Health And Fitness Herald Today: Why Backyard Farming Is Not An Answer To Factory Farming

Why Backyard Farming Is Not An Answer To Factory Farming
My Japanese quail, Trevor, joined our family after we found him wandering our backyard in St. Paul, Minnesota. Trevor, like so many other “poultry species", is a victim of the interest in backyard farming. He likely is an escapee from a farmer intending him for the dinner plate, or was dumped when recognized as a “worthless” rooster

My Japanese quail, Trevor, joined our family after we found him wandering our backyard in St. Paul, Minnesota. Trevor, like so many other “poultry species”, is a victim of the interest in backyard farming. He likely is an escapee from a farmer intending him for the dinner plate, or was dumped when recognized as a “worthless” rooster.

Chicken Run Rescue (CRR) in Minneapolis sees many abandoned roosters. Most are wandering the streets, some in very busy areas, until they are found by Animal Control or Good Samaritans. Often these birds are in rough shape: some have signs of ropes around their feet or necks; many are injured or ill. Untold numbers are never found and succumb to weather, predation or starvation.

Roosters in urban farming, as in commercial farming, are considered “useless”. Most will not keep them as companions or, as in St. Paul, cannot keep them due to bans on roosters. The average layer produces until about only 2 years of age. After that, her production decreases or ceases. She can no longer pay for her feed by feeding humans. These unwanted birds place a burden on groups like CRR, Animal Place and Farm Sanctuary as the number of displaced birds continues to increase.

In backyard farms quite a few animals are kept in pens that are unsafe, too small or inadequately fulfilling the animals’ basic needs. Most coops offer hens bare minimum square footage to keep costs lower and to work within as small a footprint as possible. While they are offered more room than the average battery or free range bird, the hens are still unnaturally cramped. Most coops are made with the ease of the farmer in mind rather than the comfort of the birds.

For example, in our home, Trevor (who is about 1/8 the size of a hen) has nearly 8 square feet to himself and he can run, flap his wings, dust bathe and perform other natural behaviors. For hens, coop size per bird was suggested at 4 square feet with a 8-to-10 square-foot run where they’d spend most of their time. One hen in Trevor’s pen could barely spread her wings and could take only a few steps in any direction. While better than the tight spaces in commercial farming, it’s still inadequate for an active, intelligent bird.

If we respect and love these animals, as backyard farmers profess to, then we wouldn’t abandon or kill them when they cease to give us more than they take. All birds deserve a home where we ask nothing from them except the chance to share their lives and enjoy them as individuals*.

*I also have also on occasion asked Trevor to stop crowing at 4 am so mommy and daddy can sleep. Results vary.