Lately, I’ve been seeing some stories about how unnaturally
large and overgrown chickens are. People see how much bigger chickens are today
compared to 50 years ago, and they question what farmers and poultry companies
are doing to get them that way. So, I thought I would write a post addressing
some of the myths about Super Chicken.
MYTH: Chickens are given
steroids and/or hormones to make them so big.
First, it has been
against Federal Regulations to give chickens steroids or hormones since the
1950’s. You may remember that from my previous post
about food labels. In addition to being unlawful, steroid hormones don’t
work well through feed or water, so farmers would have to inject the birds to
get the effects of the hormones. Most chicken farmers have 50,000 birds or
more. It would take a long time to give that many shots.
Poultry scientists have studied bird nutrition for many
years and learned the optimal diet for raising chickens quickly and
efficiently. The diets are balanced with the exact about of carbs, protein,
fats, vitamins and minerals the chickens need at their specific phase of
growth. The birds have access to feed at all times, and all this attention paid
to their dietary needs helps them grow fast.
MYTH: Chickens are
loaded up on antibiotics to make them grow.
Most large poultry farmers raise their birds with minimal to
no antibiotics in the feed and water. They have learned to control disease with
sanitation and proactive feed ingredients like probiotics and essential oils.
If a farmer needs give their birds antibiotics when they are sick or to help
keep them from getting sick, they work with a veterinarian to determine the
best medicine for their flock. Farmers predominantly use types of antibiotics
that are not used in human medicine to treat sickness.
It is important to remember that, regardless of whether or
not antibiotics were used in raising your chicken, there are no antibiotics in
your chicken meat. All animals must go through a withdrawal time after they are
given antibiotics, allowing their bodies time to metabolize the medicine and
clear it from their system.
MYTH: Chickens are
genetically engineered to be big and have large breasts.
Chickens are not genetically modified or GMOs.
Traditionally, farmers kept the biggest and the best hens (momma chickens) and
mated them with the biggest and the best roosters (daddy chickens) and produced
bigger and better chicks. Today in the poultry industry, those best-on-best
mating decisions are made by scientists with pages of data about the birds. They
can select new generations of chickens and emphasize any number of traits from
growth and breast size to health and bone strength. Couple that with the fact
that a farmer can produce a new generation of chicken in a much shorter time
than a cow or a pig, and changes in the chicken industry have happened very
quickly.
MYTH: Chickens are
raised in cages to make them grow.
The inside of a chicken house. |
Birds raised for chicken meat are kept in large open houses
and allowed to roam freely. To protect the birds’ health, the houses are closed
and protected from the outside environment, but the birds have lots of room to
wander wherever they wish. They are kept warm in the winter and cool in the
summer. There is food and water available all throughout the house. When you
visit a chicken house, the birds are quiet and happy.
Do you have more questions about chicken myths?
There is more great info on the website, Chicken Check In. Or you can follow chicken
farmers on social media.
I don’t have many chicken posts, but you can check out my
post from the Moms
at the Poultry Counter on white striping in chicken, or see my hormone
or antibiotic
posts. I also have one recipe post with chicken, Grannie
Annie’s Pozole.
As always, please feel free to ask questions in the comments
below. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find someone who does.
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