Free Range Eggs: It's all Rather Confusing...
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- Who would have thought that free range eggs could be so complicated, and kinda dodgy, depending on where you live. GET READY TO SMASH THAT DISLIKE BUTTON.
Simon's Social Media:
Twitter: / simonwhistler
Instagram: / simonwhistler
Simon's Other Channels:
TodayIFoundOut: / todayifoundout
TopTenz: / toptenznet
Biographics: / @biographics
Visual Politik: / @visualpolitiken
Highlight History: / @highlighthistory
Geographics: / @geographicstravel
Story time Simon,
There is a pretty farm close to us. Their chickens are free all day. You drive up, get out, and chickens come up for a head rub and if you are knowledgeable some chicken feed you brought to share. (There is no beak cutting.) The yard is grassed, full of chicken friendly plants. You buy how many eggs you want.
At night the chickens go into their very nice hen house with raised nests where they are protected from foxes and other chicken threats. In the winter their house is heated and on bad weather days, they can stay inside if they wish. When the humans decide they want some new peeps they will bring one of their beautiful show roosters from a farm close by where he stays as the those owners do poultry in show competitions.
I love going to see the peeps. So cute. Now because of this you have to be aware you could get a fertilized egg. So many have no idea what that means as it’s doubtful to ever get a fertilized egg from the grocery store.
They also have four dogs who are in the farmyard during the day protecting the farm and animals. The chickens and dogs are buds. You can pull up and see a big dog sleeping with a couple hens curled up next to the dog. It’s worth it to look around your area. You might be surprised on what you can find.
Very informative video. Enjoyed it.
Fertilized eggs aren't an issue unless it really hot in the summer or they are bad about collecting the eggs every day. But it's a little unsettling to find one that was incubated for a week, usually leads to not eating eggs for a while.
When I lived in a more rural area there was a farm much like that near me. The chickens barely got out of the way of your car when you pulled in the driveway. If you approached them they assumed you were friendly because all the people they knew treated them well. They would occasionally peck at your hand because the farmer fed them that way sometimes. When I lived there I never bought my eggs from a grocery store. He charged $3 a dozen which I always felt was cheap for eggs from such genuinely happy chickens.
This channel is really underrated in the Simon Whistler pantheon. I love this format, and your delivery. You should also give a shout out to your editor, because they’re doing a great job.
Keep up the great work with Geographics as well!
Simon edits his own stuff.
@@sleepysartorialist I was gonna say, at least on this channel, Simon is doing his own editing as he goes. Edit: I THINK lol i have had a few drinks.
@@sleepysartorialist I definitely don't ;). For this one I do the "cut", so I take the raw material and do the jump cut stuff because I really want the timing to be just how I want it, and so I can leave things in like the stupid cough (VAPE NASSHHH YA'LL). But then Sam takes that and adds all the good stuff.
I like that as well. I think I'll start using it ;)
You should do some more videos like this contrasting and comparing regulations/terminology of terms that affect price between EU/USA
My grandgrandma used to have some hens in the country. She said that she coudn't ever kill one (she tried and it made her sick), but there were eggs all around the year and she really liked to raise chickens. Because of killing thing she only once had a pig as well. I only know about it from her as she was already old when I was born and she already lived in the city, not in the country. But since then I know the real difference for a living creatures how to be raised and treated.
Also, great video again! This channel make me smile every time so please keep it runnig, I love it!
Danny never fails to deliver, Simon as well.
Thank you :). We try!
I mean, Simon is rather eager to be delivered by Danny.
Don’t forget Sam! Everyone always forgets Sam...
I love how more insane this channel is currently. It feels like it’s because of the pandemic. Simons gone insane
Simon will never deliver Danny from the basement tho
In the US, it’s more ideal to get “pasture raised”. They are the only ones raise, uhh, free to roam.
I checked my store in Los Angeles today. I found one pasture raised that states "Better tasting brown and blue eggs... 120 square inches per chicken..". Seems pasture raised is the way to go. Thanks for the tip.
Yeup. My wife and I raise ducks for meat and duck eggs for our local area. Our ducks are outside every day, only locked up at night due to predators.
We specifically label our meat ducks and duck egg as from pasture raise ducks because it is quite specific as to how they are raised and treated.
