The Fifth Day 2.13.09 (friday the 13th!)

This morning we went to a Mennonite farm that raises ~4000 silkie chickens for the live bird market. There were a few rooms where i had to wear my mask because the ammonia smell was overpowering, but compared to the other farms i visited, this was the "best" one. It was also nice because the woman who took care of the birds seemed to really care about them, and expressed how she struggled with the fact that these animals were a business--something that had no been expressed at any farm. It was a better day than the previous farm visits.


There are about ~1000 birds in each room. The large building is split up into 4 rooms: the chicks occupy the middle two rooms, and eventually the flock is moved to the outer two rooms at a certain age. Feeders are hand filled throughout the room, and nipple drinkers hang from teh ceiling in rows. The litter is not changed or added to--this is typical.



The flock FLIPPED OUT when i used my flash, dashing to the other end of the barn.