IamA Chicken Farmer AMA!

Do the chickens have large talons?

As they hens grow older the claws get larger. You should see the state of my arms after emptying a shed full of 70 week old hens! Working with the 20 week old hens is much easier as their claws haven't developed fully yet!

What's the best way to raise a cock?

Enough food, water, shelter and chicks is the way to go for a happy, healthy cock. Also, be sure to trim him now and then or he has trouble with the chicks.

Have you ever had to choke a chicken for getting out of hand?

Nope. Chickens are pretty docile creatures and behave quite well. Many have had to have their necks ringed for other reasons though. That sounds pretty dark but it happens.

do you ever watch chickens do it?

If you mean reproduce, then no. No reproduction is carried out on the farm. If you mean laying eggs, then yes. I see it all day, everyday.

How long is the lifespan of a chicken before they are killed, is it also true that they are beaten as shown in some documentaries?

The hens are kept on the farm till they are about 70 weeks which is just over a year. At this point they are starting to not make a profit which means they cost more to feed than what they are producing. The hens in no way whatsoever are beaten and we treat them with respect.

Are you used to the smell, yet? I used to work for Tyson, and the smell of chicken houses still haunts my nightmares, occasionally.

Nope! It is still a shock to the system everytime i walk into one of the sheds! Im sorry about your nightmares! Hope you have found a better job now! :)

Where do new chickens on your farm come from? I assume that your chickens are used for both eggs and meat, but where do you get new chicks from if the eggs produced are left unfertilized? Do you have separate eggs/chickens for fertilizing and eggs/chickens for consumption?

Good question. We buy in all of our hens from a company that breed, hatch and nurture them till they are 20 weeks old. The hens are then delivered to us at 20 weeks old and start laying at around 22-24 weeks old. Our company is solely for egg production but once the chickens reach 70 weeks old we sell them on to a further company which slaughters them for meat.

Do you know how that company disposes of the hatched male chicks? Either suffocates or grinds up alive, just wondering which one.

They are killed by the ringing of the neck.

Is this you?

Nope! I'm afraid not.

Do you see the process of chicken farming (as it is on your farm) to be cruel?

When I first started working on the farm it was a big shock and tbh I did feel sorry for the hens. However after a month or so i realised the chickens are well watered, fed and sheltered and they seem to be happy enough. To be fair, the chicken farm is all they have ever known so i do not feel it is cruel as such. A few months ago, my neighbour took four of the hens that were going to "That Place Up In The Sky" and he keeps them free range and i have to say, they do look a lot happier. Brings a smile to my face everytime i see them!

Do you egg farm only white egg laying chickens or brown egg laying chickens or both?

We farm both brown egg laying chickens and white egg laying chickens!

Why do some chickens lay brown eggs and some lay white?

I believe it is roughly down to the colour of the hen. For example, Rhode Island Red Hens lay brown eggs whereas White Leghorn hens lay white eggs.

Is there a big difference in taste and quality when buying normal vs grain-fed/free range?

I've read that being grain-fed they require additives that they'd usually get from eating worms and insects and such, so I guess it's less healthy?

Our company is solely for egg production not for meat production. I am not sure if there is a taste difference, sorry.

What's the positives and negatives of being a chicken farmer?

Ok I'll start with the negatives. This is going to sound very, very stupid but for me the main negative is the eggs. Not the actual eggs in particular but the fact that 2000 eggs from each shed have to be collected every morning. I will start about 7:30 and I will finish collecting at around 11:30. It is such a laborious and boring part of the job. Another main negative for me is the mites. Many of the older hens are infested with mites and once you are finished working with the hens you are crawling with them, urghh. However, surprisingly enough, there are positives. The main one is probably the free eggs I get. I can tell when it's a double yoker as well which makes the next day's breakfast more interesting.

How can you tell? By weight? Do you ever get triple yolks?

Yes, the weight and the size of the egg. Also, the young hens (Around 24 weeks old) lay tonnes of double yokers. I would say around a tenth of the 2000 eggs I collect from them in their first few weeks are double yokers. I am not sure why this occurs. No unfortunately, I have never came across a triple yoker. I have seen eggs with no yolks at all however.

What do you do with the double yokers? Do they get sold as normal? I've never found one!

