a place where anyone can ask an interesting question without being shot down with snide remarks?

What kind of money is involved in being a commercial chicken producer for a company like Perdue or Tyson?  How much does it cost to put up the houses and get started?  How hard is it to get started?  Just wondering if a good living can be made by running chicken houses.  Any info would be great.

the initial question was fine, the subsequent dismissive and rude post in answer to people who had taken the time to reply was not.

[Stereo]

The OP is a troll no doubt. A sensible conversation could have been had but it was them who decided not to go down that route.

Anyway, while we are on the subject of US avian flu, I am hearing reports that outdoor flocks are not being affected, much to the frustration of the USDA. Not sure how much truth there is in this. Salatin is saying that some British scientists found that  exposure to soil and grass makes chickens immune to flu. Dunno. Funny old game. Not.