So I went to the county fair yesterday

[wdfifteen]

First time I've been in 40 years. My how things have changed. There is no longer an acre of new farm machinery, just a few ATV and lawnmower displays. When i was exhibiting 50 years ago the cattle barn had 200+ head each of dairy and beef. This year there were maybe 50 total. Same with the hog and sheep shows.
Then I came to the poultry barn. I was interested because I started raising chickens this year. There were several pens of sick looking birds that had me wondering why the hell they were on display at the fair. Came home and did some research.

I may never eat chicken again.

These were meat-type birds (broilers) called Corning Cross that are especially bred to grow muscle at an incredible rate. Their muscle mass out grows their organs and bones by the age of 14 days. They can hardly stand, don't get up to crap, so they are filthy, feathers don't grow right so they are ugly - but that's just aesthetics.
They are unhealthy and live on high levels of drugs to keep their mortality rate down. Undrugged they have mortality rates of up to 30%. The truly disgusting part is they are in pain because of their deformed bodies. People think hunting is cruel, but farmers grow these by the tens of thousands, knowing they will live their short lives in pain. Some farmers add pain killer to their feed, not so they won't hurt, but so they will eat more and grow faster. When they get to McDonalds or your table the meat full of drugs and pain killers.

I will never knowingly eat one of these. I'm looking for a source of heirloom chicken, and may grow my own next year.


Breeding for increased breast muscle means that the broilers’ centre of gravity has moved forward and their breasts are broader compared with their ancestors, which affects the way they walk and puts additional stresses on their hips and legs.[21] There is a high frequency of skeletal problems in broilers, mainly in the locomotory system, including varus and valgus deformities, osteodystrophy, dyschondroplasia and femoral head necrosis.[30] These leg abnormalities impair the locomotor abilities of the birds, and lame birds spend more time lying and sleeping.[33] The behavioural activities of broilers decrease rapidly from 14 days of age onwards.[34] Reduced locomotion also decreases ossification of the bones and results in skeletal abnormalities; these are reduced when broilers have been exercised under experimental conditions.[30]
Most broilers find walking painful, as indicated by studies using analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs. In one experiment, healthy birds took 11 seconds to negotiate an obstacle course, whereas lame birds took 34 seconds. After the birds had been treated with carprofen, there was no effect on the speed of the healthy birds, however, the lame birds now took only 18 seconds to negotiate the course, indicating that the pain of lameness is relieved by the drug.[35] In self-selection experiments, lame birds select more drugged feed than non-lame birds[36] leading to the suggestion that leg problems in broilers are painful.

[ckelly78z]

Our county fair is still thriving with a very active 4H contingent, but I do miss the equipment dealers having a display. Lats year there were no poultry entries because of earlier bird flu scares at other fairs, and this rings true for the pork producers as well this year with swine flu.

I still look forward every year to heading out on Sunday, for a full day of local, and OSTPA tractor/truck/semi pulls, and all the fair food I can stand for a year. I do like looking through all the school project/4H barns, and meandering through the animal barns and talking to people we used to show with.

[mgatepi]

We look forward to The Great Darke County Fair every year!! Lots of farm equipment, show animals, and everything you would expect from a County Fair.

What fair did you go to?

[john70t]

Pat I bet you can't wait until 'chicken' is made by cloning cells on petri dishes in an automatic vending machine.
With each order, it will emit a certain "pthssspt" sound we've all heard in wayward truck stops.
So sexy and hunger inducing.

Seriously though that is warped and this needs to be addressed by congress with consumer labeling at the very least.
Those chickens are closer to hazmat than food.

In terms of animal cruelty laws: I was almost arrested for leaving my dog in the car:
Thirty minutes all windows down in 82-85deg at dusk with three ice cubes on the seat he wasn't interested in.
I spent twice that time confronting a large hostile stranger and then explaining ad nauseum to a cop trying to do his job and the right thing.
If there was any original risk of harm my dog would have been dead already.
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle.

The FDA and animal registration entities are supposedly very interested in regulating small farmers and small drug distributors.
They inspect small farms and small farm properties.
They want each and every farm animal to live in the best of circumstances.
And then there is this..

Why does government not address this?
and GMOs?
If a hostile foreign entity wanted to create damage the results would be the same.

[widebody911]

You'll love this: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/3142/deep-pectoral-myopathy-green-muscle-disease-in-broilers/

[masraum]

Wow, disgusting.

And how disappointing to click a link about a county fair, and imagine tales of reliving childhood or elephant ears or corn dogs and instead find info about horrible chicken torture.

[stomachmonkey]

Timely, just popped up in my News feed.

FDA Finally Said That Chicken Meat Is Consisted Of Cancer-Causing Arsenic

[john walker's workshop]

Yag!

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by masraum

Wow, disgusting.

And how disappointing to click a link about a county fair, and imagine tales of reliving childhood or elephant ears or corn dogs and instead find info about horrible chicken torture.

I thought the same thing. This thread is like going to the circus and watching the trapeeze lady fall to the ground. I guess the world is what you make of it.

[Don Ro]

Holy Crap!!!
My favorite meal is a Costco deli-cooked chicken. YUK!!!
I may print out these photos to remind me that my Dr. says that even cooked chicken is bad for my gout.
Thanks...I think.

[Wetwork]

Right out of the sky...quail, pheasant, chukar, huns, dove, grouse, as well as right out of the sky waterfowl and a few wild turkey for good measure. That's why I work so hard in the fall to fill my freezer with it.

I hate, hate, hate chicken. It's pretty much "and then the fight started" every time the wife cooks it. Uggh What's a loving husband to do? I even do that deal were I sort of drool it out of my mouth and let it hang, with my eyes crossed and still does no good.

Our county fair does pretty good, we're a cow town. Even the State fairs are winding down. We used to run a decent show string when I was a kid, but the judging got hmmm expensive is a way to put it. When big money is on the line things change. These are grown-up shows not the kid ones. Anyway, the way of the rural is drifting.-WW

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by mgatepi

We look forward to The Great Darke County Fair every year!! Lots of farm equipment, show animals, and everything you would expect from a County Fair.

What fair did you go to?

Greene county. It's becoming part of the Dayton/Cincinnati megapolis, farms turning into condos at an alarming rate. Developers paying no attention to what's under foot- don't get me stared. Ms WD lived in Greenville for years, so we'll be at the GDCF. Supposed to be the best one in Ohio.

[cabmandone]

Come on up to Van Wert County! I'll give ya a home brewed beer and we can grab some Fair food!
Then we can watch some old cars pretend they're actually racing.

[drcoastline]

Crap, I thought this was going to be about pony rides, corn dogs and daisy Dukes. Here lets get this thread headed in the right direction.



GOTCHA!

[john70t]

Originally Posted by rusnak

I guess the world is what you make of it.

Pat just gave us a warning with proof of potential food dangers.
I 'make' that 'world' 'bad'.
Those animals are not natural.
And I thank him very much for the info.
Thank you Pat.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

Crap, I thought this was going to be about pony rides, corn dogs and daisy Dukes. Here lets get this thread headed in the right direction.



GOTCHA!

That's not our idea of livestock here in Ohio. What the hell is in the water in NJ?

[livi]

Did ya meet Bubba J too?