We all have our own views on this and there is no point falling out about it.
Agreed, I don't want to fall out with anyone.
I'm not some mad preacher of commercial poultry practices, I just see a lot of views from the general public which are based on hearsay, misinformation or gleaned from someones cousin that used to know someone who worked on a chicken farm once for a week!
Publicly, commercial poultry get a bad press, I'm just trying to give a fair and unbiased opinion on what its really like.
I'll tell it like it is, good or bad.
Fair enough everyone has their own opinion but make sure that opinion is based on fact to begin with.
I do though have a few comments about Clansmans post. Saying that these birds enjoy 23 hours of light instead of 16 hours of darkness is not always a good thing. I suspect the level of lighting is nothing to do with the bird's welfare and more to keep it awake and eating.
It is everything to do with their welfare which also interlinks with their ability to keep eating and drinking, they still rest and sleep with the light on, it doesn't keep them awake.
these type of birds by design eat a lot and if the light is off for any length of time there will be a panic for food and water when it comes back on, it keeps the stress levels down.
Humans who have lived in Iceland all their life struggle to cope with all day sunshine and then all day dark.
Good example! humans can put a light on to drink and eat, chickens can't..
For everyone that keeps their birds overwinter on natural daylight, as a little experiment, try going 16 hours without food and water yourself and see how that goes for you.
I feel my hens cope very well with the changing light levels and just go into shutdown in the winter. They still seem happy and enjoy a sunny day when it comes. I would rather they had this rest time. In terms of a broiler of course, there is no time to rest.
Thats it exactly, they COPE with it, they have no choice in the matter, try putting a light on at midnight and see how quickly they start looking for food and water.
Wild birds cope with it because they have to, we have a responsibility to domestic birds to make sure they are free from thirst and hunger (another part of the welfare code)
Secondly, no diseases. I'm sure that a broiler house is full of all sorts of nasty pathogens which is why they have to pump them full of so many drugs (which must stay in the meat).
And back to my point about ill informed views… can you possibly tell us more about all of these drugs that are pumped into chickens?? or indeed all the nasty pathogens they are exposed to??
Hormone use is another one that regularly gets banded about but hormones have been banned in poultry for many, many years now.
I'm not saying disease never happens but I've seen a lot more sick and ill birds in backyard flocks than i've ever seen on poultry farms