If you can, the absolutely best way is to buy from a local farmer that you can visit, but I know that's not always possible. We personally would do pasture raised even over organic, as it can be pricey to get the organic label, but far easier for someone small to say pasture raised.
@@dj-jn7qs 1 foot x 10 inches. A spot big enough to stand in if you keep your feet together. Sounds great!
@@LarryThePhotoGuy What human-sized chickens do you know of? Sure, 120sq. Ft. Isn't a massive amount of space even for a single chicken, but it certainly beats the massive overcrowding of caged or barn-raised. Relating that space for a human's comfort is a fallacious argument, though.
@@hyperbolicowl2824 I wasn't "Relating that space for a human's comfort;" I was giving a relatable example of how much space was being talked about. It's also just a bit larger than a standard piece of typing paper. And, no , I'm not worried about the comfort of the piece of paper either. But for a living animal, it sounds hellishly small. A full grown chicken would have a hard time even turning around in that space. Beating the massive overcrowding of caged or barn-raised by this much is like lowering the temperature in hell by a few degrees. It is still hell.
Straw- manning my post is a little fallacious, don't you think?
Since I cannot raise my own eggs, I get my eggs from Holly & her chickens. The woman runs her small family farm on 1.3 acres here in Las Vegas. Such a huge difference in quality, plus she has hens who give off different color eggs. I love it. She has walked me around to see where their coop is, seen the geese, and her two horses. Coops here must be eagle/hawk proof. Her birds are very friendly.
I used to be a heritage breed farm. Basically I raised breeds that were all older than 100 years, ie not bred for bigger breasts, abnormal or quick size etc. I went to get certified as organic, natural, free range etc but as a small farm I couldn't afford 100,000 dollars per certification. Luckily I welcomed my customers to my farm and often held farm events for people to come eat and enjoy the farm.
I sold at a farmer's market filling special orders for people that wanted fresh eggs that haven't been washed or put in the fridge.
My chickens were free ranging during the days but nights locked up for their safety. We didn't do anything to artificially to stimulate egg laying.
The egg labels are silly, like you explained, but people see it and think is good so those labels do matter.
There are companies that buy small farmers eggs to sell and do require legit healthy/ happy standards.
We can't have bazillions of chickens like the companies. Less chickens, using more land mean we will never compete with the big companies.
But your eggs at farmers markets! Support farms direct!
Thanks for the video Simon!
I have chickens on my acreage. Dust bathing is hilarious once you realize they're not having a horrible seizure. TH-cam it, its ridiculous.
Also, my chickens harrass each other but they dont go crazy for blood. They've seen it, they dont care. They're fine.
This is amazing. Who knew :).
Chickens are usually at their worst when housed in crazy large, unnatural numbers. Reminds me of another animal as well, but I can't quite put my finger on it...
They are get more aggressive if they aren't getting enough protein. Whenever our chickens growing up would start getting aggressive, we'd cook them a lb of hamburger.
I live in a small town and buy my eggs from locals, who still raise their chickens the way we've all seen it in movies.
Same but I’m in a mid sized city. You can actually rent a chicken coop here. :3
Live in Suburban neighbourhood and we have our own chickens. Allowed Upto 4 I think.
Shut up you don't know the things that happen in those barns...
In my situation I do. I know the people I buy from.
@@aroper53 if you're from a small rural town you do know what goes on but you obviously arent so what do you know
o.O Simon, I'm shocked.
"Australian Capital Territory" is just that, a territory with Australia's Capital city (Canberra). The ACT is similar to the District of Columbia.
The more you know.
@@brainblaze6526 I thought you would of known that.
@@brainblaze6526 "Today I found Out....."
My favourite episodes of tifo top tenz etc are when Simon goes slightly off script or cracks up this channel is quickly becoming my favourite
Love it. Thanks Matt.
Australian Capital Territory is a small Area in Australia similar to a state. The ACT is home to the Australian capital city Canberra. It came about due to Melbourne and Sydney fighting it out for national capital city statuses and so they built Canberra between the two.
Today I found out. Thanks :)
@@brainblaze6526 Think of it as where we in Australia have tried to cage those free range politicans. Unfortunately they still get out and cause problems but carry their bubble with them. ( no idea of real life )
In the US, it's relatively easy to get home-farmed eggs. The people I know who sell them usually price them at $2.50 a dozen, some give a 25 cent discount for returning the carton. If they have too many eggs, they'll often drop their prices, sometimes even just giving the eggs away so they don't risk spoilage.
