4 ms·

Actually the inconvenient truth is that it's not. Free range birds are able to interact and spread the disease more easily than the caged birds which can be qu

Actually the inconvenient truth is that it's not. Free range birds are able to interact and spread the disease more easily than the caged birds which can be quarantined. At least in my location all the cage free inventory is totally wiped out.

mplanchard 2y ago
That’s not at all the case here (VT). The local sellers are essentially all pasture-raised, free-range, etc., and their eggs are the only ones in stock. I have read some posts from them talking about the various ways they keep segments of the flocks separated, and they are being quite careful about any outside access. Edit: I guess also the birds are indoors much more anyway, given the winter. It's 11 F here today, so probably they're huddled up inside :)
- mothax 2y ago
  My half-dozen chickens in my yard in VT are hardy and out and about! I get about four eggs a day, and endless entertainment from the small herd of therapods.
  - mplanchard 2y ago
    I love to hear it! I didn't realize they were so cold tolerant, but I'm glad they can still enjoy the outdoors even when the winters are as cold as this one. I'd love to get some chickens one of these days. Four eggs a day would be enough for us to regularly give away dozens while supplying all of our own egg needs.
    - talldrinkofwhat 2y ago
      If you ever get the opportunity, have a chicken perch on your finger. First thing you'll notice is much lighter they are than they look. Second thing you'll notice is how hot their feet are. A tangible lesson in the importance of surface area vs volume wrt mechanical, thermo, aero systems.
lukas099 2y ago
Free range birds cannot be quarantined?
- Garvi 2y ago
  The problem is the interaction with wild birds.
  - dendrite9 2y ago
    This is my understanding from a former poultry farmer, but of course he had a reason to blame the other types of chicken raising for bird flu issues. I think both can be true, and you're in effect gambling different ways with each strategy.
Zanfa 2y ago
The only thing caged birds do is interact with other birds. There’s a reason antibiotics are so widely used. It’s like a massive Petri dish.
- bluGill 2y ago
  Antibiotics are not widely used. There are many regulations, to use them at all you need a vet to sign off. You also have to pay for them. Then the animal has to be off of them for weeks before you can sell it. In any case where are talking about a virus which an antibiotic won't touch at all. Modern large farms have very strict bio controls. Things like: You shower before entering the barn (there is a shower in the barn entrance). Then you wear only approved clothing. Your shoes are disinfected as part of this process. then when you leave you reverse the process. If you enter one barn you are not allowed in a different barn for a week.
  - shkkmo 2y ago
    > Antibiotics are not widely used. There are many regulations, to use them at all you need a vet to sign off. This isn't true, some types of antibiotics are routinely used as a preventative measure on chicken farms. > Both FDA and the World Health Organization (WHO) rank antibiotics relative to their importance in human medicine. The highest ranking is “critically important.” Antibiotics in this category are used sparingly to treat sick birds. Antibiotics in other less-important classes may be used in chicken production to maintain poultry health and welfare, including for disease prevention, control and treatment purposes. https://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/questions-answers-antibiotics-chicken-production/ https://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/questions-answers-ant...
    - ANewFormation 2y ago
      While I'm unsure about chickens, they're also [ab]used for larger meat animals like cows and turkeys because they make the animals grow larger, faster. The fun thing is - nobody knows exactly why this happens. There's a bunch of hypotheses, but they're exceptionally hand-wavy.
    - 2y ago
boplicity 2y ago
Cage free does not mean they're out in a field. It means all of the birds are in one crowded space. Eggs that come from birds that genuinely roam the pasture are exceedingly rare.
- fsckboy 2y ago
  but hides from the foxes would be more plentiful?
- darth_avocado 2y ago
  There’s cage free, then there’s pasture raised and then there’s regenerative farming. All of them don’t include chickens roaming around as freely as you think they do. Cage free especially just means they’re stuffed like sardines in giant barn, but are not in cages. Pasture raised often means they’re still in netted coops that move around on a pasture. I think regenerative farming comes closest to allowing chickens to roam around, but it’s still not freely.

mplanchard 2y ago

That’s not at all the case here (VT). The local sellers are essentially all pasture-raised, free-range, etc., and their eggs are the only ones in stock. I have read some posts from them talking about the various ways they keep segments of the flocks separated, and they are being quite careful about any outside access. Edit: I guess also the birds are indoors much more anyway, given the winter. It's 11 F here today, so probably they're huddled up inside :)

mothax 2y ago
My half-dozen chickens in my yard in VT are hardy and out and about! I get about four eggs a day, and endless entertainment from the small herd of therapods.
- mplanchard 2y ago
  I love to hear it! I didn't realize they were so cold tolerant, but I'm glad they can still enjoy the outdoors even when the winters are as cold as this one. I'd love to get some chickens one of these days. Four eggs a day would be enough for us to regularly give away dozens while supplying all of our own egg needs.
  - talldrinkofwhat 2y ago
    If you ever get the opportunity, have a chicken perch on your finger. First thing you'll notice is much lighter they are than they look. Second thing you'll notice is how hot their feet are. A tangible lesson in the importance of surface area vs volume wrt mechanical, thermo, aero systems.

lukas099 2y ago

Free range birds cannot be quarantined?

Garvi 2y ago
The problem is the interaction with wild birds.
- dendrite9 2y ago
  This is my understanding from a former poultry farmer, but of course he had a reason to blame the other types of chicken raising for bird flu issues. I think both can be true, and you're in effect gambling different ways with each strategy.

Zanfa 2y ago

The only thing caged birds do is interact with other birds. There’s a reason antibiotics are so widely used. It’s like a massive Petri dish.

bluGill 2y ago
Antibiotics are not widely used. There are many regulations, to use them at all you need a vet to sign off. You also have to pay for them. Then the animal has to be off of them for weeks before you can sell it. In any case where are talking about a virus which an antibiotic won't touch at all. Modern large farms have very strict bio controls. Things like: You shower before entering the barn (there is a shower in the barn entrance). Then you wear only approved clothing. Your shoes are disinfected as part of this process. then when you leave you reverse the process. If you enter one barn you are not allowed in a different barn for a week.
- shkkmo 2y ago
  > Antibiotics are not widely used. There are many regulations, to use them at all you need a vet to sign off. This isn't true, some types of antibiotics are routinely used as a preventative measure on chicken farms. > Both FDA and the World Health Organization (WHO) rank antibiotics relative to their importance in human medicine. The highest ranking is “critically important.” Antibiotics in this category are used sparingly to treat sick birds. Antibiotics in other less-important classes may be used in chicken production to maintain poultry health and welfare, including for disease prevention, control and treatment purposes. https://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/questions-answers-antibiotics-chicken-production/ https://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/questions-answers-ant...
  - ANewFormation 2y ago
    While I'm unsure about chickens, they're also [ab]used for larger meat animals like cows and turkeys because they make the animals grow larger, faster. The fun thing is - nobody knows exactly why this happens. There's a bunch of hypotheses, but they're exceptionally hand-wavy.
  - 2y ago

boplicity 2y ago

Cage free does not mean they're out in a field. It means all of the birds are in one crowded space. Eggs that come from birds that genuinely roam the pasture are exceedingly rare.

fsckboy 2y ago
but hides from the foxes would be more plentiful?
darth_avocado 2y ago
There’s cage free, then there’s pasture raised and then there’s regenerative farming. All of them don’t include chickens roaming around as freely as you think they do. Cage free especially just means they’re stuffed like sardines in giant barn, but are not in cages. Pasture raised often means they’re still in netted coops that move around on a pasture. I think regenerative farming comes closest to allowing chickens to roam around, but it’s still not freely.