Yes, the double yokers are just sold as normal usually as large eggs as they weigh considerably more. When you work on a chicken farm you get to see all kinds of eggs! :)

How wasteful is the farm you work on? I.e. production loss feed loss. You don't have to be super specific just give me 1 to 10 type of number

On average the hens stop making a profit at 70 weeks old. However many stop laying properly before that. So I would say a 4.

Were you affected by the recent bird-flu that killed lots of chickens? Are you getting a lot more for your eggs than you were just a few months ago?

There has been no Bird-flu outbreak in my country for 7 years. I was not working for the same company 7 years ago so can't comment on the price of the eggs back then. Sorry.

Have you seen John Oliver's bit on the chicken industry? If so, what are your thoughts about the points he mentions?

No sorry, I have not seen that. I'll be sure to check it out. Thanks for bringing it to my attention :)

I've heard of some people keeping hens as pets and for the eggs. Would you recommend this for regular people? How long do hens lay eggs?

Yes I would recommend it. Hens make lovely pets. However don't expect to make any sort of profit out of them. After you pay to feed, water and care for them, the amount of eggs they produce everyday will not be worth it. Many don't lay for several days on end.

On average, how many eggs do you eat a day?

How many chickens do you have? For eggs or poultry? If for eggs, how many eggs so your chickens produce daily?

On average everyday, 2 eggs. I always have a poached egg, or two, for my breakfast! Usually on a crumpet and this sets me up for the day.

How difficult is it to maintain your chickens health during winter?

It isn't too bad to be honest. The hens just need a little extra feed. Also, they aren't let outside unless it's an exceptionally good day. Egg production can dip also.

I read somewhere that 96 chickens are killed on earth every 0.05 seconds. Do you believe that?

I do believe that the poultry industry is massive and is forever expanding. However, I'm unsure if the number killed is as high as that. Have you got a source for that information?

The source is on this TIL thread.

A very interesting read. Thanks for providing the source.

My Dad grew up on a chicken farm so I know how hard you must work. I have one question for you then a few follow ups if the answer to the first is Yes:

Do you contract farm chickens for one of the four major chicken companies? (Purdue, Sunshine Farms, Tyson and I forget the last)

How would they feel about you doing this AMA?

How do you feel about the recent "breach of contract" some farmers have been doing to bring awareness to the awful standards and practices being forced on chicken farmers from these corporations?

Best of luck to you and I hope more and more people are becoming aware of the substandard crap these corp are putting you and if not you then most of your colleagues through.

EDIT: After reading through some of your replies, I think you may be from the UK or at least not the states so I believe your meat standards are a lot higher than the USDA and I can tell from your pic that you are raising much "happier" chicks for a way longer period time (70 weeks) than what is standard with those 4 major corps (about 12-14 weeks) My question still stands though somewhat as to how you feel about what these major corps are doing to US chicken farmers. If you need a reference on it, John Oliver does a great job explaining how these corp screw over US chicken farmers - long but worth it if you're in the industry.

Thanks for your well thought out question. I cannot give a precise location but you are correct, I am not from the USA. In my country, Standards are very high and the workers are treated very well. However, we still work very hard over here to keep our hens happy and healthy! I am definitely going to watch this later and thanks for your interest in my career! :)

Do you ever get attached? Is there ever one with a personality that stands out?

There was this one chicken that the rest of the shed would bully and peck constantly. It was a scraggly little thing with no feathers. Every time you entered the shed it would run at you as it cried in pain from the pecking and sit between your legs as it had worked out that it was safe from the other hens if it was with you. Brought a tear to my eye.

Are your chickens confined in the large windowless factory barns that we see all over the place or do they actually get to be chickens?

No, it is not a battery farm. Yes they do get to be chickens. Our chickens lay in the sheds and are kept in overnight however most days they are let outside from 11:30 till 5:00 into a fenced area.

You should post a picture of that so people stop hassling you in this thread!

Nice idea. Will maybe get a photo soon. See how long this AMA lasts!

What kind of hormones do you inject them with? A chicken today doesn't look like a chicken from 25 years ago, so what are you doing different?

We inject our hens with no hormones whatsoever. However, i'm not speaking on behalf of other companies.

Do you live in Arkansas? I'm very close to the largest chicken consumer in the world.

