Yeah, each broiler house can hold ~20-50k chickens (depending on size). A few million chickens is a pretty large operation. Most farms around here have about 20 houses max.
My understanding is that dog food is sometimes the answer, but I believe in some cases it’s actually more “cost effective” to either compost them or just throw them away. The system is broken.
I went vegan for a bit for much the same reason. In all seriousness, good for you, taking responsibility for your footprint and the consequences of your dietary decisions.
More recently I’ve started keeping chickens and ducks (predominantly for eggs, inevitably one day for meat), and it’s given me additional insight into how animal agriculture can be done more responsibly and how we can integrate it into our communities and to enrich our land.
I think it’s great to foster awareness and agency in our food system. If being vegan works for you, I think it’s wonderful. If being vegetarian works for you, also great. I remember the first time someone self-righteously told me they are vegetarian and only eat eggs, and I asked them what they think happens to the roosters since they’re still born at a roughly 1:1 ratio. Introspection occurred. And if someone still Insists that eating tons of factory-raised meat is the only way, well then maybe they aren’t ready to think about it yet but hopefully I can plant a seed that will germinate later.
Yeah, I actually got ducks for eggs soon after I purchased my house. But after getting the little dudes (in the mail) and watching them grow into full sized birds— I was reading and learning as much as I possibly could about how to best care for them. But this sort of research leads you down the path of agriculture literature. And the more I learned, the more it disgusted me. So my birds are full-time pets. I don’t eat their eggs, and I’ve tried to cook them and feed them back to the hens, but they don’t eat them. So now I just give the eggs away to my friends/family so they don’t have to purchase eggs. My logic is that doing this reduces the overall demand for factory farmed eggs.
(I have 4 hens and one drake. They are the most spoiled ducks to walk this earth.)
Yeah, each broiler house can hold ~20-50k chickens (depending on size). A few million chickens is a pretty large operation. Most farms around here have about 20 houses max.
…why is the place where chickens are raised and kept called a “broiler” house?
Meat chickens are called broilers, and egg chickens are called layers. Since they have been selectively bred for each specific purpose
hmmm what happens to all the male “layers”?
Same thing that happens to all the male broilers: meat grinder>dog food.
“Certified humane” doe
My understanding is that dog food is sometimes the answer, but I believe in some cases it’s actually more “cost effective” to either compost them or just throw them away. The system is broken.
Yup. Learning about animal agriculture was what made me vegan.
I went vegan for a bit for much the same reason. In all seriousness, good for you, taking responsibility for your footprint and the consequences of your dietary decisions.
More recently I’ve started keeping chickens and ducks (predominantly for eggs, inevitably one day for meat), and it’s given me additional insight into how animal agriculture can be done more responsibly and how we can integrate it into our communities and to enrich our land.
I think it’s great to foster awareness and agency in our food system. If being vegan works for you, I think it’s wonderful. If being vegetarian works for you, also great. I remember the first time someone self-righteously told me they are vegetarian and only eat eggs, and I asked them what they think happens to the roosters since they’re still born at a roughly 1:1 ratio. Introspection occurred. And if someone still Insists that eating tons of factory-raised meat is the only way, well then maybe they aren’t ready to think about it yet but hopefully I can plant a seed that will germinate later.
Yeah, I actually got ducks for eggs soon after I purchased my house. But after getting the little dudes (in the mail) and watching them grow into full sized birds— I was reading and learning as much as I possibly could about how to best care for them. But this sort of research leads you down the path of agriculture literature. And the more I learned, the more it disgusted me. So my birds are full-time pets. I don’t eat their eggs, and I’ve tried to cook them and feed them back to the hens, but they don’t eat them. So now I just give the eggs away to my friends/family so they don’t have to purchase eggs. My logic is that doing this reduces the overall demand for factory farmed eggs.
(I have 4 hens and one drake. They are the most spoiled ducks to walk this earth.)
Ducks are the best! But try to tell me they aren’t also the messiest creatures to walk the earth.
I appreciate the irony of your username.
I am a mighty hunter of the most dangerous game: tofu.
Dang, thanks. That’s boggling