Layers are raised in a very different manner from meat chickens. I have never seen meat chickens raised in cages, and can't imagine what advantage would justify the investment in expensive cages for that purpose. The feeding and watering of caged chickens would be far more complex and labor intensive, too. Why would anyone raise meat chickens that way? I just don't buy it. Layers are a different deal. Cages are designed for automated egg gathering, thus saving a lot of labor and justifying the cost of the cages.
In any case, I'm not defending the way chickens are raised today. I too, would rather have free range chickens in my own back yard. And the open chicken barns are hardly a paradise for their inhabitants. Droppings and bedding have built up to about six inches thick by the time the chickens are harvested, and the chickens get crowded. Also, the lights are left on 24/7; the less the chickens sleep, the more they eat.
I think you misunderstood. My farmer friend does not "process culls." He keeps his bottom line in the right place by not stealing chickens from his contractor. By the way, what do you do with your culls? --
--Rich
