Urban chef visits organic British chicken farm - BBC

Oliver travels to an organic chicken farm to see the chickens that he may be buying for his new London restaurant. More great cooking shows from BBC food.

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• organic
• food
• recipes
• chicken
• farm
• Urban
• Chef
• eggs
• BBC
• Oliver

[citic101]

18 chicken outside but 3000 inside a locked shed ! not very organic

[MadamGul]

My thought exactly. My husband's friend rented a small property and decided to keep a few chickens. After he took them to a local butcher he gave us a few. There is a big difference between storebought chicken and a chicken that's been chasing my husband around the backyard: the meat has more color, and there is way less fat and very thin skin. I define organic as freerange chicken that's only been eating the worms and bugs in someone's backyard.

[KillaChiken]

@LilyISay My parents use to own a chicken farm. 8 houses, 500 ft long which can hold around 25,000-27,000 chickens in one house. We would raise them from being chicks until about an average of 7 weeks. Then they'll take them out into cages.

[LilyISay]

@KillaChiken 14 weeks to slaughter weight...I'd call a chicken 'adult' at sexual maturity which is usually 20 weeks plus.

[maugustyniak]

@citic101 These chicken actually look the the normal genetic variety, as opposed to the Frankenchickens they use in industrial farming, plus I doubt he can keep all running around outside at the same time. Besides it's cold, so he probably wants to cut potential losses.

[citic101]

just bought an oranic chicken and I thought I am sure there are lots of families happy to spend the money on a Mac D happy meal but not so the same price for a good chicken

[HTCSWEOD]

Learn to really raise chickens in a natural way, there is a DVD video guide titled Regarding Chickens.. do a net search, you'll find it. I guess "organic" really doesn't say anything about how birds are raised, but rather the feed they receive.... so I guess buyer beware. I suppose Free Range Organic would be something to look for instead?  Interesting all in all. Thanks for posting!

[KillaChiken]

14 weeks for them to become adult?

[margot980]

O come on, the few outside are for show, look at the crowds in the dark. I don't know why people would want to eat poultry raised in the dark if at all. Knock on the door indeed.

Or eggs from hens living like that.

In England there's a group that organizes adoption of battery hens, crowded hens, at week 53, when they would otherwise be slaughtered. They get gardens to live in, for up to 7 more years!