The difference between organic and other chickens UK.

Intensively reared broiler chickens (reared for their meat) are normally housed in groups of up to 40,000 in large sheds; turkeys in groups of up to 25,000. It now takes intensive broiler chickens half the time - just 41 days - to reach their slaughter weight than it did 30 years ago. Modern breeds of chicken have been developed to put on weight quickly and the rate of growth is often further accelerated by growth-promoting drugs. The rapid growth rates often mean that the birds' hearts and lungs can't keep pace with their rapid muscle growth and they suffer from painful skeletal problems. 100,000 birds die each day in UK broiler sheds as a result of heart failure, disease and afflictions caused by intensive methods of production.

On Soil Association organic farms, hens are able to exercise more of their natural behaviour, including ranging freely, scratching, dust-bathing and feeding in grass fields. To enable them to do this, organic chickens have continuous daytime access to pasture and range, except during bad weather. Organic farmers are encouraged to choose slower growing breeds which are well suited to free range systems and growth-promoting drugs are banned.

There is widespread concern about the use of antibiotics in intensive poultry units. Due to the large flocks, disease can spread very quickly. Low doses, given in feed and water, are a form of insurance for the farmer. But long-term, low-dose exposure is far more likely to create resistance to antibiotics - many of which are also used to treat humans. Organic farmers would only use a course of antibiotics to treat a specific problem and to prevent any unnecessary suffering.

Every year 35 million turkeys are bred for the table in Britain. The vast majority are fattened in sheds which contain up to 25,000 birds. Conditions are similar to those in the intensive broiler industry, and the birds suffer from a variety of ailments which stem from overcrowding, a lack of dry litter and aggressive behaviour. They never feel the sun on their back; never roost in trees, as wild turkeys do; never graze outdoors. The breeding flocks fare no better. Modern hybrid turkeys have such heavy breasts that the stags are incapable of serving the hens. Artificial insemination, rather than natural sex, is what keeps these hybrids going.