No I don't. However, I have heard of Arkansas as it is quite famous in the chicken farmer world. Very impressive. :)

Have you seen Food Inc.? If you have, is it accurate about the work conditions of the farmers in those huge factory-farms?

I think I do remember seeing this when it was broadcasted. I cannot comment fully as I do not work on a battery farm but conditions aren't perfect however I don't expect perfect conditions.

I heard our chickens are sent to China for processing now , is there any truth to that ?

I cannot comment on behalf of other companies. For us, our hens are processed in the same country. Which is not China.

How do you keep track of the age of a chicken?

Nice question. We keep track on sheets in each shed. After the eggs have been collected from the shed in the morning I fill in the sheet. This keep track of Age (In Weeks), Eggs Collected, Bin Eggs, Dirty Eggs, Feed supplied (In Tonnes), Number of Dead hens, % production and the time of collection.

Did you watch the John Oliver expose on Chickens? Did you agree with it?

Yes I watched it very recently actually. I work for an independent company however and the workers are treated fairly and paid well. I am aware of the struggle that some farmers go through due to "Contract Farming." IMO, I feel sorry for them as many are experiencing poverty due to these massive companies such as "Tyson."

Follow up...is there really a humane way to kill chickens? How do you do it at your farm? I saw a local farm kill chickens by turning them upside down in a metal funnel/type device where their head and neck sticks out of the bottom and holds them there firmly. Then a worker takes a sharp knife to the throat and bleeds them out. Is that humane?

The hens are not actually killed on our site. Instead they are sold onto another company which slaughters them for meat production. However, hens occasionally do need killed due to reasons such as injuries from wild animals etc. If so, we just ring their necks. This breaks their neck and they die a painless, humane death. The other method you mentioned I also believe to be a humane method.

Have you ever stacked up some cockerels and pigs and done wheelies around them in your digger?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtOJK_h8ekM

Yes, I do this often when I'm on my lunch break.

Question related to fowls - Canadian Geese. They are everywhere, but why are they not commercialized and eaten on a wide basis like chickens? For that matter, people seem to like ducks more than Canadian Geese.

I believe Canadian Geese are a protected species!

How you can sleep with hen sound :cluck cluck and chick sound: peep,peep?

I don't actually live on site, I live a few miles away from the farm. Therefore I get a good nights sleep! :)

What kind of an investment would it take to get into chicken farming?

A medium sized poultry farm such as ours would require a capital investment of around $6000. This is an estimate.

Do you kill and eat your own chickens?

No, our hens are sold on to another company at 70 weeks old to be slaughtered for meat production. Sadly, I have never tasted one of our own hens.

Do you agree with the way the media is presenting chicken farms? Or are they just showing the bad side? I feel like we are given pictures of horrific situations where the chickens are suffering. Is the media being overly dramatic?

I was hoping someone would ask this. I strongly believe the media are unfairly presenting the industry. It is constantly about the suffering and cruelty. There is never anything about the good things we do and how well some other companies treat their chickens. Hopefully other people feel the same.

Is your farm independent or are you employed by a large company such as Tyson?

I work for a medium sized independent company. Sorry but I cannot give a name.

That's good. I despise Tyson for the way they treat their farmers.

I've seen a documentary on that issue. It looks appalling!

How have the large poultry farming companies (the ones you have worked for) treated you?

Very well. I get paid well and I get free eggs. What more can you ask for?

How much money would it take to for you to fuck a chicken?

Seriously? Out of all the questions you could have asked me, it is that?

My Napoleon reference question was taken! :-)

I see, I'll let you away with it then.

So........?

Never really thought about it to be fair.

I have a small flock myself, but just for our own consumption. (I have a weird desire to get into some sort of chicken farming but have a ton of questions?) My neighbors are chicken farmers, but Amish. I assume your not Amish as your on the internet. A few questions. Do you have laying birds or meat birds? Do you pen raise or large barns they roam? How many square feet per bird? Do you buy the chicks or hatch? If laying, do you cycle out after x years (3?)? If meat, how much feed does one eat in its life $ wise? Do you buy feed or make your own?

