Why do many veggies insist on chickens being fed on a veggie diet?!
Why do many veggies insist on chickens being fed on a veggie diet?
To me, a vegetarian chooses that particular diet because they don't want to eat animals. I would have thought the same reason of concern would extend to not impacting hens in order to get the eggs.
Hens are naturally not veggies, they eat worms, grubs, frogs and even scavenge on dead animals like mice, rabbits and rats.
So, only eating eggs from chickens fed a vegetarian diet is impacting the animal. Why choose to impose this on them ?
Surely the path of least impact is to buy eggs from freerange hens....real free range, none of this supermarket nonsense.
And, ask yourself...isn't "Free Range hens fed on a vegetarian diet" an oxymoron ? If they were really freerange, they would have access to open pasture and eat grubs. I guess that label is saying the hens live on a concrete field or something.
Veggie is a great diet choice, but please, leave my hens alone to eat what they like.
Thank you.
(I'm a chicken and need to expose the treatment my mates get )
2 months ago
Chillopoe...you have no idea how wrong you are ! Have you ever seen a chicken ????
We have 200 of then, how about you ?
check out this TESCOS label from thier Columbus FreeRange Eggs :"Naturally rich in Omega 3 from hens fed a vegetarian diet"
I don't mind being corrected, but at least be accurate about it.
2 months ago
Matt H, i can assure you are chickens are free to do what they like, they have 7 acres to roam as they please. If they choose to not lay eggs, its entirely up to them. I understand vegans don't eat eggs, but you can hardly say i've created a conflict or abuse chickens.
2 months ago
lillyian, good answer, thanks, now i'm starting to understand.
2 months ago
Christy, so when 4 chickens each pick up a frogs leg and pull it until it stretched apart , then run off with the meat and eat it, which part of "naturally herbivorous" is that ?
your experience of 64,000 chicken sin a shed can hardly be used when describing natural behaviour.
Answers:
2 months ago
Chillopoe...you have no idea how wrong you are ! Have you ever seen a chicken ????
We have 200 of then, how about you ?
check out this TESCOS label from thier Columbus FreeRange Eggs :"Naturally rich in Omega 3 from hens fed a vegetarian diet"
I don't mind being corrected, but at least be accurate about it.
2 months ago
Matt H, i can assure you are chickens are free to do what they like, they have 7 acres to roam as they please. If they choose to not lay eggs, its entirely up to them. I understand vegans don't eat eggs, but you can hardly say i've created a conflict or abuse chickens.
2 months ago
lillyian, good answer, thanks, now i'm starting to understand.
2 months ago
Christy, so when 4 chickens each pick up a frogs leg and pull it until it stretched apart , then run off with the meat and eat it, which part of "naturally herbivorous" is that ?
your experience of 64,000 chicken sin a shed can hardly be used when describing natural behaviour.
You make a good point... but I think when they say the chickens are fed a "vegetarian diet", they mean that there isn't bone meal & various animal byproducts in their feed (like there is when the feed is not deemed "vegetarian"). Yes, free range chickens will eat bugs... but their FEED doesn't contain meat (which would more likely be beef/pork/chicken/etc than bug anyway).
I feed my free range chickens a vegetarian feed. I know they eat bugs - they follow me around when I'm gardening to see what yummy things I've turned up. As long as what they're eating is natural, I'm fine with it (I eat their eggs, but they'll live their lives with me whether they can produce or not). They can have all the bugs they want, but I'm still going to give them vegetarian feed simply because it allows me to know their diet is as close to natural as possible. It's not natural for a chicken to eat ground up cow.
But you're right... vegetarian feed, fed to a free range chicken, does not equal a "vegetarian chicken".
vegetarian chicken eggs?
Don't think i've ever heard of that before.
You are wrong because chickens are naturally vegeterian, however, they do eat bugs when they can get them or scavenge as you say - if they were carniverous they would have teeth or raptor-like beaks.
About time you chickens stood up for yourselves. Apparently they've re-defined free range to the point where it isn't. Good luck in your rebellion and don't count yourself before you're hatched.
Michael, you are the one who is wrong. Just because you eat a chicken that was fed a veggie diet does not make it vegetarian to eat the chicken. Bottom line, if you eat chicken, then you are not vegetarian.
