Free range versus battery/barn

[Thackary]

Which is better, and why?

Should we aim for flavour and quality, or yield and efficiency?
Should the welfare of the animals be considered?

From egg to shelf in 50 days. Too quick?

[creepy old man]

There is cruelty involved either way. So for me it's neither.

[Tigger]

i think dodo eggs are the way forward.

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My Wings Are Like A Shield of Steel...
(Claire Raynor)

[Gill]

I think i'd rather eat a bird that is more likely to be healthy. But i'm not a big fan of chicken anyway and cost is always a factor.
There are still going to be the majority who would rather pay less. I agree with the 'chicken out' campaign that Free range is better but i understand that not all can afford to buy that all the time.


"Standard chickens are grown from newly hatched chick to oven-ready bird in an astonishing 39 days, that’s just over 5 weeks"

http://www.chickenout.tv/not-convinced.html

[Duggeh]

I use most eggs I buy for baking, so I don't care.

When I do eat eggs as eggs, I tend to buy the duck eggs from the cheese shop on south street. I assume that those are free range.

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IMAGE:www.thismanwillkillyou.com/avatars/tb3-100.jpg
Duggeh: Master Of Ceremonies
-Welcome to The Sinner. Sorry about your thin skin.

[4???2]

Free range is for stupid hippies. I always source my eggs and chicken from caged birds. I favour battery farming, they live to be eaten, not to live happy little chicken lives. They cant stand up? So what, why do they need to stand in a cage anyway?

I hate hippies forcing up the prices...

[fluffy]

but then, i buy from the man down the road when at home, who has chickens in his garden. the yolks are bright orange. then when i get to uni, even if i buy the organic free range, the colour is nowhere near close to that lovely orange colour. i dread to think what the colour of the battery hens, which have no light or food or exercise would be like. i'd rather do without than buy something of such substandard quality.

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dev ksereis, alla eimai trella erotebmevei mazi sou..

[Daniel]

When I'm in St. Andrews I buy from the man down the road who keeps chickens (freerange, obviously) in a smallholding just outside of St Andrews. The yolks are a lovely bright orange colour. He lives on South Street & we call him Garry the Eggman.

Daniel

Quoting fluffy from 07:40, 3rd Mar 2008
but then, i buy from the man down the road when at home, who has chickens in his garden. the yolks are bright orange. then when i get to uni, even if i buy the organic free range, the colour is nowhere near close to that lovely orange colour. i dread to think what the colour of the battery hens, which have no light or food or exercise would be like. i'd rather do without than buy something of such substandard quality.

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dev ksereis, alla eimai trella erotebmevei mazi sou..

[juiciestbabygurl]

Free range all the way

[WashingtonIrving]

If I had the money free range, as it is...

When you're talking quality, obviously there is a difference, but it does depend what you're making with it. If you're doing a curry or something the quality of the meat isn't as important, as you can just cook it for ages to make the meat tender. Plus you can smother the meat in spices. If, on the other hand, you're making a roast..

I have limited ethical qualms about battery farming. But, really, I don't think its something I'm ethically against, rather I think that we shouldn't accept supermarkets selling such sub-standard produce. I don't think there's anything hippyish about saying that.

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"I said farewell honey, I'll see you Judgment Day"

[maenad]

Quoting Daniel from 09:42, 3rd Mar 2008
When I'm in St. Andrews I buy from the man down the road who keeps chickens (freerange, obviously) in a smallholding just outside of St Andrews. The yolks are a lovely bright orange colour. He lives on South Street & we call him Garry the Eggman.

Daniel

Is there a way to find this man other than knocking on every door on South St asking for Garry the Eggman?

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Tommy can you hear me?

[Hennessy]

I just don't care either way.

[hr]

"What happened to Spoon?"
"There is no Spoon"
Dog Soldiers

[Gubbins]

As someone who has kept free range hens (for eggs) for many a year, I think I am qualified to comment.

Chances are, the yolk colour that you get off young Garry is due to an additive in the feed the hens are eating. The fashion these days is for very dark shells and very dark yolks (in contrast with much of the world), and additives (natural or artificial) can be put into the hen feed to alter these.

In terms on animal welfare, I don't think it's as clear cut as saying one is better than the other. If anyone has ever experienced how stupid hens are, you'll know it's unlikely that they experience any kind of happiness, but you can certainly tell when they're not feeling too great for whatever reason.

