So who's going free-range then (sorry, non-horsey post)

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I was horrified to see HF-W's documentary series this week. I knew intensive farming standards were dire, but to see it in such stark evidence was quite shocking. And that's a farmer who genuinely cares for his birds...
We would be mortified to know that our horses / dogs / cats were being kept in those conditions, so why is it ok for birds (especially chickens, who are curious, intelligent creatures)??
I, for one, am going to start demanding that my local take-away joints and restaurants start stocking free-range. Our supermarkets already stock it, which we have been buying as a matter of course for years anyway.
I hope every other professed animal-lover in the country does the same.
 
Good luck with the take aways .I try to buy free range and outdoor reared pork [not always easy especially bacon]I have my own chickens and try to sell the eggs at work for 50p half a dozen but not many buy them ,they can't be bothered and would rather do their shopping in a supermarket all together and give me the value boxws[God knows how the value chickens live]
 
i only eat free-range poultry, it can be quite hard to source though.
i keep a few chickens and they're charming little things, they do enjoy having a nice scratch around in the mud, arena etc. they come running when called, they like being stroked (well, some of them do!), they definitely appreciate a bit of quality of life. they even have their own little vocab, such as a definite recognisable "i've just laid an egg, everyone!" noise. they're really nice to have around.
was told this the other day: my cousin's colleague went to do some maintenance work at an intensive chicken shed place. he went to open the double doors but they stopped him in horror - apparently if a cold blast of wind goes in, the birds all start keeling over dead from the shock of it. he was also warned not to drop a spanner in there, as the shock of the noise would kill them.
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when i think of my little tough hens out there in the wind and rain, mooching about without a care in the world, the plight of millions of them in intensive barns makes me want to cry.
 
me! we dont have huge amounts of money so i dont buy chicken breasts anymore but whole free range chickens, and we dont eat meat every night. I think we need to spend more so we can get free range when we buy meat but then not eat it (or use it creatively) for days afterwards. I want chickens too - not sure where to get a hutch from they are much money..
 
I had to audit one of the biggest chicken producers around 5 years ago

I haven't eaten non-free range chicken since (well around 4 slip ups).

When looking at the costs, I couldn't understand why they didn't use more shavings, but they said the birds were so tightly packed its impossible to put any down other than at the begining
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The fast grown birds are also obese and full of fat. IMHO no one can eat non-free range chicken and expect not to have health problems.

Means no chicken take aways or eating any chicken from restaurants. I try to eat beef where possible.
 
Me!

Have told my in-;aws that I only want free-range chickens and egss and freedom food meat products.

They told me that in that case our rent was going to increase
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We produce organic free-range eggs, so all our "chucks" get to wander around outside all day (assuming they want to go out), they start going back to their houses when it gets dark and we shut the doors once they're all back in. No mean feat when we've got about 60,000 of them! They get the best organic feed too. Obviously this comes at a price and I have seen our eggs on sale for nearly £2 a dozen.
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I am not well of, but I started to buy free range meat a while ago. Not only because the thought of the animals being raised in far nicer and, at least I do hope, more natural conditions makes me feel better about eating the meat, but also because it tastes much nicer, like food used to many years ago. I hope that more people will go this way too, because the problem of this world is the fact that we produce too much, waste too much and all is based on these poor creatures being kept and brought up in those conditions. It is sick, but lets face it, this is HUMAN'S doing and only we can make the difference. I am so glad this is broadcasted and i hope it will make huge difference how we treat our food and the poor animals that provide it for us. we should be grateful and treat them with respect and dignity. I don't eat meat every day either.
 
I have some ex battery hens and have had them now for about 2 months. They arrived scrawny, featherless and weak. their feet were sore and their claws were soft and overgrown. For teh first couple of days they looked shell shocked and agrophobic. Now they are fantastic - they roam all over my farm, help themselves to tasty things, come and find me when I am mucking out and find the warmest places to snuggle down in when it's cold and wet. I was concerned that my hen house would be too small for 10 hens, when I collected them from hen rescue I was told they would find it palatial and as it was for night time only they would love it. They do.

My battery chicks cost me a 50p donation each - they lay at least 2 eggs each a week - sometimes 5 each so have repaid their 50p several times over.

If you advertise on Freecycle you can actually get free range laying hens free as the producers only keep them for 12 months and then get rid. You don't need much land, they don't cost much to feed. I don't think I personally could kill to eat but will never buy a non free range product ever again
 
I already do and TBH have been getting increasingly irritated by the "we can't afford to buy free range" attitude. Particularly the sneering of a certain Mr Wogan this week. Shortage of funds is no excuse for what amounts to animal cruelty.

When was it that we got the idea we had a right to eat meat every day? If you can't afford free range meat then don't buy meat! Or make more efficient use of the meat you do get!

For example - we buy a lot of our meat from Sheepdrove Organic Farm in Lambourn. I get a chicken which goes into the oven a big chicken and comes out of the oven a big chicken. It doesn't shrink in cooking because it's not full of water and fat just good meat. That chicken will do us at least two meals plus I then use the carcase to make stock for soup/stew. Looked at that way it suddenly becomes excellent value for money
 
We rpoduce all our own beef and lamb so now it is treated the way it should and has the opportunity of running about.

The problem we all face is when we eat take=aways or eat out as we have no idea where the stuff is coming from. Not sure what could be done about this unless alot of pressure is put on.
 
