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LillyBoPeep -> RE: egg mcmuffin...and regulations (11/19/2011 3:46:33 AM)
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Oh and I had been buying Eggland's Best eggs, but apparently they believe cages are still the "best solution" for chicken housing and beak trimming is similar to trimming toe nails -- uh no it's not. Birds have a network of nerves and blood vessels in their beaks. They are nowhere near similar. How can people so ignorant of basic bird biology even begin to offer adequate care?
I think living with a decaying chicken is a pretty good source of bacteria.
Animals return to all sorts of activities after a mutiliation or disfigurement -- it doesn't mean the practice is sound. Since dogs and cats get along fine on 3 legs, maybe we can cut the fourth leg off to save owners time with washing and nail trimming? Or pull their teeth out so they don't bite people, and we don't have to worry about brushing them. Puh-lease.
I just really need to find someone local to get eggs from.
quote:
Q. Where and how are the hens housed? A. Eggland’s Best farms are located all across the U.S. Our regular Eggland's Best eggs in the white carton are from caged hens. Cages are the most prevalent housing system in the commercial egg industry because cages still offer the best sanitation, ventilation, and freedom from dust and ammonia. Cages offer the most disease-free environment, since the hens do not have access to others' waste and there is no organic matter for bacteria to grow on. There are also fewer problems with hens pecking each other when they are caged in small groups with a rigidly defined social order, rather than the continual mingling and challenging that goes on in a large barn.
The Eggland's Best Cage-Free and Organic eggs are from cage-free hens. Cage-free means the hens can roam around in a very large building, but do not have outdoor access like free-range hens. The cage-free environment offers greater freedom for movement and is rapidly expanding distribution in the marketplace. To protect the birds from each other, a process is done by special equipment, which cauterizes the beak and may be compared to clipping a dog's claws. Beak trimming is sometimes incorrectly referred to as "de-beaking". Beaks are not removed or the birds could not eat. The sharp tips of chicks' beaks are trimmed or "blunted" to lessen injury to each other. Beak trimming is done when chicks are less than a week old. Beak-trimmed chicks will immediately resume pecking, eating and drinking as though nothing had happened.
contrast that with this --
quote:
http://www.avma.org/reference/backgrounders/beak_trimming_bgnd.pdf
Welfare Implications of Beak Trimming
Pullets trimmed with scissors show fewer bill-related behaviors and spend more
time performing passive behaviors, such as resting and standing, when compared to untrimmed pullets.6
Beak-trimmed pullets also show more guarding behaviors, such as tucking the bill under the wing, which have been associated with pain.6 In many cases these behavioral effects are no longer obvious by 3 weeks after trimming (with scissors), although they may persist for months.6
<snip>
Related behaviors may also be less effective as trimmed birds have been shown to carry more lice.15 This may be because birds are slower to respond and less effective at removing material from their feathers (when trimmed with a hot-blade debeaker).3 This reduced responsiveness has been equated to helplessness-related passivity and, as such, a state of suffering.3
<snip>
Beak-trimming is currently considered to be a necessary management practice for poultry. Although younger birds that are beak trimmed experience less neuroma formation and have relatively normal oral behaviors, all methods of beak-trimming induce pain and physiologic stress in birds.
Right, so it's like clipping toenails, eh? Okay sure. [8|]
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