We’ve probably all heard or read the urban myth about Kentucky Fried Chicken - chickens raised in dark cages with bodies so large their legs can’t support them. Or even worse, the meat doesn’t actually come from birds but is somehow grown due to the magic of science.

The truth couldn’t be more different or less shocking.

I had the chance to meet KFC-destined chickens up close a few weeks ago while touring a chicken farm as part of efforts by the Ontario Farm Animal Council and AGCare to dispel the myths of farming.

We were hosted by Gabriel and Natalie Grenier, chicken farmers east of Ottawa, who took us through a barn that holds 17,000 birds on two levels. The birds come into the barn as day old chicks and are raised in large open areas that are climate-controlled and give them the freedom to move around as much as they wish.

When they’re young, the inside temperature of the barn is in the 90-99F range, and drops to a steady 75F as they get older. In Canada, birds are raised indoors to protect them against our harsh climate swings as well as against predators. It also lets farmers control the birds’ diet to help ensure we get top quality chicken on our tables.

The chickens are fed a vegetable-grain diet or corn, wheat and barley fortified with soy or canola protein and vitamins and minerals - without any additives that are of an animal origin. And contrary to broad popular belief, no growth hormones are used to grow these birds; in fact, growth hormones are illegal in the poultry industry in Canada.

The Greniers’ birds are market weight at just under 2 kg, which happens at five to six weeks of age for pullets (females) and six to eight weeks of age for cockerels (males). Once the birds are sent to market, the entire barn is cleaned and disinfected from top to bottom to make sure that any new chicks coming in don’t get sick.

Speaking of not getting sick, we went through a somewhat complicated - but as we learned very important - process to get into the barn. In industry-speak, it’s called biosecurity, but what it basically means is preventing anyone coming into the barn from bringing any disease in with them that could make the birds sick.

For us, it meant donning a blue biosecurity suit and gloves outside the barn and plastic boot covers just before stepping through the door into the barn’s service room, which houses the temperature control panels and serves as an entry way of sorts. We were also given a dust mask - but this was more for our protection than the birds’ we were told. I didn’t notice much dust in the barn, however and because the mask caused my glasses to fog up, it didn’t stay on my face very long anyway.

“We believe in our product,” said Natalie. “You can’t believe every bad thing you see. We’re proud of what we do and and we want consumers to know that.”

Chicken Farmers of Ontario, the provincial chicken marketing board, sends field reps out to every chicken farm to conduct annual audits. This is to ensure farmers are following good food safety practices and are properly keeping records on everything from feed to medication.

Other neat things I learned about chicken that day:

• the water and feed troughs in the barns are raised each day to keep pace with the birds’ growth so they never have to strain their necks to eat or drink
• chickens don’t fight in the Grenier barn because they have plenty of room to move around freely, have free access to food and water and are all around the same age and size

After having seen first hand all the work that is involved in raising chickens, the high standards that farmers must meet and the many checks and balances in the system, it’s really almost a crime how little we pay for chicken in Canada. We have no idea how lucky we are to have the safe, affordable food we do.

Share this: