Posted on 03/06/2012 9:00:49 AM PST by GOPinCa
VACAVILLE— Animal rescuers in Vacaville are getting closer to adopting out thousands of chickens that were rescued last month from an abandoned egg ranch.
The hens were left for dead by Andy Keung Cheung, the owner of A&L Poultry, according to Stanislaus County Animal Services. Officials say most of the 50,000 hens were either dead or had to be euthanized because they were in such bad shape.
Animal Place in Vacaville is one of three rescue groups currently rehabilitating the hens that were deemed healthy enough for potential adoption.
Animal Place, Farm Sanctuary in Orland and Harvest Home in the Bay Area are all looking for donations and volunteers.
I’ll bet Campbell’s Soup will give them all a home.
I was going to say KFC, but yu are right, they are probably a bit thin for KFC, but Campbell’s could probably use them.
That’s delicious, but an egg every other day or so, absolutely rocks.
In fact, it is a miracle.
The honest-to-goodness truth of the matter is that the Chicken industry is nothing like it was just 20 years ago. 20 years ago, the breed of chicken we use for meat didn’t exist. Did you know that the chicken in your freezer went from hatching to slaughter in just 58 days. It has been designed to grow so fast, that it can barely walk, it has very few feathers, and is primarily breast meat.
The hens used for laying eggs are typically killed, and buried. Yup, buried - as is disposed of. Why? Because, like any industry, it’s designed to run millions of a particularily sized bird -and these old hens are simply too big for the machines.
That’s why your chicken is practically tasteless, and why you find every whole chicken within a pound of each other. You don’t find the ‘big birds’ anymore.
Now, don’t get me wrong - there is nothign wrong with butchering up an old laying hen; I’m sure they are quite tasty. But, the fact of the matter is that a vast majority of these hens wind up in a landfill - and not on a plate.
Where did you get your information? All hens from laying farms go into chicken soup or other chicken products. There are none that are “killed and buried”.
Gee whiz...I’m looking to start keeping some laying hens in the backyard. I could use some free livestock. Not going to Californewchickens though.
If I had the space, I would take a few.
I would love to have fresh eggs everyday.
I suggest you visit Arkansas where many are processed. Simply stated, the large-scale processing plants are designed for 'Broilers', not laying hens. The plants are largely automated, and the old laying hens are too large to run through the process. Again, have you priced what whole chickens costs at the grocery store? Now, figure in the cost they pay, and then backpedal for shipping, refrigeration, inspection and handling. You are looking at around $0.58/lb for a whole bird.
If you get Netflix, there is a fascinating documentary called "Food Inc." that deals with this 'problem'. The cost of chicken meat is so low (~$0.58/lb) that hand-processing the meat at $16/hr labor costs (including taxes, insurance, Soc. Security, Welfare, and misc. benefits such as sick leave and vacation) - that it's simply easier and cheaper to gas and bury. Yes, it's a shame - but look at the economics of the situation. How many "free" hens must be processed per employee, with an employee cost of $16/hr - to be able to sell that meat for $0.58/lb? That is the wholesale price (give or take). Why is the cost so high? Well, for starters it's dangerous work, lots of sharp knives around, secondly it's not pleasant work at all - in fact, it's quite unpleasant. Lots of turn-around and re-training of employees.
Let's see, assuming no breaks, trained employees, each processing 27.58 birds per hour. This assumes ZERO transportation costs, ZERO cost per bird (hens paid themselves off during laying), ZERO inspection, ZERO loss of birds during processing and your plant uses No power, is perpeturally clean and maintained free, and you got the plant as a gift ... This is where we are.
In other news:
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/05/obama-end-funding-for-snowflake-embryo-adoption-program/
Obama: End Funding for Snowflake Embryo Adoption Program
by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 3/5/12 12:46 PM
President Barack Obama is seeking to end federal funding for a pro-life program installed during the administration of President George W. Bush that helped save unborn babies potentially slated for destruction in fertility clinics.
The “snowflake baby” program provided funding for adoption-awareness programs for the children who were formerly stored human embryos at fertility clinics who could have been destroyed for scientific research.
Congressman Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, was one of the strong proponents of the pro-life program, saying, “Assertions that leftover embryos are better off dead so that their stem cells can be derived is dehumanizing and cheapens human life. There is no such thing as leftover human life. Ask the snowflake children— cryogenically frozen embryos who were adopted—their lives are precious and priceless.”
The Obama administration proposes to defund the Embryo Adoption Awareness Campaign in its fiscal 2013 budget. As the Washington Times reports, “The Department of Health and Human Services “is not requesting funds for this program” because “the Embryo Adoption program will be discontinued in FY2013,” HHS officials said in a February funding report to Congress.”
Ron Stoddart, executive director of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, one of the top embryo adoption programs, told the newspaper he is disappointed with the decision, saying, “I think that daily we talk to people about … embryo donation and adoption, and we hear the response, ‘Really? I didn’t know that was even possible.’”
Mailee Smith, staff counsel at Americans United for Life, told the newspaper the decision is more evidence of “the pro-abortion slant of this administration.”
“Why would the Obama administration cut $2 million for adoption awareness, but keep $1 million a day for Planned Parenthood?” she said.
But the Obama administration claims there is “little interest” in the program.
Under one of the grants the program gave out, Bethany Christian Services, the largest adoption agency in the United States, partnered with the NEDC to provide a national forum for emerging issues related to embryo adoption and donation.
Jeffrey Keenan, MD, medical director for the National Embryo Donation Center, said the grants will also help his organization create a national clearinghouse for literature, media and electronic data currently available on embryo adoption and donation.
“We are pleased with the exciting work previous grants have allowed us to accomplish in increasing awareness about this important option for infertile couples, and we look forward to maintaining our leadership in this field,” Keenan said.
President Bush stood with the families of several babies who were born after embryo adoption when he vetoed a Congressional bill forcing taxpayers to pay for destructive embryonic stem cell research.
Known as “snowflake children” — each child is unique, like a snowflake — these babies adopted as human embryos are now healthy children no different from their peers.
“These families highlight the essential fact that human embryos are human beings deserving the full love and protections granted any child,” said Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.
“We hear so often in the debate over embryonic stem cells that the harvesting of stem cells from embryos does not destroy a human life, and yet these Snowflake children prove otherwise,” Perkins explained.
There are an estimated 400,000 frozen human embryos in fertility clinics across the country. A study in September 2004 by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University indicates that 84 percent of clinics throw out “extra” embryos created during in in-vitro procedures.
The study showed that 76 percent of clinics offered the adoption option; 60 percent, disposal of the embryos before freezing; 54 percent, disposal after freezing; 60 percent, donation for scientific experimentation; and 19 percent, donation for training doctors.
Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) says the Nightlight Christian Adoptions program is a way to “take these little children and give them the potential to live the rest of their lives as the gifts from God that they are.”
Paging Jeremiah Wright...Obama’s chickens coming home to roost.
Thank you for that.
>> It has been designed to grow so fast, that it can barely walk, it has very few feathers, and is primarily breast meat.
Sounds like Megan McCain got all tangled up in this weird science, too.
I am sending you a clean-up bill via Freepmail for the processing of my clothes and computer.
“Sounds like Megan McCain got all tangled up in this weird science, too.”
That is way too funny.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.