A few Chicken Comments

Thanks to Gottacook who wrote some interesting views on Gastrocast #50. However, Livejournal wouldn’t let me respond in the comments so I include them here:

Thanks for listening to the last episode of the Gastrocast. Something I didn’t mention on that show, because I was saving it for the show where I actually cook one of the chickens I raise, is that the intensive rearing situations of factory farming lead to a pretty grim life for these birds. Sure, my experiment has shown me what I should have known all along–the standard American meat breed of chicken is grossly mutated for rapid weight gain and short lifespan–but the difference between how I rear these chickens and the large-scale poultry farm is that my birds have plenty of floorspace to walk around on. They also, now that the weather is warmer, have the option to go outside. They have plenty of natural sunlight and fresh air. None of these things exist in a standard poultry farm. The houses are artificially lit, ventilated by fan and so stagnant that it’s hard to breath in. The mortality rate of these chickens is over 30%–largely due to their voracious weight gain–but also to a range of illnesses. The constant need for medicine for these birds is something else I have been able to avoid. The birds in a factory farm are also either caged so tightly they cannot move, let alone stretch as they grow and spread their wings, or there are so many chickens free on the floor that they crush each other. These meat chickens are so stupid and clumsy they will also swarm and pile on each other in what is known as a "smother" where many will die–this is an accepted fact of the meat industry. Because they are so tightly packed they must have their beaks clipped by melting the end of their beak with a hot wire to prevent them from pecking one another. This tightly cramped, sickly situation is also a possible cause of Avian Flu.

As for my chickens, I don’t think they prefer to remain sedentary. They behave like the other chickens–preening, standing off to choose pecking order, etc. However, they physically cannot remain standing for very long because of their bulk. So they sit on the floor to eat or rest. In a cage this leads to a rash known as "hock burn" cause by abraision and the ammonia from sitting it their own excrement. I use wood shavings and plenty of them on the brooder house floor.

As for cruelty, I think where our food is concearned we want to be eating the products of a healthy, and stress free life. Not just to make us feel better, but because it affects the quality of the meat. Another thing which effects this is the method of slaughter and post-kill preparation–more of this on the Gastrocast where I butcher the chickens. . . .

This morning I butchered one of the Cornish Cross Meat Chickens. I noticed it first thing when I went to feed my chickens–over 80 of them. This one chicken wasn’t moving. Not too odd for one of these fat porkers, but they usually get up and run out of the way when they see food or you get too close. When I went to pick up this chicken I noticed it’s right leg was hyper-extended and it was leaning to one side. I picked it up and it seemed normal enough. I set it back on its legs and it toppled over. I made it comfortable and went about my work. I came back a short while later and it hadn’t moved. I decided rather than have it suffer, and rather than loose its potential as meat I would butcher it. It was a bit on the small side–around 3 pounds dressed–but it was better than freezing it for Crab bait. I humanely butchered the chicken and it ended it’s life quickly without suffering further. We will eat it after it has aged a few days–something which can’t be done with commercial poultry due to bacteria counts and how it is processed.
I also did some calculations–I have had the chickens for 43 days so far. That’s one day longer than they would have lived in a commercial farm situation. I would like the rest of the meat chickens to live another 20 days at least–more time outside, more flavor. The cockerals from among the laying chickens I have, which are also a type of meat chicken, will probably go 5-6 months before I take them into the kitchen.  The one thing I did notice about this little pullet I butchered this morning–the meat is darker, the skin is more golden than any supermarket bought chicken I have seen in the last 5 years.

Thanks again for listening to The Gastrocast, stay tuned for more interesting "debate" and keep on cooking.

Neal, aka Podchef.