Sorry, I am not Amish. If you are interested it takes a lot of dedication and investment, don't take it with a pinch of salt. Our farm is solely for egg production. We have large barns that they roam (Pictures in description). I am not sure about the square feet per bird, sorry. We buy in chicks from another company when they are 20 weeks old and they begin to lay at 22-24 weeks old. We sell the hens on after 70 weeks (just over 1 year) to another company which slaughters them for meat production. We buy in our feed. Thanks for your interest! :)

My sister has 12 chickens on her hobby farm (Not sure what breed - they look like regular chickens but produce brown eggs if that means anything), what should she feed them to help produce the biggest, tastiest eggs?

Probably Rhode Island Red. For the best possible egg production, hens should be fed proper feed and to reduce dip in production do not change their feed type too often. Hope this helps. Good luck to your sister! :)

Awesome, thanks!

No problem! :)

Can you be more specific? Approximate volume? Any certifications? Where do your chickens end up?

At the moment, we have approximately 8000 hens on site, soon to be 12 000. I cannot give any certifications as I am simply a worker. Once our chickens reach 70 weeks old they are then sold to another company which then slaughters them for the meat production.

Ever have any natural predators try to get into the chicken living area or people trying to steal chickens?

Weasels, Stoats, Foxes, even a dog from the nearby village. Never had anyone trying to steal chickens though.

Im thinking of getting some chickens for my self, to get great eggs of course.

Any tips on the best kinds of chickens, and how to care for them properly (and all the things I should know and buy for caring for chickens)?

I would recommend "Rhode Island Red ." They are very cheap to begin with, produce nice eggs and very friendly hens. Provide them with shelter which should include nest boxes for laying. They should also have a run for roaming in which will ensure happy, healthy hens. Provide them with feed daily and a supply of water. Don't worry if they don't lay everyday as this is not unusual. If you need anymore info, just ask away! I'd be happy to help further! :)

What are you thoughts of people who eats raw chicken (Aka people of Okayama)?

Sounds pretty disgusting to me! Urgh, are they asking for Salmonella or something?

Do you have any favorites? Any of them that maybe like to ride on your shoulder or love to be held and cuddled?

I really want an oversized fluffy chicken friend.

There was this one chicken that the rest of the shed would bully and peck constantly. It was a scraggly little thing with no feathers. Every time you entered the shed it would run at you as it cried in pain from the pecking and sit between your legs as it had worked out that it was safe from the other hens if it was with you. Brought a tear to my eye. I wouldn't call it a fluffy friend though! :)

What's the deal with airline food? also how likely is it that my chickens will be taken by a raptor when theyre fully grown?

At the moment, we do not have a contract with any airline. We have never had any problems with raptors on our farm. Not sure about other farms!

What's the secret to the perfect poached egg?

I definitely recommend poaching your eggs in a silicon container kind of thing. I bought one a few years ago and it has worked a treat.

Hi there! Thanks for the great responses.

I was wondering if you'd ever heard of Vital Farms, and if so, what you thought of them. They're an ultra-humane and ethical chicken farm that originated in Texas, and seems to be legit from my unskilled googling. They just recently started selling eggs at my local chain grocery in southern California, and they've been flying off the shelves despite the higher price.

Do you see the industry moving towards the idea of "happier, healthier" chickens? Are these kinds of companies increasing in popularity in recent years due to various scandals and negative publicity in chicken farms?

Hello! Thanks for your feedback, it's great that so many people are interested in the industry. Vital Farms looks pretty awesome to me. I don't actually live in the U.S. but even in my country there has been a rise in popularity in companies that provide chickens with love and affection and acres of land to roam. This makes me happy to see this. However I don't feel that the industry is "moving towards this." IMO, There will always be the cheaper, controversial alternative.

Probably a dumb question and possibly answered earlier, but:

what's the relation between egg-chickens and meat-chickens?

Eg., can you eat an egg-chicken when it gets past a certain age, if not, what do you do with it?

Conversely, what happens with meat-chicken eggs?

I assume different species are optimized for different purposes and I suppose the answer is partially a girl-vs-boy thing.

Very good question in fact. Basically, all hens will produce eggs and all hens can be used for their meat also. As you said, different breeds are used for various uses. For example, the White Leghorn is used for its eggs whereas the Cornish Cross is mainly used for its meat. Yes, you can eat an "egg-chicken" after its past its best laying stage however some can just be kept as pets as they lay the odd egg. I'm guessing meat-chicken eggs are just sold on as well however I am unsure on that one as our company is for egg production only! Thanks for your interest in my career! :)

Approximately how many Chickens do you have on the farm?

