Free Republic

The new year is expected to bring rising chicken egg prices across the U.S. as California starts requiring farmers to house hens in cages with enough space to move around and stretch their wings. The new standard backed by animal rights advocates has drawn ire nationwide because farmers in Iowa, Ohio and other states who sell eggs in California have to abide by the same requirements. To comply, farmers have to put fewer hens into each cage or invest in revamped henhouses, passing along the expense to consumers shopping at grocery stores. California is the nation's largest consumer of eggs...

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — The new year is expected to bring rising chicken egg prices across the U.S. as California starts requiring farmers to house hens in cages with enough space to move around and stretch their wings. The new standard backed by animal rights advocates has drawn ire nationwide because farmers in Iowa, Ohio and other states who sell eggs in California have to abide by the same requirements. To comply, farmers have to put fewer hens into each cage or invest in revamped henhouses, passing along the expense to consumers shopping at grocery stores. California is the nation's...

If eggs are a staple in your family’s diet and you’d like to keep it that way, now would be a good time to get a few laying hens. Next month, beginning January 1, 2015, the chicken-and-egg production in the United States is in for a big shock. That’s when California’s new regulations on egg-laying hens goes into effect. And the effects of those regs on eggs will be felt nationally, even globally. The incredible, edible, prolate spheroid-shaped poultry product, which has long been one of the most affordable sources of high-quality protein, is certain to become significantly more expensive.In...

More than 900 chickens at a California farm were beaten to death with a golf club last month, The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. The gruesome scene was discovered Sept. 20 at the Foster Farms chicken shed in Fresno. Authorities believe at least one person broke into the farm and slaughtered 920 chickens. "Whoever did something like this is pretty sick," Deputy Chris Curtis told the paper. "It would take a long time to do it…People should be alarmed at something like that."

A Florida man demonstrated human' occupation of the top predator spot by shooting a big bobcat that had lost its fear of men.   The big cat was killing and eating a chicken a day for a month, and killed the last one just feet from the man  and his children. Florida Farm Where Bobcat Killed 30 Chickens From local10.com: "Saturday evening we were sitting in the hot tub and right there, you see the feather on the ground? The cat came out of nowhere, killed a chicken right in front of us, like 8 feet away. Just splattered blood...

Brooklyn, Iowa — The battle for control of the U.S. Senate could come down to a dispute between two neighbors in this heartland hamlet over four plump, wander-prone hens. This spring, Pauline Hampton’s chickens roamed onto Bruce and Carolyn Braley’s vacation property on tranquil Holiday Lake. Hampton said she did not know this until she walked over one day to offer Carolyn a dozen fresh eggs. To which she said her neighbor replied, “We aren’t going to accept your eggs — and we have filed a formal complaint against you.” Carolyn took her complaint to their neighborhood homeowners’ association board...

I work at a group home in Novato for disabled adults. I enjoy the job and my co-workers. I also like the city of Novato, a little to the north of San Francisco. Novato is a decent sized town, at 27 square miles, and a population of about 52000. There is a comfortable balance of the urban and the rural in this city. Many neighborhoods have started to keep a small group of chickens in their backyards. I believe roosters are allowed too, if they don't raise too much ruckus. I was at the group home today in the staff...

The cash-strapped Illinois government has found a new use for its fleet of aircraft – flying birds into Illinois. I kid you not. State aircraft are flying to Kansas and transporting prairie chickens back to the Land of Lincoln. And at a time state lawmakers are looking at raising the state income tax, Illinois state employees have been hiking across Kansas trapping these chickens. Talk about fowl fiscal deeds.

Some people are saying that this time, PETA’s lost all credibility. They’ve crossed the line. I’d ask when PETA ever had any credibility? It is not possible to take them seriously. They have to pretend that they’re outraged by animal abuse so that they can raise lots of money from rich and flaky Hollywood liberals. Their latest attack is on the White House for using real eggs in their Easter egg hunt:

1. Invest in a water filter. 2. Build an emergency medical kit. 3. Keep a few hens. 4. Grow some vegetables and/or fruits. 5. Learn to can. 6. Get a stand-alone freezer. 7. Learn to bake bread. 8. Purchase at least one firearm and get comfortable using it. 9. Homeschool your children.

