Today I'm angry about.....

[William the White]

I think you should tell us more about chicken rescue...

Which I do realise is different from chicken reclaim...

Surprised Bish hasn't already!

thebish and I work as volunteers for the Essex branch of the British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT - http://www.bhwt.org.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) On a rescue day we will go to a battery farm and rescue from the cages anything between 300-600 hens. The farmers let the BHWT know when they want to get rid of the hens and the BHWT pay the farmers £1 per bird (far more then they would get if they sold them on as chinese or dog/cat food)

The birds are normally only about 16 months old but will have lived in a space the size of an A4 piece of paper for all their life. They are still quite young but past their egg laying 'peak' (if you're a farmer and have 3000 hens that go from laying 7 eggs a week to 6 eggs a week you can see the profit margin dipping - so they get rid and start with a new lot)

After we have pulled the birds from the cages, we put them in crates, load them into a van and take them back to the 'base' - the co-ordinators big garden in Essex. There we get them out of the crates, give them a health check, clip their nails (which have grown far to long because they are on wire netting rather then solid floor in the cages) and give them food and water. In the afternoon the new owners that have registered their interest come along and take home between 2-50 plus chickens, mostly to live as pets in the back garden (chicken keeping being the fastest growing hobby in England) they pay the BHWT a donation of a minimum £1 per hen. some chickens come out looking ok, some are more 'oven ready' 9like the photo i posted) it largely depends on the farm, some have health problems but most are ok (they won't lay eggs if they are poorly so is in the farmers interests to feed them well, give them the right jabs etc) the issue with battery farming is just how much of their natural behaviour is surpressed. They have no nesting box to lay an egg in, nowhere to dustbath, they have never seen sunlight or grass before in their lives - yet on a sunny rescue day, within minutes of getting out of the crates onto the grass you can see some of them sunbathing already, lying with their wings out.

Most people buy free range eggs these days - or if they don't they are heartless, stingy gits but where the majority of battery eggs go is 'hidden egg' in quiche, cake etc...

Anyway, here are some of thebishs rescue photos if you're interested. Am sure he won't mind me sharing them with you

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 8d6d646ddb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When I was a kid my uncle kept hens... On a council estate in Breightmet...

I've never tasted eggs that good since...

The only ones that came close were when I stayed in a working farm in Flanders - the breakfast eggs were brilliant...

So, do these rescued hens become layers once they've sunbathed?

[Whatever my feelings on dogs, I'm absolutley opposed to cruelty in 'food-rearing'... ]

[Gooner Girl]

I think you should tell us more about chicken rescue...

Which I do realise is different from chicken reclaim...

Surprised Bish hasn't already!

thebish and I work as volunteers for the Essex branch of the British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT - http://www.bhwt.org.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) On a rescue day we will go to a battery farm and rescue from the cages anything between 300-600 hens. The farmers let the BHWT know when they want to get rid of the hens and the BHWT pay the farmers £1 per bird (far more then they would get if they sold them on as chinese or dog/cat food)

The birds are normally only about 16 months old but will have lived in a space the size of an A4 piece of paper for all their life. They are still quite young but past their egg laying 'peak' (if you're a farmer and have 3000 hens that go from laying 7 eggs a week to 6 eggs a week you can see the profit margin dipping - so they get rid and start with a new lot)

After we have pulled the birds from the cages, we put them in crates, load them into a van and take them back to the 'base' - the co-ordinators big garden in Essex. There we get them out of the crates, give them a health check, clip their nails (which have grown far to long because they are on wire netting rather then solid floor in the cages) and give them food and water. In the afternoon the new owners that have registered their interest come along and take home between 2-50 plus chickens, mostly to live as pets in the back garden (chicken keeping being the fastest growing hobby in England) they pay the BHWT a donation of a minimum £1 per hen. some chickens come out looking ok, some are more 'oven ready' 9like the photo i posted) it largely depends on the farm, some have health problems but most are ok (they won't lay eggs if they are poorly so is in the farmers interests to feed them well, give them the right jabs etc) the issue with battery farming is just how much of their natural behaviour is surpressed. They have no nesting box to lay an egg in, nowhere to dustbath, they have never seen sunlight or grass before in their lives - yet on a sunny rescue day, within minutes of getting out of the crates onto the grass you can see some of them sunbathing already, lying with their wings out.

