About 2 years ago I got chickens from a big factory farm here locally. They were giving them away, I touched on this in a previous post, I took about 1000 chickens and grew them up. They were given away because they tested positive for a worm that spreads through the flock. Long story short I lost a lot of chickens and the ones left are groomed for indoor chicken feeding. Their beaks were snipped so that they don't fight and hurt each other, a problem when confined to a single building for their entire lives.
I was ignorant to this practice until it was pointed out to me by a friend. He said their beaks were cut and they could not pick up small ticks and bugs. So, I let them grow out. Most have some kind of deformity but they have adapted and the once flat cut beaks are now starting to have a dull point There are those, though, that cant function with the deformities that are too out of control. I usually put them down and have soup or small side, since they are so skinny that it is not worth a full meal.
This girl has actually adapted with her beak the way it is to be able to dig with it after she scratches. It is actually quite amazing. She is also extremely fast, lol, it is a job to catch her. I believe that this method of factory farming has made these chickens very aggressive and hard to keep. They have attacked and killed a bunch of my original flock, and though I feel bad for them, they have to go.
This is a side effect of the factory farming, it is much like declawing a cat. By forcing the animal to adapt to our ways, so severely, they mutate and con not be let out to live a happy chicken life free ranging. I am not an animal extremist, I believe in having and slaughtering animals for food. I also believe that while those animals are alive, I am their steward. I am responsible for their happiness and their little lives. Balance. My animals are happy animals and when I do slaughter them, I know I had respect for them while they were alive. I also know they were able to be happy when they were alive. I, do, though, see the effects of animal disrespect and abuse of their lives with the ownership of these chickens.
Just another sad consequence of corporate factory farming.