Make sure to tell the person your getting your eggs from if you intend to use the eggs raw. Eggs last for months on their own, but for raw preparation of non-pasteurized eggs from unmedicated chickens, it's best to use fresh-laid eggs. If they tell you to buy store bought eggs for that, take their advice.
Just bought eggs the other day and was looking at all the labels to find one that would indicate chickens that were happier. I went with a carton that says: free range, vegetarian feed fed, cruelty free, outdoor access and a big "certified humane" label. It even came in a plastic carton! No organic though...
Man has more youtube channels than I have feelings.
I love the way Simon gets to be more goofy on this channel. And as always great script Danny!
If you live in an area where people keep chickens backyard(like i do myself) or on small homestead farms(or bigger farms) you can always get eggs from those people. I keep 5 hens in my backyard and always have enough eggs for my 4 person household, plus a few more households they we give them to.
In Australia the definition of "free range" is so useless that we need a step above that, called "pasture-raised". You dont see it often though.
I live in the us and I have chickens that run around outside all day every day because I'm too lazy to maintain a fence. I started with my own chicken so I could be sure they where happy. Thanks for this blaze I really enjoyed it.
When I was a teen here in Scotland I worked a weekend job collecting eggs from battery hens (this was in the 90s, I'm 36 now) and while at the time I'm ashamed to say I wasn't particularly bothered in their conditions but looking back with hindsight I can't believe the conditions those hens were kept in, they were a mess 🙁
Edit-thankfully that company is now much better and is free range
"The U.S. is scary for animals, that should earn me a few dislikes." Me: rushes to click like button
saaaame!!!
*America is scary for animals* i ugly laughed in a sad, rueful way
It earned a like from me!
It's scary for most of us...
@@nicholasbower17 Amen
Raw milk means get your own cow or goat. Real eggs means I have approx 30ish chickens right now and we don't wash any of the natural coating off.
Lets just use the worst example as the entire US, fuck you Danny you lazy bitch
Living in the forest and only eating magical oats 🤣😂
That's how I started my day, today!:)
Sounds like an enlightening life style
@@randymiracle4958 I agree
Buy your eggs from a small local farm if you live near one, rather than the grocery store. I have several families on my street selling eggs for very reasonable prices ($3-$4 a dozen). You can see the birds, you can meet the farmer. You can ask questions, and you're helping your neighbor.
We have our own little flock of egg layers, too - but we don't sell eggs. We give extras to our kids and friends :)
I love Simon, this is awesome. You're the only person who could take information about chickens and make it worth listening to and yes; Here America they have Not caught up with the rest of the Western world as far as the way they treat their chickens it's not good
Best part about Simon is he's just a normal dude
Randy Miracle I love when people shit on him for reading a script, like cmon guys
@@Gfp1995 I love it when they are like: "You're so lazy." I'm like "bitch please... Do you have any idea how good at reading a teleprompter I've become?" These videos take way more mental energy.
Idk I've heard he has a vestigial twin hidden under his beard! 😉
Growing outside the US and Europe it was common for people from all financial backgrounds to have some chickens, ducks, sheeps, goats, or any other farm animals on their properties. My parents had 3 goats, 2 guinea fowls, a dozen chickens (for eggs) and 3 dogs while I was in elementary school. All animals were kept as pets, except for the chickens 🤤. There were also boas and pythons roaming around the forest but they usually looked for rats, monkeys or unattended pets. Once we moved to another country we still kept raising pet goats, pet pigeons, a pet hedgehog, a rescue cat and 3 dogs (seems to be our limit for some reason 😂). We had uncles and aunties who had peacocks, tortoises, antelopes, macaques (they will hurt you if you get too close) and lizards/toads (unwanted pests). Our cat used to hunt the lizards and eat them. By the 3rd month after we took her in, no lizards would dare hang on our 6ft brick fence and randomly drop on our heads 😰.
I had a chicken escape once and we had it surrounded with the good old 'at least it can't fly' line even being uttered.
Then it took that as a challenge, shooting over the roof and into the jungle besides the house... we never saw it again.
