See it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ--faib7to
This is what factory farming gets you. Hatcheries make their money by selling more GIRLS than BOYS,.
Then what to do with the boys? Not many people want or need more than a few. Especially the big egg laying operations where most of your eggs come from. Roosters can be pretty aggressive, one of the many things that makes them less desirable.
The chicken meat producers don't mind but they prefer the sort that bulks up fast. And they do. FAST 4-6 weeks to slaughter. Since this breed of chicken is a hybrid, the next generation will not breed true. They have to be bought on a huge rotation schedules. Buy Chicks, Feed, Harvest, Buy More. Repeat.
So then, what to do? Since we are completely powerless to change AgraBusiness,the FDA has long approved these methods, and nobody in our government is listening anymore.
Please, look for a local/nearby small flock.
I have (for now) a small 7 hen flock for eggs. What extra I have are given on freecycle. I cannot sell them because I don't have the $1000 license to sell a "hazardous food product .
Next spring we are adding a rooster to keep my flock sustainable so that I do not have to buy a batch of chicks each year. And yes, a portion of the flock will be raised exclusively for meat.
But not one will be ground up in a machine. But,yes, raised for meat in clean, well maintained coops and runs. With a bit of free range when the weather is nice. But no baby chicken pink paste.
People in the cities are going to have it hard. It's impossible to grow enough food indoors to feed one person.
Not sure what the solution will be when the food stamps run out. And the unemployment rate tops 10%. And as sure at the sun, it's coming.
If you have any estranged family or friends in more rural or even suburban areas, it might be a good idea to "make nice .
I love my layers and they all have names. But I'm not too sentimental. Small farms are not sentimental places.
Oh yeah, I've got a small orchard and 1600 sq. ft. of gardens as well a bird seed gardens to sustain the chickens and the wild life around me. I hear corn fed squirrel is quite tasty.