I agree. For example - for our Xmas dinner I bought free range goose that provided 2 meals for humans, filed 4 jars with the fat that I will use to cook in and trust me, it is delicious, my 2 dogs had the scraps mixed with their 2 dinners too and the unusable stuff was disposed off in my "green" recycling bin.
If we eat chicken, we make two meals out of it as well. Rice, vegetables and bits of chicken make wonderful risotto.
and as for the eggs, free range eggs tastes wonderful, I wish i had the facility to keep hens myself.
 
My grandfather reared broiler chickens, which set me on the road to veganism.

It's all exactly as shown in the programs ie the letter of the law is followed, but the law is hopelessly inadequate.
 
Yeah, that 'we can't afford free range' argument just doesn't wash with me.
My OH and I know that free-range is more expensive and we literally only have chicken once a week and have veggies and pasta during the rest of the week. It is healthier that way too.
For a 'nation of animal lovers' we are remarkably complacent when it is not something cute or fluffy that is suffering.
As horse-owners / riders / lovers I think we are all acutely aware of having to live within a tight budget and yet we are all very happy to make small sacrifices to ensure the well-being of another creature.
Do you think in the old days, there were people who used to say 'I can't afford to give up my slaves, I'm on a tight budget'? I bet you many years from now people are going to be looking at a lot of the things society takes for granted now and throw up their hands in horror.
 
I went to do my usual shop at the supermarket yesterday with the intention of buying free range fruit, veg and in particular chicken. I came away really disappointed as the range of fresh fruit veg was quite poor and I ended up with a mix. The chicken was the worst, as we turned into that section you were confronted with a huge display of two for £6 chickens, quite large and obviously very tempting for those on a budget! I looked for the free range ones and I could only find ONE and that was small. It was almost £7 so you can see the where the problem is. I hope that the reason for the lack of stock is because they have had a huge demand due to this weeks programmes but I doubt it. I did'nt buy any chicken in the end but I will find out if it is available through my local farm shop.
 
We try to only buy free range meat, we are lucky to live near a farm which was a runner up in the Food Hero's Competition - they raise and produce pork, beef and lamb, we also have free range chickens nearby where we buy our eggs.

I too would love to have my own chickens - I used to keep my horse at the above chicken farm and grew to love them - they have fab personalities, one of them refused to live anywhere but in my stable !!!, left me lovely fresh eggs every morning !!
 
I was hoping that the intensive birds would be left on the shelves right about now, after seeing Hugh's barn. I am saddened by what you say there, blagdon..

When I spoke to around 4 friends about the programme they hadn't seen it. So that's a great pity.

I have three little chickens, for laying, they are pretty clever and amusing and tough. They want to go outside all weather and scratch about. They have some intelligence. They feel pain when I accidentally step on their toes as they are always so close. So the hock burns do hurt.

In a way it was almost pleasant to see them snuggle down and get 8 hours of darkness at the end of their poor miserable, intensive, fattening little lives wasn't it?

I would rear chickens to kill for meat but its pretty time consuming, and I think I'd have a job to kill them.

I quite agree, eat less meat, eat cheaper food. We shouldn't be eating meat every day! It's not normal or healthy. And I'm really sorry now if I'm rude, but that woman on Hugh's project, if she stopped stuffing herself with enough food to make her so fat, she may have enough money to pay £1 or so more for a happy chicken!

And surely you can toss a load of shavings over them and it'd just fall through and end up on the ground? Oh NO! Maybe that'd give them something to think about - shock horror.

Jamie's on tonight talking about the same thing.

And that reminds me, I can't believe the flaming media, how they slate him and say he criticised Sainsbury's one minute and then say HE retracts it the next. He never even slated them at all did he? And they were the ones who actually came out and met Hugh and ALSO said they'd play footage of those chickens. And DID.
 
NickyM dare you say, your company name? and martine, I applaud you. Your attitude is just what everyone needs.

And Bosworth, you have swayed me, i was going to stop having chickens when they die, as its just an extra bit of mucking out and care, and check for frozen water, etc I haven't got much time for, plus the dogs want to kill them so there has to be some juggling with who goes where and when! BUT I shall get some battery hens when these die now.
 
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I went to do my usual shop at the supermarket yesterday with the intention of buying free range fruit, veg and in particular chicken.

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Free range fruit and veg? Happy apples with the run of the orchard?
 
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We're just small fry really! Our eggs go to a company who then sell them on to Tesco.

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Wish they were small fries!! They are huge eggs! I'm use to having banty eggs & having to cook 4 for one sandwich for the lads & then when I had your tray full. One was more that enough & so tasty!!
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I can also say how happy they look running out in the mornings!
 
I didn't want to watch the programme as I don't know I could have stomached it. Let's just say I am gald i am vegetarian although I do eat the odd egg now and then and would def make sure is free range.

I am a little disturbed by all these programmes they are showing to be honest there seems to be several programmes about animals from birth to your plate - i am not one that can watch these animals being killed. I couldn't kill anything myself so think would be hypocritical of me to eat meat really.

i agree with the comments about meat eaten daily though - meat used to be a luxury and it's disgusting that you can but 2 full chickens for £5 (as shown in the docu). Who's at fault, teh consumer, supermarket for putting demands on the farmer to produce this or is it down the the farmers not just saying no to the supermarkets (probably v v dificult as supermarkets would prob just import instead wouldn't they!)

Think I'll stick to my beanburgers!
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That's a good advert for our eggs thanks. Happy chickens!
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Well we all want to be happy chicks!!
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