PS: it was probably only 6 or so seconds of flight, but the arc'o'flight ensured we couldn't easily follow.
Probably got ate by a snake after that, this was in Australia after all....
I also worked at a duck hatchery where we trimmed the tip of the top bill and their toenails off. The top bill was to get the egg tooth off. The little, I guess you'd best call it a guillotine, was hot and cauterized it immediately. If you accidentally cut too much off the bill, or if you cut both bills, you toss the chick in a huge funnel that goes to an auger to destroy them
Woah.
Organic eggs are one of the only organic foods I buy. Here in Canada, organic eggs come from chickens who haven't been fed any animal products. I buy these eggs because I am allergic to shellfish and some farmers feed their chickens shellfish to get harder egg shells, and enough of that gets through to the eggs to make me sick.
Whenever possible, I instead prefer to buy directly from the farm because I can usually get eggs for cheaper (because they're not organic) but safely because I can talk to the farmer about the feed.
The other food we have bought that was organic is a bunch of grain and beans, and we only went organic because it was the only bulk option we could find. We're still a bit ticked that we certainly paid more than we needed to.
I worked at a chicken farm in the US as a teenager. I'm just going to say, buying from a person, not a company is nicer for the chicken. I agree with Danny, chocolate eggs are SO MUCH better.
America's scary for most of the people who live there.
It is what happens when you have a solid chunk of the populous believing the government shouldn't be functional....
The irony is they would argue that it protects them from governmental tyranny, even though it clearly does not.
@@lostbutfreesoul damn right.
@@cheshirehavens6208 Woah. A political comment with likes. That didn't turn into a shit show.
TAKE NOTE PEOPLE. 2019. Business Blaze. It actually happened.
@@lostbutfreesoul It clearly would, had the people not already given away too much of their rights because they're afraid of everything. Sorry BB.
Makes me glad that we raise our own chickens. Lots of greens and red pepper flakes for those nice thick shells and lovely orange colour.
I totally want to go for drinks with you and Danny. I feel like it would be a RIOT!
Can I come too?
DROP OF JUPITER IN HER HAIR OHHH OHH OH OH OH.
Depends how many beers. Riot Simon is about 8 beers.
I'm only coming if somebody buys me a packet of Pork Scratchings.
@@brainblaze6526 I need to be there for this🍻🍻🍻
If you live in a house in the US, and your household consumes enough eggs, it is very advantages to just raise your own hens. They don't need much space. A hutch that is 10' by 10' and 8' tall, Is plenty.
Put a deck halfway up and about 3' to 4' for roosting. After that, all you need is a nesting box or two and some sawdust for the ground or floor.
If you have a yard that you can let them out for a while during the day, even better.
Although, in some areas you might want to put up some netting because of red tailed hawks (chicken hawks).
In the city where I live, you are allowed up to 10 hens. This is more than enough eggs for a 4 person household. We usually have extras to give away to friends, family and neighbors. Trust me, you will be very popular.
Hen feed costs next to nothing and they're pretty easy maintenance.
Just freshen up their water and feed twice a day, and dust them occasionly for parasites.
If you live in a colder climate, make sure you have a proper set up to keep them from getting too cold.
Love the idea of chickens mooching around. 😂😂
Thousands of birds? Think millions. I worked at an egg farm for a few years. Every egg farm they owned had 1-1/4 million birds. And yes, they're in cages where they can't move.
The most important thing to keep in mind when deciding on what animal products to buy based on ethics is "How profitable is ONE of these animals?". Like, cartoons would have us believe that birds can pop out a carton of eggs in one particularly productive afternoon, but in fact they cannot. They are not sea turtles. They lay up to one egg a day. That's it.
I mean, the smallest, most humane farm in my city has around 300 hens. That's the SMALLEST operation. Think about how much one chicken's life would be worth on a farm of 20,000. Poultry processors regularly remove dozens, if not hundreds of carcasses of chickens that never made it to your plate.
Cows, on the other hand, will at least feed more than one person at a time, which means they're likely to have slightly more space and more freedom than chickens would.
I usually avoid groceries marketed as "ORGANIC" but for our eggs we only buy the organic version. It's important to note that eating an egg every other day is the most you should do. Too much egg can raise your cholesterol and too little deprives you of a good amount of nutrients.
