For me it feels like I don’t need to explain the legal animal cruelty that goes on in battery farms and even in many barn farms as well. It’s something that has been drilled into me from a young age. Yet, every time i go to the store I see people purchasing cage eggs, so let me tell it like it is for those who are unaware.

A lot of the information below has either come from what I have personally seen, or from www.animalsaustralia.org. All of the pictures posted (bar the last two) have come from http://www.animalsaustralia.org/media/photos.php?campaign=3.

 

Battery Farms Cause Pain and Distress to Chickens

Here’s the reality of battery farming:

• Several chickens are crammed into one tiny cage. So tiny that each bird has less than an A4 piece of paper space to themselves. None have the space to stretch their wings. Ever.

• Due to such cramped conditions, chicks are “debeaked” so they don’t peck the other chickens in their cage to death. Their beaks are literally sliced off, without pain relief, to stop them from pecking in their cramped cages. This does not work and the distressed birds still manage to peck each other bald.

• They are kept on sloped, wire cages. They never feel soft ground. Due to this they suffer crippling foot & leg disorders.
•  They are on a lighting regime to trick the chickens body into thinking that two days have passed in the one day – hence increasing egg production. This stress on the body can cause reproductive tumours and prolapses.
• To reduce the chance of disease that would be inevitable in these stressful conditions, the chickens are fed feed full of antibiotics.
• For the most part, roosters are considered useless and are either gassed or ground up alive when a couple of days old.

Barn Laid Eggs

Two of my girls have come from barn conditions and I have seen the inside of several chicken barns myself. From a personal point of view, I have not seen a barn situation which I have felt comfortable with. My observations have been:

• Barns are over-stuffed with chickens. Despite the literature stating that barn chooks have sufficient room to display normal behaviours, the barns that I have seen have no allowed enough room for any of the chickens to scratch.
• The chickens are still debeaked as they are still in cramped conditions.
• Feather plucking still occurs, a clear sign that the chickens are stressed.
• I am yet to see a barn which I would call “clean.” Generally, the stench has been overbearing.

As I have only inside a few barns, I don’t want to condemn them all since the literature states that barns should have sufficient room for the girls to scratch & perch, but personally I do not have a favourable view of barn eggs.

 

Chickens for Meat

Here’s the reality of most meat (non free range & organic) chickens:

• Naturally, it takes chickens 12-16 weeks to reach slaughter size. Due to intensive selective breeding and a manipulated lighting regime this time has been halved to 5-6 weeks.

• Due to such fast, unnatural growth there is a huge amount of stress placed on the chickens heart and skeletal system. Often birds suffer dislocations & fractures as a result.
• The sheds are vastly overcrowded.

• Chickens suffer skin burns and respiratory problems as for their 5 weeks of life their overcrowded barn is never cleaned out.

Slaughter time

All chooks (that I’m aware of) which are used for eggs whether they’re battery, barn or free range go to slaughter after 18 months.

The approved slaughter method of all chooks is to have them hung up by their legs on a conveyor belt. The chickens have their heads run through an electric bath to stun them before their throats get cut by an automatic knife. Of course, chickens being live moving creatures, may occasionally lift their head up and avoid the electrified water. No doubt these final moments are terrifying.

So, this is why it’s a fantastic idea to have your own chickens!

Of course, if your current situation doesn’t allow you do have chickens, I would recommend purchasing organic free range chickens & eggs, preferably from a local farmer. Or if you’re up for it, consider turning vegan!