I strongly encourage you to visit the PETA website and do some reading. If you knew how chickens were treated, you wouldn't be eating them. I will keep you in my prayers.
They don't want mad cow disease?
I guess it's a matter of how you view what is fed to many farm animals. I agree that free range hens would be free to pick up bugs etc if they wanted to. However, much like the stuff fed to farmed pigs and sheep, I believe that the cheap stuff fed to farmed chickens is full of poor quality stuff that wouldn't constitute a natural diet.
Personally, although I will eat eggs occasionally, I always ensure I only have ones from free range hens that have been fed a vegetarian diet. I'm aware that some hens are killed for chicken meat after their egg laying days are over, which is why I also only have eggs from a local sanctuary where all the hens are allowed to live out their natural lives whether they are laying or not. This is mainly because I try to have as little to do with the meat industry as possible. Even my cat has a vegetarian diet too. Some people have accused me of stopping my cat having a "natural" diet - but none of the vile ingredients in tinned cat food would be the kind of thing a wild cat would eat (ie "meat and fish derivatives - also known as scrapings off the floor - "ash" - what?!)
It's very hard in this day and age to have as little to do with the meat industry as a lot of vegetarians would like, but everyone does what they can and shouldn't be criticised for it.
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I couldnt agree more-that label pisses me off-its silly to state they are fed a veggie diet. You lovely chickens need your worms, grubs and insects. Sadly, I am allergic to eggs, but I get eggs from frolicking chickens from a small local farm. I go and get the eggs from the henhouse myself, so I know these chickens are doing their thing-as they should be! By the way my daughter says she can tell a HUGE difference in the eggs she eats at my house, and the storebought ones she eats at her nanas house. You go get your grubs now, dear!
I'm still trying to figure out why you come on here and tell bunch of people who have no idea who you are to leave your hens alone. I'm pretty sure nobody here has ever been near your hens.
I don't care what the hens eat but many people think veggie fed hens have healthier eggs. I am a vegetarian but I don't want to interfere with nature at all as long as it doesn't constrict me to eat meat and seafood again...
I think you missed the most important option and that would be for the chickens to live in the wild, in Asia where they belong, with no more humans exploiting them. We (humans) have manufactured this conflict. In truth, it's not a conflict at all. Stop eating chicken, stop eating eggs, and let the chickens be. That way we wont have to worry about what they should or should not be eating.
We have no dietary requirement for the eggs of chickens, we have no reason to imprison them besides our own selfish desires.
Edit: What I'm saying is, the institution of animal ownership is wrong. Because the law views these animals as property you are free to treat them as worth quite more than their market value dictates, but at the same time, under the same law, they can be kept in cages too small to turn around. Wile animals continue to be property the law will uphold the property owner's right to treat them almost any way they wish. The property owner's interests will always be regarded as more important than that of the animal (or human) property. No rights, or welfare laws matter if you are still in-slaved.
Wow, thanks for the info. I guess like many people, I just assumed chickens were herbivores. I don't know why, since most birds eat little bugs. I guess I just never thought about it.
:)
I don't eat eggs myself, but I'll share the info to people who are trying to figure out what eggs are the *least cruel*. Does your farm have a name or brand of eggs? I would assume that your farm is different from most every other egg farm, and sadly, there is no real way for people to discover farms like yours as many corporations abuse the "free range" label.
Anyway, I think (to answer your question), people want vegetarian-fed animals because they already know that animals, like cows, are fed the sick and the dead bodies of other animals to save money for evil factory farms. I believe this has happened to chickens in factory farms as well.
So people want to make sure they are not contributing to evil farms who will *save money* in such a way.
Most chicken food fed to farm/factory raised hens includes the meat of other animals, cyanide - to keep them awake, and growth hormones. That's why it's specified that they are fed veggies.
And, actually, the Chillipope person is right - chickens are largely naturally herbivorous. They're not at all predatory.
I have nothing useful to add except my thanks
for the information you provided. Now there's
yet another reason to avoid animal products.
A chicken's diet is not appetizing to me. Eating
their flesh means digesting grubs, bugs, worms,
rabbits, and mice second-hand. I'm really disgusted
to know that I was consuming these things 5 years
ago.