This is why I’m happy I live 5 minutes away from a small local chicken farm. They sell their eggs below the price of a supermarket but the chickens are basically living a natural life.
We have discovered Simon is not very Athletic and Danny truly knows everything
A shout out to Danny. Simon better buy him a beer.
I should, as I pay him $3 a script.
@@brainblaze6526 how is that financially viable for him? :O
In the U.K. there is “RSPCA” standard too, which means chicken farmers agree to the basic standards set by the RSPCA, including perches and more space and better care.
However I don’t know what leaving the EU will mean for our chickens (and farmers in general).
May 22, 1989: Judy flew 542 feet, 9 inches Saturday to win the contest at the Bob Evans Farm in southeast Ohio. Her flight shattered the 10-year-old mark of 302 feet, 8 inches and won $1,100 for her owner, John Salyers.But Salyers was unable to bring Judy to the trophy stand to share in the award ceremony. During her flight, Judy swept over the flying course so far into the nearby woods that Sal-yers was unable to find her.
Free range eggs are usually a bit more nutritious because the chickens get more variety in their diet since they can catch bugs to eat. This is assuming their ethical free range. My parents have chickens that free range for most of the day unless the weather is bad.
Also, dust bathing is fun to watch. Chickens are entertaining!
Danny, jack of all trades. Master of pun.
The worst part is the *Chicken-grinder* - because only hens are wanted the major egg companies have a machine that basically looks like a wood-chipper, and they *grind up all the baby roosters in it...* Happy Eggs! Surprised you didn't mention that.
Or you know, buy eggs from a farm/hobby farm. I sell mine for 1.50 so I don't think it's too expensive?
Per egg??
Per dozen, should've been more specific 😅 a mix of brown and the blue/green "Easter egger" eggs
Haha, yes. That's a great deal! :)
You could scrub with sand. It would be better then most of what would get stuck to you otherwise. Bathing in a water shortage can be done in a sauna, scraping sweat and diet off with a flat edge tool, and also with spray bottles set to mist.
It's worth noting that when a bird is stressed egg production goes down. So no matter what country, or what label they are using, the birds can't be totally miserable or they won't make eggs. The male chicks, however, are thrown into a meat grinder while they are still alive, I assume this happens in most countries.
I Western America, in more rural farming areas, people tend to have their own chickens lay eggs and sell to the surrounding area, or give them to friends and family. Generally, no refrigeration needed, as most eat the eggs within the next couple of days.
Mister Simon, would you do a Business Blaze about how monetization on TH-cam works? Please and thank you.
I just raise my own birds so I have a say how they get treated and what they eat. Mine are cage free organic free roam sadly no forest for them to forage.
I see you didn't mention the magical oats.... Is this a trade secret?
Ian Bartram well I feed organic oats I grew myself that count?
@pumpkin patch exotics
nope, USDA code states magical oats should be watered with liquified wood sprite any morning they are not kissed with the morning dew. Fertilized with pixie dust weekly and harvested on a full moon. The oats should then be mixed with fairy puree before being consumed.
Timothy Neiswander darn then no
@@timothyneiswander3151 I swear I thought the regulations also mentioned that the ground must be fertilized with unicorn fart dust biannually.
I used to live near a "free range" chicken far. It, I think, was rented from the state the land? Anyway my mother ended up going to see it one day, she worked in the park system, it was exactly what you discussed. The yard was so small they were just piled on top of each other according to her. This was early 00s but I doubt its changed.
i grew up on a certified organic free range egg farm in New Zealand, can remember my parents fighting with the feed companies trying to get the proper organic feed without any added hormones
I've owned chickens my entire life and we had to lock them up at night so coyotes didn't get them, and I'll be damned if they couldn't fly. The smart ones flew up into the canopy of the trees, to be out of danger. And when my sister and I were little, we'd chase them and they'd fly all over to evade us. They totally can fly without their wings clipped or raised to not fly.
That picture of overcrowded chicken living conditions looks like it's chicken rave party in a fancy old-school European train.
There's some argument that cage eggs are less inhumane than barn-raised, since the chickens are packed together just as closely either way, but in cages they're unable to attack each other. But both are of course absolutely barbaric.
In Canada, ‘free range’ means each chicken is allotted 1 squared meter. They’re still with hundreds of other chickens, but that’s our standard.