Neighbor's chicken escaped. I caught it. Now what?

Their social lives are complex, and they can congregate in large groups. Their heart rates increase when they notice a family member suffering. They sound the alarm when they discover food or a potential threat. And experiments have shown they even anticipate future events. Biologist Justin Gregg is talking about chickens. … For more than 50 years, the dolphin has been viewed as an especially intelligent creature, grouped together with human beings and great apes. But now a dispute on the subject has erupted among scientists, and the smart aleck of the seas may end up being just an average...

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A San Francisco food producer wants to make you an omelet without breaking any eggs – and they may be able to do it with one key ingredient they make in a lab – no chicken required. From their Mission District laboratory, Hampton Creek Foods and CEO Josh Tetrick are taking aim at the egg farming industry. “We just cannot go on eating like we all are right now with our food system,” Tetrick said. “It’s just unsustainable.” Many Bay Area farms let chickens roam the pastures, but the Humane Society says more than 90%...

After sparking anger nationwide by vocally supporting the fight against same-sex marriage, the Chick-fil-A fast-food chain has reportedly agreed to halt giving money to groups that seek to ban the practice. The chain's president and son of its founder, Dan Cathy, sparked the furor in July, when he gave an interview to a Christian radio program in which he said "I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.'" He later said, "We want to do anything we possibly...

Virtually every left-wing attack on Bush can legitimately be turned against Obama. It could not last — the attendee of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s church sermonizing on tolerance; the practitioner of Chicago politics lecturing on civility; the most partisan voting record in the Senate as proof of a new promised bipartisanship; earlier books and speeches calling for hard-core progressivism as evidence of a no-more-red-state-blue-state conciliation. And in fact the disconnect did not last, and Barack Obama finds himself dealing with assorted chickens coming home to roost. In the summer of 2004, Michael Moore released a crude propaganda film, Fahrenheit 9/11,...

Voter ID has gotten large amounts of media attention, but residents of rural areas are concerned about another identification issue that has remained largely ignored: chicken ID. ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture's proposed rules for Animal Disease Traceability, developed in August 2011, are now in their final stages. They require identification of farm animals, such as poultry and cattle, that cross state lines. Many farmers worry the rules would send them on a literal wild goose chase, forcing them to catch and hold down each bird to attach an identification tag. Read more: http://times247.com/articles/88feds-foist-chicken-id-on-frustrated-farmers6#ixzz20XcTgF3L

French village has proposed giving two chickens to each household in order to cut down on organic waste. Officials in the village of Pince in north-western France say the chickens should each consume 150kg (330lb) of rubbish per year. It is hoped that as well as reducing waste, the chickens will help families save money by providing eggs. Those who express an interest will receive their chickens in September, officials say. "To begin with it was a joke, but then we realised it was a very good idea," mayor of Pince Lydie Pasteau told France 3 TV. "It will also...

An explosion on Monday rocked the suburban Atlanta home of a man known for his fight to keep chickens on his property, and emergency officials say a body was found inside. Marshals had been on the scene for about two hours trying to evict Andrew Wordes, who's known as the "Chicken Man," when the explosion happened around 12:45 p.m., said Antonio Johnson of the Fulton County marshal's office. Minutes before the explosion, Wordes told them to leave the property that was in foreclosure. Other than the body found inside the house, which officials did not immediately identify, no one was...

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...

According to MehrNews, the mouthpiece of the Islamic regime in Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that the Knesset’s decision to declare al-Quds (Jerusalem) the capital of Israel not only will not save the Zionist regime but also will speed up the regime’s annihilation. Ahmadinejad made the remarks during a meeting with the head of Turkey – Iran parliamentary friendship group, Murat Yildirim, in Tehran on Tuesday. He said that the Judaization of al-Quds (Jerusalem) is in line with the domineering powers’ colonialist policies to save the Zionist regime and dominate the region. Elsewhere in his remarks, Ahmadinejad said that...