I will warn you. I did not watch the video. I could not.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090902/ap_on_go_ot/us_egg_hatchery_investigation
I am really slapped in the face about this one. You know, just standing there and feeling the sting of it all and thinking about it and realizing that oh my gosh… yeah…. if you want commercial egg business, you need only females. And if you’re backyard egg farming, you’re getting your girls from the hatcheries and heck, most cities have no rooster rules.
All because we can’t tolerate their crowing.
So we have a surplus of nearly 50% of the chickens commercially hatched. No one wants them.
Just one commercial hatchery claimed to sell out 33 million chicks to the meat and egg industries. What happened to the OTHER 33 million boy chicks???
The grinder.
Oh my gosh. That just makes me ill to think about. Forget this whole “feel-good” green crap about paper or plastic, or making a huge impact by doing little things… we need to start tackling more of the BIG things… like this? No more commercial eggs for us. No more.
We had been getting out eggs from a fellow, but he went and butchered his flock and stopped laying for awhile. So I was buying them at the farmer’s market, but occasionally buying them from the store… but no, no more. I’m not buying any more eggs from the store. Ever. I can’t even think of eating a commercial egg anymore, not after reading that article and putting two and two together.
Why can’t someone raise all those little roosters for meat? What is wrong with rooster meat? I mean… can’t they be raised for a few months then humanly slaughtered? Of course, they would be factory raised and that is also totally disgusting… like 48 chickens to a 3 foot area without hardly room to turn around and all that. Oh my gosh, there is just not a good answer to this all. Is there?
These are the things that really bother me. The feedlot meat industry…. the chicken and pig factory farms… we would never do that to kitties or puppies… yet I guess it’s okay for little piglets or baby calves… or unwanted little roosters. But the grinder? Alive? My gosh, how barbaric!
Why can’t they be gassed? A little sleepy gas to kill them in their sleep. And let me guess… this bloody chick pulp… where does that go? To that mythical farm in the country where they bury them, just like what vets tell you when you euthanize the family dog? (which ain’t true, sorry to say)
No, probably to a rendering plant so it can show up in your dog food, or worse, as chicken or cattle feed.
The answer is NOT to just stop eating factory food, or commercial eggs, etc. The answer is to eat these things raised by farmers with a conscious. Or to raise your own. If we would stop using these products, and search for those that are making a difference, like grassfed beef or freerange chickens and eggs, etc., there would be more and more of a market for these products and people would begin to ramp up their offerings of these products. It’s not going to be overnight, no way. But we have to start somewhere. Start by searching out a local egg producer. Yeah, they might be getting their eggs from a hatchery. But it’s a start. If you’re lucky, you can get eggs from someone that actually lets their hens go broody and hatch the next generation of layers. That would be a perfect situation.
And consider finding someone with local grown beef or pork or any meat you eat. Check Craigslist! I can’t believe how many people are offering home grown meat to folks. Yeah, the drawback is that you need to buy half a cow or hog or whatever. If some of these folks were a little better at marketing, they would drop that down some, to a quarter hog or less. Not everyone has a freezer yet.
Okay. That’s my next need. A freezer. And to find a solid source for local eggs and meat. Thankfully we don’t use a lot of milk. But I still am looking for a local dairy for buttermilk for butter and cream. I’m very proud to say that it’s been almost 2 months now and I’ve successfully stayed out of a Walmart, Miejers, and those big box food/junk places. It’s been hard, at first. But now, I don’t even consider them as resources. Not even on my flight plan.
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I’m not looking, I’m not looking. I really do wish my family would purchase eggs from one of the many home operations. There’s one up the road from me. There’s no reason why someone can’t afford $2 more for a dozen eggs. They taste better and are better for you. Come on, you can’t go wrong with a farm called Happy Farm.
I forgot to say, Happy Farm also does a rent-a-chick program where you pay to rent a chick for two weeks and they go back to the farm to be raised. They also sell laying hens which is where I’m thinking about getting mine.
Sounds wonderful!!!
Oh I totally so understand. I didn’t need to watch the video, just read the article. It told me enough right there.
It’s so disturbing to me. When we tell these companies that money is all that matters to us, then they cut all the corners they can to produce the product as cheaply as can be and that includes being barbaric.
I will never look at another egg the same way.
I so wish that I could figure out how to get chickens on my moby ranch. Just a pair, maybe three. I’m just chicken to ask them. I should, just ask. What will is hurt, eh?
Yes, you should at least ask. I have a rooster & 9 hens and they supply eggs for my husband and me, my daughter & her family & my son and his family. I usually have some to give away. I love to give them to our friends. You could build a small chicken coop & a small enclosed pen. Tell them you will keep it clean and looking good!! Go to http://www.backyardchickens.com and find tons of info!
If your neighbors complain give them eggs. Something that my preveous neighbor never did. He free ranged them but didn’t take care of them and they were always in our yard. Not once did he offer us eggs as a peace offering.