Unfortunately my butcher shop knowledge is escaping me currently for pork and beef.
In Australia we have pretty strict regulations in place to protect the welfare of animals bred and raised for food or used for laying eggs like chickens (despite what a lot of these crackpots over here are complaing about).
If I buy free range I know its going to be free range and have actual time outside of a barn for a decent length of time.
I try different brands occasionally and buy the ones that are better eggs. The eggs with the richest yolks and most consistent whites come from a brand that says it is "pasture-raised" where the chickens are kept outside on grass and moved regularly. They cost 5-7 US dollars a dozen. The cheapest eggs from the grocery store are about $2 per dozen. I recently got some "organic Free-range" eggs the whites were milky and gelatinous with a thick white membrane around the yolk, yuk. I threw them away.
The “Australian Capital Territory” is like the “washington D.C” of Australia. Like a state, but very tiny, and as far as the area it takes up. The ACT is less then 1% of the total area of Australia.
Despite what people might tell you, we have a lot of improving to do in many sectors in Australia. We like to think of ourselves as being one of the most advanced countries in the world, but I think that impression was put in us 20 years ago, and we have failed to continue to strive to stay an advanced democracy. There is so much we could be doing better...
Oh yeah, I used to keep chickens. If one of them gets sick or dies in there they definitely eat each other. And that was chickens with a large coop and let out half of every day to scratch in the garden. Chickens can be vicious.
Oh, and Australian Capital Territory is a small territory that was created inside NSW for our capital city, Canberra.
Rural Northern California: My chickens have never seen a cage, their nest boxes are closed up at night. The dust baths are great and they know how to escape predators. And, I haven't had to buy a egg in the last 30 years.
As an American in a decently rural part of Ohio (my neighbors are Amish) this bums me out. I love chickens
Also why do Americans put eggs in the dairy isle, I have dairy cows and I've never gotten eggs from them
Americans think this is weird also. Corporations make most of the decisions here.
Idk man, I just work here.
Really? You've got the wrong cows, man.
@@jamesletendre6456 ha ha maybe
If you have a lactose intolerance you are also more likely to have an egg issue. They’re similar product types.
I don't think I'd ever seen this format before, but I was won over the second Simon flapped his arms like a chicken.
;)
Late to the party but Australia Capital Territory (ACT) is the area in Australia where the capitol, Canberra is located. It exists because Sydney and Melbourne couldnt decide who is more important.
I laughed at the American animal comment and thought if it's scary to be an animal in America then its terrifying to be an animal in China. ; )
Or support your local small farmers, heads up they are really cheap if you can find someone selling them as they generally just aim to recoup their costs. And easily fall under the free range description but dont have the overcrowding problems. The more you know!
I hectare is literally just a 100 meter by 100 meter square. Honestly, here in the US I was taught that the hectare was the SI equivelant of an acre here in the States. Now I am curious who lied to me in school, or if the UK simply still use the acre, as there are other situations where imperial measures still cling to certain industries.
The Australian Capital Territory is it's own State/Territory. Every state in Australia has different laws, some laws are the same, obviously but there are some that aren't so obvious. For example, you'll have a law in one state and it will be written in certain way, travel into the next state and the same law is written completely differently and has different circumstances in which the authorities can charge you, some state police officers will even use their own personal interpretation of the laws which is illegal in itself but, even though the majority of Australian police officers are good. And, do their job properly and transparently. There's a minority of officers who don't. But that happens all over the world.
My suburban backyard chickens seem pretty happy.
So pretty sure this is an EU thing too. I'm in Philadelphia, it's very liberal so I try to tell people if you want the best organic or free-range eggs or really anything farm related buy from small farmers markets. The farmers who show up to these tend to be working to get rid of extras they're family doesn't need. Here's the best part tho, be nice, personable and ask questions about they're farms how they are run, many are more than willing to talk and will even offer meat, eggs, veggies and fruit for labor, simple to hard labor it's not a bad deal at all and if your hard pressed for money while trying to maintain your morals it's a good alternative. I mention living in Philly cause I hear city people say all the time, "i live in a city there's no farms around here!" So untrue, not only do many city's host farmers markets but most city's are surrounded by farm lands only about an hour out from most city', the travel is very much worth it
I've worked in barns , even made global news over this , no such thing as a humane home for a bird unless you raise it on your own , an "organic bird" weighs more then a turkey
I had a friend that worked on a chicken farm. Not free range. His job was mainly to pick up the dead chickens because if not the poop would start to dissolve the said dead chickens and then had to be scooped up with a shovel. It also stank more than probably anything I've ever smelled. It's a top 5. Fuck a chicken farm, unless you need to get rid of a body...
