Nicolas Cage Knows Nothing About Chicken Sex

by Annie Hartnett · 2010-05-21 08:00:00 UTC
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In a recent interview with The Sun, Nicolas Cage says: "I love all animals. I have a fascination with fish, birds, whales — sentient life — insects, reptiles."

I guess he doesn't have a publicist, because then he goes on: "I actually choose the way I eat according to the way animals have sex. I think fish are very dignified with sex. So are birds. But pigs, not so much. So I don't eat pig meat or things like that. I eat fish and fowl."

I applaud Nicolas Cage for cutting down on animal products, even if his reasoning is bizarre. But it appears Mr. Cage doesn't know the dirty secrets about bird breeding on a factory farm.

The modern broiler chicken has been bred to have a large appetite and to put on weight quickly. Broiler chickens are usually killed at seven weeks. A few are kept alive for breeding purposes (broiler breeders) and will continue to put on weight. An obese male bird will have trouble mounting a female to mate. An obese female will ovulate too often or produce soft-shelled eggs, both useless for hatching purposes.

To prevent obesity, breeders are fed a restricted diet. They are permitted to eat only a quarter of the amount they would naturally. A breeder hen weighs 1.7 pounds at seven weeks, while a broiler hen weighs 5.38 pounds at the same age. They are kept at 50 percent of their natural body weight their whole lives.

And the secret about turkey sex? Turkeys can't have sex at all. Similar to problems with obese chickens, turkeys have been bred to have such large breasts that they cannot mate on their own. A factory farmed turkey's sole method of reproduction is artificial insemination.

It is possibly the worst job I can think of: turkeys are masturbated (or "milked") by hand. The semen is then inserted into the female with a tube.

According to Jonathan Safran Foer's book Eating Animals, 99.9 percent of broiler chickens and 99 percent of turkeys are raised in factory farms.

So I'm sorry Nicolas Cage, but if you are eating fowl, there is very little chance it was able to mate in a dignified way.

Photo Credit: nicogenin

Annie Hartnett is a writer and animal advocate who has worked for several wildlife rehabilitation centers and environmental programs.
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