Free Range Organic Cobblers

[Dr Fogg]

When I was a lad we had a poultry farm, my dad bred pedigree Rhode Island red chickens. We had 20, 000 of the little critters and all of them free range (outdoors).
Now the point of this piece is that 20,000 chickens make a real mark on the landscape, you could see our farm from 20 miles away as the chickens spread like a brown stain across the 100 acres we had.

Ok having got that in your minds, consider this, when I go to the shops almost all the eggs are labelled FREE RANGE ORGANIC.
So where are these bloody chickens? I can travel 200 miles on the motorway and not see a single one!
Is it just possible we are being conned yet again?

Dr Fogg


_{Copyright ©2009. HW Harborne}

[Artemis]

We have a local guy whose chickens roam the fields and you can buy eggs from him and he sells to our local shop so I know they're free range. The ones you see in asda or tesco personally I think are conning us ... they are stacked so high! Maybe by free range they mean there are only 6 chickens to one crate as opposed to 26? So sad K xxx

[Dr Fogg]

Yes kerry but beware, farmers are cunning buggers, they have six hens running round in the front of the farm and at the back is an aircraft hanger with 50,000 chickens in cages laying the eggs.
Actualy i am of two minds regarding free range chickens, I have seen free range chickens in six inches of freezing mud, soaked through to their skins and at the mercy of any passing fox. whilst their cousins cluck away in a warm dry controlled environment. I just dont like to be lied too. Incidentaly if anyone wants a chicken killed im up for it, after spending years looking after the little beasts I am of the opinion that the only good chicken is a dead one.

[astroannie]

yeah, maybe they rotate them. Every day they open a crate, let them run around, then crate them up again so the next ones can have a turn.