debeaking is AWFUL sometimes it cuts off too much beak and i dont think i need to continue that sentence im sure the trauma has been communicated enough
The Australian Capital Territory is kinda like Washington DC, the city of Canberra was founded because people were fighting over which city should be the capital of Australia. The A.C.T. is the city of Canberra and a tiny bit of the surrounding area.
As an owner of chicken house or "barn", in the US, doing "breeder" egg (eggs for hatching), chicken's are social creatures, and hate change. After about a month or so you'd have a tough time trying to force them outside. While sure, the EU standard for "free range" sounds nice, chickens don't want to be alone, or even spread out much, at night they still pile up in groups.
I've never seen a De-beaked chicken, removing a toe nail from males (to prevent excessive damage to the hens) is pretty standard, but you have to look at what these large companies look at... Cost. Removing beaks, trimming large combs (the thing that sticks up on top of their head, that if to large blocks their eyes and gets hung and ripped (resulting in blood and pecking, and obviously the effect of being ripped off) these things, for better or worse, cost money to do. Regardless of the benefits some of this may or may not lead to, cost is final determining factor.
All that being said, at least on my farm anyway, the chickens are roaming in a large, temperature controlled barn, and stressed as little as possible. YES a happy chicken will lay more eggs, more often.
As for cannibalism, yeah, it happens if the dead are not removed in a timely manner, as well as "monkey see, monkey do". If a chicken sees another chicken eat chicken, they'll try it too. Once they get a taste for it, they do it at every opertunity (same for eating eggs).
In the end, a chicken is simple, not stupid, but simple. As long as they are taken care of, and can act like a chicken, then they are happy. Be it in a football field, or a penthouse, or a barn.
Sure, some people are just asshats and don't take care of them, or yes, view them as egg machines, that doesn't mean every chicken in the business is mistreated. Would it be a great environment for humans? Not really, but we're talking about an environment for chickens. Fact, chickens are a lot easier to please than people.
Will Turner, Thank you for this information! I grew up on a farm and was thinking it would be nice to hear the farmer's side of the story. We raised beef cattle, and it totally wasn't what you always hear of in the news and what not. So thank you for sharing, and reminding us that chickens aren't people.
Stay honest, Simon. Just because people don't want to hear the truth, doesn't mean it's not true.
Ha gaaaay
2:24 Nah, you are being bloody honest.
10:05 I pay $7.99 US a pound for kosher organic chickens. I buy kosher whenever I can afford it.
If you live where you can raise your own chickens, that is the best approach if you have the time and space.
I buy my eggs from a family down the street. And considering that I find chickens around our village in summer- they’re probably very free range.
The Australian Capital Territory is the region around the capital city of Canberra.
Literally created because Victoria (Melbourne) and New South Wales (Sydney) wouldn't stop arguing over which state should have the Capital....
If you want to support really ethical eggs buy local. I used to do a dozen for $2.50 which is higher than the grocery store but my birds get to run around my big yard from dawn to dusk just being chickens.
and yours are probably fresher
The US just passed new regulations on chicken farms this year. They're restricted to how many chickens are allowed for the size of the property. Eggs went on shortage for a bit and prices went up.
I buy eggs from a local couple who have a farm. They are about the same price as at the market, and a handy way to recycle those egg cartons.
We have free range eggs from the farmers market in Texas. They get plenty of sun and margarita Friday’s. The blood thing is real and they eat anything including speed. Organic is something else entirely.
From what I've read, here in the US your best bet for ethical eggs are "humane certified"; everything else applies to the health of the consumer, not the animals that produced the product. Phil's Organic eggs are usually the only one at the supermarket that offer HCEs.
I love how Simon cracks himself up!!
The dirty little secret of the chicken egg production that nobody talks about...
Once the chicken becomes unprofitable at around 3 years old (its egg production slows down) and it is processed. To become cat and dog food.