Most people buy free range eggs these days - or if they don't they are heartless, stingy gits but where the majority of battery eggs go is 'hidden egg' in quiche, cake etc...

Anyway, here are some of thebishs rescue photos if you're interested. Am sure he won't mind me sharing them with you

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 8d6d646ddb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When I was a kid my uncle kept hens... On a council estate in Breightmet...

I've never tasted eggs that good since...

The only ones that came close were when I stayed in a working farm in Flanders - the breakfast eggs were brilliant...

So, do these rescued hens become layers once they've sunbathed?

[Whatever my feelings on dogs, I'm absolutley opposed to cruelty in 'food-rearing'... ]

Yes, usually they are still very good layers. They're hybrid (cross breeds) and bred to lay and will lay more then most pure breeds, its just they have slowed down somewhat since their peak. I have more eggs then i know what to do with. Most people take wine to dinner parties, i take eggs

[William the White]

Yes, usually they are still very good layers. They're hybrid (cross breeds) and bred to lay and will lay more then most pure breeds, its just they have slowed down somewhat since their peak. I have more eggs then i know what to do with. Most people take wine to dinner parties, i take eggs

And are the eggs of a distinctly higher quality than, say, Sainsbury organic?

This is not a piss-take, btw, am genuinely interested...

[LiOC]

Most people buy free range eggs these days - or if they don't they are heartless, stingy gits but where the majority of battery eggs go is 'hidden egg' in quiche, cake etc...

Do they have to put any sort of notification on the box if it's battery farmed? Will any using free range say so? Any good brands that do so that you know of?

Always buy free range eggs but never think about them in things, just wondering if I could check.

Normally if it doesn't SAY free range it isn't. They don't have to put them as battery farmed and usually if they do have free range egg in them they say so. Theres a list somewhere i will try and find for you but i know Hellmans mayo is now free range as is Mr Kipling cakes, cadburys creme eggs, sainsburys taste the difference range and anything organic has to be.

If you're interested in knowing where your food comes from, this might be of interest to you.

http://www.ciwf.org.uk/your_food/default.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the link. I'll have a google on the brands. Knew kiplings were.

[Gooner Girl]

Yes, usually they are still very good layers. They're hybrid (cross breeds) and bred to lay and will lay more then most pure breeds, its just they have slowed down somewhat since their peak. I have more eggs then i know what to do with. Most people take wine to dinner parties, i take eggs

And are the eggs of a distinctly higher quality than, say, Sainsbury organic?

This is not a piss-take, btw, am genuinely interested...

Yeah, i think so. They're way fresher to start with, can be eaten minutes after being laid, supermarket eggs would be a few days old at minimum, possibly weeks old. The yolks are also yellower then shop bought ones (though that may be partly down to the sweetcorn i occasionally spoil them with )

Duck eggs are supposedly far better for baking then chicken eggs though i'm not 100% sure why and not a proficient enough baker to give you my own experience on that point!

[William the White]

Yes, usually they are still very good layers. They're hybrid (cross breeds) and bred to lay and will lay more then most pure breeds, its just they have slowed down somewhat since their peak. I have more eggs then i know what to do with. Most people take wine to dinner parties, i take eggs

And are the eggs of a distinctly higher quality than, say, Sainsbury organic?

This is not a piss-take, btw, am genuinely interested...

Yeah, i think so. They're way fresher to start with, can be eaten minutes after being laid, supermarket eggs would be a few days old at minimum, possibly weeks old. The yolks are also yellower then shop bought ones (though that may be partly down to the sweetcorn i occasionally spoil them with )

Duck eggs are supposedly far better for baking then chicken eggs though i'm not 100% sure why and not a proficient enough baker to give you my own experience on that point!

The 'laid this morning' Flemish eggs had much, much yellower yolks than I'd ever had... looked and tasted beautiful... Don't think I've ever had duck eggs... They good?

