Battery Farmed Chickens
HIGH PRODUCTION VALUES
Laying hens have been bred for egg laying. Modern commercial hens produce a very high yield of around 300 eggs a year. Chickens will naturally live for 6 or more years but after 12 months, the hen’s productivity will start to decline. This is when most commercial laying hens are slaughtered.
BATTERY CAGES
In Europe, a battery cage typically holds 4 or 5 hens with a legal space allowance per bird of less than an A4 sheet of paper. The height of the cage is only just enough to allow the hen to stand upright. In the US, the space allowance per hen is even lower. The cages usually have a sloping wire mesh floor and are kept in rows stacked in several tiers. Each unit holds thousands of hens this way. They are typically kept in closed sheds that are artificially lit and ventilated. INSIDE THE BATTERY CAGE
Battery cage eggs come from hens kept in small cages where their natural behaviours cannot be expressed. They are prevented from foraging for food, nesting, roosting and dust-bathing. This causes hens extreme physical and psychological discomfort.
LIFE OF A BATTERY CHICKEN
There are 30,000,000 chickens in this country - 85% of these are 'living' in Battery Farms. Caged hens may never experience natural light or fresh air and do not leave their cages until they are taken for slaughter. Several tiers of crowded cages make inspection difficult and in large cage systems injured birds may be left to die unnoticed. HEALTH ISSUES
Brittle Bones- Modern commercial hens have been bred to produce very high numbers of eggs. This depletes the hen’s store of calcium and can result in high levels of osteoporosis (brittle bones) and fractures. Restricted movement can also contribute to osteoporosis.
Feather pecking- Battery hens often lose a large proportion of their feathers due to damage from the sides of the cage and pecking from other hens. To prevent feather pecking, battery chicks often have part of their beaks cut off, without
Laying hens have been bred for egg laying. Modern commercial hens produce a very high yield of around 300 eggs a year. Chickens will naturally live for 6 or more years but after 12 months, the hen’s productivity will start to decline. This is when most commercial laying hens are slaughtered.
BATTERY CAGES
In Europe, a battery cage typically holds 4 or 5 hens with a legal space allowance per bird of less than an A4 sheet of paper. The height of the cage is only just enough to allow the hen to stand upright. In the US, the space allowance per hen is even lower. The cages usually have a sloping wire mesh floor and are kept in rows stacked in several tiers. Each unit holds thousands of hens this way. They are typically kept in closed sheds that are artificially lit and ventilated. INSIDE THE BATTERY CAGE
Battery cage eggs come from hens kept in small cages where their natural behaviours cannot be expressed. They are prevented from foraging for food, nesting, roosting and dust-bathing. This causes hens extreme physical and psychological discomfort.
LIFE OF A BATTERY CHICKEN
There are 30,000,000 chickens in this country - 85% of these are 'living' in Battery Farms. Caged hens may never experience natural light or fresh air and do not leave their cages until they are taken for slaughter. Several tiers of crowded cages make inspection difficult and in large cage systems injured birds may be left to die unnoticed. HEALTH ISSUES
Brittle Bones- Modern commercial hens have been bred to produce very high numbers of eggs. This depletes the hen’s store of calcium and can result in high levels of osteoporosis (brittle bones) and fractures. Restricted movement can also contribute to osteoporosis.
Feather pecking- Battery hens often lose a large proportion of their feathers due to damage from the sides of the cage and pecking from other hens. To prevent feather pecking, battery chicks often have part of their beaks cut off, without