At the moment, there is approximately 8000 hens on site. However, one shed is currently empty and another shed is being constructed so soon there will be around 12 000 :)

What was the worst problem you had in your farm? Also, do you, kind sir, like Justin Bieber?

Ok, there was one time when me and another worker were working on one of the sheds. I was inside as the water lines were playing up so I was trying to fix them. The other guy was outside in the run/pen, I can't remember what he was doing, but he had finished and moved onto another shed but had left one of the side compartments wide open. This meant that all the hens were pouring out and neither him or me had noticed. I finished about 10-15 mins later and left the shed to find about 150-200 hens roaming around the site. Now this was only in my first year of working at the farm so I was panicking but we managed to keep our cool and chase most of them back in through a larger door. This left about 50 roaming around the site which we managed to catch over the course of the two days!

EDIT- I don't particulary like Justin Beiber but i did like his recent song with Jack U.

I just raised and butchered some cornish cross chickens at 8 weeks and the meat is so amazing and juicy compared to the meat in the stores. How can that be since my understanding is that the chicken in the store is also from Cornish cross chickens?

PS I've also noticed it takes less time to cook the chicken and I'm assuming that's because they don't have the added water....

Cornish Cross! They would be lovely, great for meat production. Meat in stores will be considerably older than 8 weeks old, that's probably one main factor. Also, farm hens will be continuously fed one type of high protein feed whereas your hens will probably fed on regular feed and other tit-bits such as lettuce, cabbage, kale etc. This is just an assumption. Also, just due to their standard of living. Your chookies will have a great life living free range with plenty of fresh air a foo whereas farmed hens will have very little space to run around and a continuous food source. Yes, it will be down to the added water but also your chickens will probably be a lot smaller at 8 weeks. Hope this answers your questions! Feel free to ask anything else! :)

Is it difficult to get them indoors for the night?

No, it's surprisingly easy actually. As it starts to get dark at 5ish they all begin to go back inside as its an instinct that the dark is dangerous for them. However there is always the stragglers that seem to have lost all sense of instinct, which we need to put in ourselves in the evening.

What is the best way to hypnotize a chicken?

I am unsure actually! Sorry! In my whole time as a chicken farmer, surprisingly, I've never had to hypnotise a chicken. :)

is it true that you have people who squeeze baby chickens and look up their anus for a tiny mark in order to judge gender?

This is a way of determining the sex of a chick. It is called venting I believe. However, our company are not involved with the reproduction stage at all. We buy in all of our young hens at 20 weeks old from another company in time for them to start laying for us at 22-24 weeks old.

How do you only have just chickens? Wouldn't you go out of buisness? Just want to know.

Yes we only have chickens and they are doing rather fine. Four sheds producing 2000 eggs each which gives us approximately 8000 eggs each day. We then go onto sell 6 eggs for £1.20 in shops. Hope this answers your question! :)

Do you have any friends in the same industry as you?

No not really if I'm being honest. However I have made good friends with one of the guys at the farm. He is a chill guy that listens to Bob Marley and smokes like a chimney!

Do you eat chickens on a regular basis? What is your favorite part and how do you like to cook it/what style is your fav?

Yes I suppose I do! Kind of boring, but my all time favourite is probably just a Chicken roast (Breast) with gravy and stuffing! Mmm. However, I recently found a recipe that the hairy bikers had on one of their shows. It's called Chicken and Ham tangle Pie.Be sure to check it out as it is DELICIOUS! Link for Recipe

When you hit a chicken with a hammer, does it lose hearts?

We do not hurt our chickens whatsoever and we treat them with respect.

Sorry , that was a harvest moon reference.

Ahhhh I see! Thought it was Minecraft or something maybe!

Forgive me for this...Are you a chicken chaser? Do you chase chickens.

Occasionally, yes, I do chase chickens. Problem?

What are your reasons for willingly commercializing animal cruelty?

It is simply a job for me. I respect your opinion and I am not going to disagree with you. It provides me with money and experience for later on in life.

Listen up. You fucking supposedly horrible person. Can I buy wings from you today? I seriously hate these antifarming cunts.

"Supposedly Horrible" You realise you have just contradicted yourself. Also, our company is solely for egg production. I cannot provide you with any "wings."