Turkeys at the farm...

It's interesting... when i came to the farm i was excited to see the cows and pigs, but i didn't think much about the chickens and turkeys. I was surprised at how much i liked them! I don't know if it was the attitude of the toms, or the sweet shyness of the girls, or just the peaceful look in their eyes... but i'm now a fan of the birds!

I think this next photo is really interesting - do you see the difference between the two turkey ladies?

The girl on the left was lucky enough to make it to the farm with her beak intact and natural. The girl on the right is more typical, and had done to her what is standard practice for chickens and turkeys on production farms - their beaks are partially removed. It is done without anesthesia, usually with a hot knife, and it does cut through blood vessels and nerves. You can see the difference in them in the close-ups below...

This is done because the chickens and turkeys in factory farms are kept packed so tightly and are so stressed that they will peck at each other. Rather than altering the environment to keep the animals comfortable, they cram them in and take away their ability to peck.
With turkeys, they also typically remove the ends of their toes so they can't scratch. This is similar to cat declawing, but unlike cats, the turkeys get no anesthetic. Look at this poor girl's feet...

At factory egg farms, the industry standard for floor space per hen in a battery cage is 48 square inches. That's a 6x8 inch area for a hen to spend her entire life in. No wonder they are frantic and peck each other! Now the industry applauds itself and allows a designation of "animal care certified" on egg cartons where the hens are given the above-standard area of 67 square inches. That's less than the area of a regular piece of letter paper, and that in the egg industry is considered over-achieving in animal care.
See where the eggs in your grocery store come from... click here

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