Mega Bored
Ever since I was a child I have heard about chickens being injected with hormones so they can grow fast and fat enough to be sold and ready for market. There was also a rumor about chickens being fed with hormones which makes me wonder why. A lot of people say that this is true but I can’t help but wonder about it. If they say that chickens are fed with hormones then how come many people are still buying chickens then? In fact, the number of chicken meat consumers these days is way more than the previous statistics. So how come something so bad still be in the market?
So to prove that this myth is anything but true, here are some reasons why hormones are not used in chickens.
Hormone use in chicken is illegal
This is true and it doesn’t apply in the United States alone but in other countries as well. Farmers cannot feed their chickens and other animals with hormones and hormone-like substances because not only is it illegal, there is no reason to use them in poultry production. This means that even if they are feeding chickens with hormones, it will not work in chickens.
It has proven to be ineffective
According to studies, adding hormones to chickens does not make them grow fast enough. Since chickens are like any other animals and their process of growth takes several stages, injecting them with hormones does not make them super chickens overnight.
It’s expensive
Since growth hormones are not produced commercially, acquiring one is rather expensive. Commercially, it is not really applicable and no poultry owner would invest on something more expensive than the amount of their chickens in general.
Giving hormones to chickens is extremely hard
Understand that growth hormone is a protein and like any other proteins, the administration of this can be tricky. Like humans, we take treatments via injections and if chickens need to receive hormones then they must receive daily injections. So if you think about it, injecting hundreds even thousands of chickens hormones every day is not as easy as you think.
It’s not really needed
Chickens are fed with the complete proteins, vitamins and minerals that they need to grow big and healthy. Plus, today’s broilers are often designed to meet the needs of chickens from feeding, insulating, ventilation and cleaning their poultry houses, everything else is packed in. Not only that, there’s always an improvement in studies and research when it comes to nutrition and disease control to keep the chickens healthy so the use of hormones is not really necessary.
So you see, the myth about chickens being fed with hormones is not really true. Whoever started this rumor must think that the chicken they’re eating is too big to consume that they thought they’re eating a super chicken which is a bit impossible, don’t you think? So the next time someone tells you not to eat chicken because of the hormones, just tell them what you know. Besides, who doesn’t love chicken? It’s one of the best sources of proteins so yes, you definitely need them and I think we can agree that there are no hormones in them.
