it would need more land put into farming
Well that is self-evident.
But I think we can probably managed to find an area larger than a A4 sheet of paper for a chicken to live its entire life in.
[b][i]"thus driving up prices"[/i][/b]
Well prices are also subject to demand - not just cost. But yeah, that's a possibility.
Although the Tories have announced they will soon abolish the Agricultural Wages Board.
So that should bring [s]prices[/s] costs down as farm workers get even more piss-poor wages.
And anyway, if low food costs to the consumer were a priority, then we wouldn't be members of the EU.
Grumm; yeah, of course. But there will always be limitations. But it's naive and even foolish to believe that there is a nice easy happy solution to things.
Ernie; it's not so much about low costs to consumers, as maximising profits for the big food production companies.
Ultimately, it's the Tories fault.
Which is where we came in....
I have seen vast amounts of cages of game birds ready for release to be shot.
Reading that, you infer that the birds are released into a line of guns like pigeons from a trap...
Game birds, for example pheasants, are reared to the age of approx six weeks, at this point they're normally shipped to a shoot for placement in release pens, where they normally stay for another few weeks to get used to the woodland environment and protect them from predators, then they're out in the woods on their own for approx eight weeks before shooting season opens - during this time they'll feed in the woods, fields and cover strips, with daily grain feeding from keepers either hand feeding or feed barrels.
raised Laying pens, sometimes called cages (ie, males and females in a pen, from where you collect the eggs to hatch in incubators run at a maximum density of 3 birds per square metre, - battery hens have a max density of 25 per square metre! - most game farms do not use these, and have open air grass laying pens stocked to approx 1 bird per sq Metre
So, eggs, roughly Easter
chicks - May
poults into release pens - early July
out into woods, late july
first shoot - October 1st opens season, but few shoots till end October and through November & December.
A very good return rate would be 50% - ie, release 100 for every 50 shot by end of season in Feburary.
So, lets compare that with modern poultry unit chickens...
s[i]ix weeks hatch to slaughter!
eight weeks for free range
twelve weeks hatch to slaughter for your finest organic expensive chickens![/i]
A pheasant will have been roaming free in the woods for three to six months before it gets shot, and even then its got roughly an evens chance!
So, thats the true story!
But it's naive and even foolish to believe that there is a nice easy happy solution to things.
What a stupid comment. I can give you a perfectly "easy happy solution" to battery chickens : don't keep them in a space the size of a A4 sheet of paper.
There's nothing naive or foolish about that. I only eat free-range eggs, there is no reason why everyone can't. And in fact if everybody did, even because of legislation, it would probably drive the prices down.
"protect them from predators" ? like call me Dave and his millionaire trustfund buddies? Thats the only predators they need protecting from. Lets look forwarsd to more animals having "fun" in the circus thanks to that vile crock of shite we have as a government [url= http://www.ringlingbeatsanimals.com/bound-babies.asp?c=rbaghba1110&s_src=padba_rba ]aww look at the cute baby elephants[/url]
of course it is in Zulu land. All hunting shooting and fishing is a totally fluffy harmless pastime and the beasts enjoy the hunt.
TJ, I've given you factual statistics, based on best practice guidelines and regulations.
I have not made any comments as to morality or ethics, only to the work plan of your average game shoot.
Others can choose to believe you, in your infinite knowledge, or believe someone who's worked on a gamefarm and is more than happy to point them to the truth.
Funnily enough, since we've discussed gamebirds and animal research in the same thread... did you know that it is a licensed procedure to deny ducks a pool of water for grooming and paddling - think about that next time you look at the annual figures for "licensed procedures" in animal research! in much the same way that to give a dog an injection with a microchip is [i]not[/i] a recorded licenced procedure, but taking an overnight urine sample is...
What a stupid comment. I can give you a perfectly "easy happy solution" to battery chickens : don't keep them in a space the size of a A4 sheet of paper.
Alright go on then go and sort it all out over night.
I just have.
What is it spock?
Jim, it's like nothing I've seen, since yesterday...
It's like a strange descent, an ever decreasing vortex. same voices, same opinions bouncing off each other. spinning round and around deeper and deeper, it's mindlessly diverting, this vortex, this, This Is The huge Ever growing Pulsating multi-Brain that rules from the centre of the Stw-niverse!
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I think, so far on this thread, we've done;
row 1, columns 2 & 5
row 2, columns 1, 2 & 3
row 3, columns 2 & 4
row 5, columns 1,2 & 4