Personally, I really don't care how the chicken is raised within reason as we all have to eat and they were raised for food production and extra space costs money and at the end of the day there is no health benefits to organic or free range food.
Now that being said I live in the suburbs of 1/2 acre lots 60ish miles east of LA in a some what rule area where animals are raised (even I raised rabbits and a pig when I was a kid). My neighbors currently raise chickens that are raised like everyone had done it for 1000s of years, in a coop with a rooster and 10ish hens. The neighbors give me eggs all the time and I in return give them fresh vegetables all summer from my truely organic garden. So it works out.
In the US, chickens are considered a crop, not animals. They're the main "cash crop" of Arkansas--believe it, I read it on an extremely proud monument in Bentonville (home of Wal*Mart). That gets the chicken farmers around animal cruelty laws.
If you can, consider keeping your own hens. they are lovely, quirky pets and 2 to 3 hens will give you more eggs than you can eat, we constantly give eggs away.
Dude I LOVE this channel! It’s my favorite SW channel so please keep the vids coming!
Will do, thank you :)
I applied for a giant farm. They had huge foundationless buildings on tracks so they could move the coop to let them feed on “natural” sources, allegedly. Horrible on the inside, allegedly. The smell, allegedly, is tant amount to sewage combined with grain. It’s a weird mixture, to be sure, but, I honestly feel worse for the people working there…. because, and this is still true, despite the context, people are more important than other animals,…. allegedly.
Enough of the throwbacks though….
Btw I was denied the job because I was honest about the fact that my family keeps chickens. Regardless, I wouldn’t have accepted after seeing it first hand.
They truly do wonders here. It has it’s quirks. They’re super skittish but as soon as you turn your back on them, the entire flock is following you. Great for a laugh, bad when you’re trying to get to work in a rush.
We don’t butcher, they all have names, but it’s awesome having eggs you know are sourced well. I wish more people would do this but, I know there is the “not so slight” issue that you have to have land.
Regardless, they are truly cool creatures, and, they make my day, every day, but they are a little “coo coo”
Bud duh bump dump waaaaa….
Love you Simon. You make my day too……
Just not as much as my chickens…. 😝
It doesn't take much room to have a nice place for a few chickens. Any reasonably sized yard could have a cool easily. If you want really great eggs then you either have to have your own birds or get them from a neighbor. As long as you don't keep noisy roosters there shouldn't be a noise problem. I think cities should allow anyone to keep hens if there's enough room.
Unfortunately though it's impractical for most folks. No time, no money, no space, don't want to mess with it or it's against the law. But if you're able to keep some around you'll have wonderful eggs. And if you're inclined you could have a few good meat birds too. But most of us city folks would just end up with pet chickens.
I don’t actually live in USA but I’m always surprised by how little consumer protection there is there. Slightly north most thing are required to be slightly better. Natural is pretty much a wasted label though imo.
I'd like to chime in about the stat of Americans buying fewer organic eggs. Americans have much more space. There are so many people who keep their own chickens. Ergo, there are tons of eggs made and consumed that never get labeled anything at all because you bought them from a neighbor instead of the super market.
For instance I keep a small flock of ducks and the eggs produced are very much pastured, free ranged, and organic, but I personally don't like buzzwords so they are just sold as "duck eggs".
I feel like that percentage is missing a huge difference between the us and Europe. Yes, 5% of eggs bought as the supermarket are free range, but in the US A LOT of people have their own chickens or buy them from people who do. When I buy eggs I buy them from my friend who keeps chickens. my mom has another friend from whom she gets her eggs. in both of these cases, the chickens are pretty much completely unrestricted in their movement, my moms friend allowing the chickens to go wherever they want, I often see them throughout the neighborhood, and my friend having them with his cattle in a pasture, which the chickens have no problem getting out of if they wanted (they have a problem with the chickens coming up to the house). I have extremely high doubts that these kinds of private ownership and sale is accounted for, since I pay for my eggs with cash and they're not a licensed vendor, so I have my doubts its ever reported to any kind of governing body.
In keeping with the business theme, I've heard that the cost of raising a chicken is covered by the sale of the eggs it produces and the sale of the bird is the profit, or gravy, if you will.
Don't forget the meat ;). It's not just eggs and gravy :D