[Lord Kangana]

The baking bit is probably the fat content. I would suspect.

[Gooner Girl]

Yes, usually they are still very good layers. They're hybrid (cross breeds) and bred to lay and will lay more then most pure breeds, its just they have slowed down somewhat since their peak. I have more eggs then i know what to do with. Most people take wine to dinner parties, i take eggs

And are the eggs of a distinctly higher quality than, say, Sainsbury organic?

This is not a piss-take, btw, am genuinely interested...

Yeah, i think so. They're way fresher to start with, can be eaten minutes after being laid, supermarket eggs would be a few days old at minimum, possibly weeks old. The yolks are also yellower then shop bought ones (though that may be partly down to the sweetcorn i occasionally spoil them with )

Duck eggs are supposedly far better for baking then chicken eggs though i'm not 100% sure why and not a proficient enough baker to give you my own experience on that point!

The 'laid this morning' Flemish eggs had much, much yellower yolks than I'd ever had... looked and tasted beautiful... Don't think I've ever had duck eggs... They good?

Yeah, the whites are different, slightly less runny then chicken eggs. I can't really tell the difference taste wise but some people say there is one. I think i read duck eggs are actually better for you nutritionally too. If you lived nearer i'd bring you some over to try (don't think they would post well though the shells are harder then chiciken ones )

[LiOC]

The baking bit is probably the fat content. I would suspect.

They also have more protein in.
Baking with them makes it fluffer and more full of moisture.

[Dujon]

Oh, happy days. One of my great uncles had a farm (e I e I o) on which about a quarter of an acre was given over to chooks. To feed them from a bucket of grain and to be allowed to collect the eggs (infertile) is still one of the fondest memories I have kept. I would really like to have half a dozen birds on my property - no rooster - but my ever loving wife says 'NO'.

[Bruce Rioja]

[thebish]

angry might be a bit strong - but irritated!

speeches that are heavily trailed/leaked.

it seems to be the norm now for everyone to know what a politician will say before s/he says it.

so - I just heard on radio 5 Victoria Derbyshire begin a phone-in show. she asked the first caller - "so, what do you think about what Vince Cable is about to say...."

[Lord Kangana]

Short term loans, pay day loans...You know the ones.

Which f*ckwit came up with the regulation that effectively legitimised loan sharks?

[Bruce Rioja]

Short term loans, pay day loans...You know the ones.

Which f*ckwit came up with the regulation that effectively legitimised loan sharks?

There was an ad on tele for some bunch called Quickquid the other day who were displaying an APR of something in the order of 2,300%

[Lord Kangana]

I've seen 3870.8%. I have no idea of the significance of the point eight.

It sounds a bit naive, but I just think its immoral.

[thebish]

Short term loans, pay day loans...You know the ones.

Which f*ckwit came up with the regulation that effectively legitimised loan sharks?

There was an ad on tele for some bunch called Quickquid the other day who were displaying an APR of something in the order of 2,300%

indeed - I saw that the other day!!

here are their rates:

http://www.quickquid.co.uk/fee-schedule.html

(though - APR is a slightly misleading figure when applied to loans that are designed to be paid off in a month.... it's be like using a short-stay carpark to leave your car whilst abroad for 3months... however - I wonder how many are not paid off that soon and end up actually paying these rates... I bet there are more than we'd like to imagine...)

[Lord Kangana]

I also heard on the radio that it is perfectly legitimate and legal for debt management companies to charge an up front fee and then provide no service.

[thebish]

I've seen 3870.8%. I have no idea of the significance of the point eight.

It sounds a bit naive, but I just think its immoral.

there's no particular significance in the "point eight" - it's just an accurate scaling up of their charges to reflect what the APR would be.

[thebish]

I also heard on the radio that it is perfectly legitimate and legal for debt management companies to charge an up front fee and then provide no service.

I think Theo Walcott does that too, doesn't he??

[Bruce Rioja]

I also heard on the radio that it is perfectly legitimate and legal for debt management companies to charge an up front fee and then provide no service.

Seriously? How the fecking Dickens do they get away with that one?