Free range is all very well, but it does come with disadvantages. Most hens would prefer to be inside on a cold, wet January day, but will not have the brains to do anything except shelter under a bush, shiver and get dripped on. Also:
* They will (or should) also be fed on a dietary supplement of grass pellets or similar.
* They will also be at the mercy of predators, such as foxes. This causes them a lot of stress, particularly when foxy comes and helps himself to a chicken drumstick or two (and nothing else), leaving limbless, squawking hens bleeding to death. Such is Nature's way.

However:
* They will get to enjoy the glorious sunshine (when it's out), giving the originally sub-tropical birds a more natural lifestyle.
* They will not overheat indoors during the day.
* They will get more exercise, and increase muscle:fat ratio.
* They will eat a more natural, omnivorous diet, including field mice, frogs, etc.

So there are points either way. In reality, in many free range systems, many hens never get outside for reasonable periods of time, and when they do, it is into a bare earthen yard. While this is not necessarily bad for them, it makes "free range" a bit of misnomer. Ours had 22 acres of boggy scrub to root around in, surrounded by Forestry Commission land, and I'm not sure that was any better.

In my opinion, there is no real ethical difference between "barn" and "free range" hens or eggs, given my experience. Thankfully, cages as we knew them have now in all essence been made illegal, as I don't believe this did the hens any good. The actual quality of eggs depends more on how strict the egg graders are than what the hens are like. Also bear in mind that it is in the farmer's interest to keep the hens happy: unhappy hens won't put on weight or lay eggs.

In terms of age, you can compare it to other animals: hens live for about 3-4 years and reach puberty at about 10-14 weeks (i.e. that's when their voices drop and they start laying). Carcass size is generally proportional to age. Compare that to your roast lamb and make your own judgements.

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...then again, that is only my opinion.

[Power Metal Dom]

Battery is obscenely cruel. Free range if not ideal is certainly the better alternative. I never use caged hens eggs, paying a few pence more is worth it.

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Like flames on fuel...upon metal I drool

[exnihilo]

Erm, yolk people? You do realise the yolk colour is determined by the feed given to the bird, it's not some species of litmus test for how often they were hugged as a chick.

[beeny]

Quoting creepy old man from 23:26, 2nd Mar 2008
There is cruelty involved either way. So for me it's neither.

I always buy free range because i feel they're just nicer. But as for saying there's cruelty either way? No offence, but chickens kept on a farm are a resource for food. End of. Are you vegan/veggie by any chance?

EDIT: before I get flamed down by insanely protective vegetarians, I do agree that battery farming is unnecessarily cruel and would never buy battery eggs or chicken. That's my disclaimer

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'But what do I know? I'm a bear; I suck the heads off fish.'

[Guest]

I think free range is stupid. I always make sure my chickens and eggs come from caged hens. We've bread them to be a food source, not happy little pets running around in fields. Battery farming is the way i like it. They dont need their legs anyway, its not like they walk anywhere...

[David Bean]

Irrespective of what you feel about the animal welfare issue - and as someone who works in that area, I for one feel it's important not to mistreat the animals we farm, even if only because the idea of having such disrespect for our food source is perverse - the quality of the meat harvested from birds reared to higher welfare standards (organic, free range or other supermarket standards such as The Co-operative Elmwood and Marks and Spencer Oakham, although the latter isn't quite as good) is qualitatively better, and the same can be said of the eggs.

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Psalm 91:7

[Gubbins]

Quoting David Bean from 21:15, 3rd Mar 2008
...the quality of the meat harvested from birds reared to higher welfare standards [...] is qualitatively better, and the same can be said of the eggs.

I'm not so sure you can say that so definitively. Welfare aside, meat, eggs, etc., from animals who have been mistreated is undoubtedly lower quality, but to say that sources and systems you mention produce better quality meat than standard sources and systems is, I think, unfounded.

It may be better, but a lot of that comes down to either the placebo effect of eating "ethically", and perhaps more to the higher quality standards that Fortnum and Mason's finest chicken liver pate has over Honest Bob's Chicken Franchise Nuggets.

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...then again, that is only my opinion.

[Raindog]

I was reading the Sun and a guy in some country found 6 double yokers in his egg carton.