Battery Hens
A hen with its wings outstretched is approximately
twice the width of a typical battery cage!
Life In The Cages
The Battery Hen spends all her laying life in a cage crammed in with three and up to seven other birds. She stands for life on a space smaller than this leaflet. Her only exit is to the slaughterhouse.
Cages are kept in huge artificially lit sheds. The hen stands on thin sloping wire - her feet and legs crippled. She cannot perch, preen, scratch in the dirt, dust-bathe, spread her wings, or escape to a quiet place to lay an egg - all activities known to be extremely important to the behavioural needs of a hen.
"Nesting motivation in the hen is strong. Hens will push through weighted swing doors and run the gauntlet of water baths and blasts of air to reach a nest." - (Duncan & Kite 1987)
"They will learn to use trap nests even when they end up being deprived of food and water as a consequence." - (Duncan 1978)
Broken Bones
Battery Hens are prone to bone breakages. Their bones are brittle through over-production of eggs and lack of exercise. A high percentage have Osteoporosis. By the time they are finally slaughtered up to 56 per cent of caged hens have suffered painful fractures.
A young chick being debeaked
De-Beaking
Stressed and crowded hens peck at each other. Therefore farmers cut off a third of the chicken's beak with a hot wire guillotine. This causes severe pain at the time and the chicken may die of shock. Also the nerves in the beak stump are still active and the hen suffers pain for months, perhaps years afterwards. Many have great difficulty eating for the rest of their lives.
Forced Moult
Hens moult in Autumn and are off-lay for 2-3 months to rest. Battery farmers reduce this non-productive period by semi or total starvation of the hens, in order to bring them back on-lay more quickly. Many hens die during this process.
Lighting Programs
Already over-bred for peak laying capacity, the hen's body is pushed further by lighting programs which stimulate her to lay even more eggs. Prolapse and tumours are common, as is acute calcium deficiency leading to "layer fatigue". This occurs when the hen's body can take no more and she finally collapses.
A hen found long dead in a NSW battery farm. Her claws had grown around the wire and immobilised her. She starved to death because she could not reach the food.
Death is the End
Whether free-range or battery, hens past their laying peak are regarded as useless. They are dragged from the cages, stuffed into crates, trucked to the abattoir and shackled upside down on a conveyor belt to await slaughter. Many suffer multiple fractures during this process.
What About the Codes of Practice?
The Codes of Practice are purely voluntary and easily ignored. The NSW Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (POCTA) does not protect factory farmed animals. When Animal Liberation in Tasmania brought a successful cruelty case against an egg farmer, the State Government changed the law to exclude battery hens.
Only PUBLIC OPINION can permanently alter conditions for animals. YOUR support, YOUR letters, YOUR refusal to buy cruel products will turn the tide for animals.
EGGS: Worth All This Suffering?
Probably not. Heart disease is a major killer in Australia today - second only to cancer. Cholesterol is a prime factor in heart disease. Eggs have more cholesterol than any other commonly eaten food. The American Heart Association recommends cutting down on eggs. Some health diets advise leaving them out altogether. If you choose to eat eggs, buy only Free-Range. Check the source to make sure they are genuine.
The other hen in the cage used the rotting body as a nest to lay her egg. Many eggs are seen on dead bodies. These can roll free and end up in our supermarkets.
What happens to male chicks?
Half of all chicks born are male. Nearly all are killed at one day old. Methods used are crushing, mincing and suffocation. There is no room for sentiment in the poultry industry.
What About Other Countries?
In Switzerland the battery cage has been prohibited since 1992. In Sweden it will be gone by 1998. Denmark is moving in that direction. In Australia 80% of those surveyed would like to see the cage banned. TV coverage of de-beaked, de-feathered, sick, dying and dead hens crammed into cages in filthy conditions, of eggs laid by living hens on the rotting corpses of their cage mates - scenes such as this have sickened viewers and convinced them they want no part of this cruel, polluting and unhealthy industry.
Do Unhappy Hens Lay Eggs?
Yes they DO. Egg-laying is a biological/sexual function. The Battery Hen's ovaries are controlled by selective breeding, a high protein diet and an extended lighting program within the sheds.
Even confined, crippled, miserable, de-beaked and de-feathered hens will still lay eggs!
Summary
Battery Cages do not allow hens to exercise most normal patterns of behaviour. Furthermore they contravene a more basic principle. In 1964 the UK Government set up a committee under Professor Roger Bramwell, to consider welfare in intensive (factory) farming. This was their finding:
"An animal should at least have sufficient freedom of movement to be able without difficulty to turn around, groom itself, get up, lie down and stretch its limbs" Ð (Bramwell Committee, 1965)
A Battery Hen has no such freedom. Have you seen the battery hen footage on our movies page?
What can YOU do?
- NEVER buy a battery egg
- DEMAND a 5-year phase-out of the cage system - starting now
- WRITE TO: The Minister for Agriculture with copies to:
- The Premier
- Your Local Member
- The RSPCA
- The Animal Welfare League
- The NSW Farmers Association
- Your local paper
- Talk-back shows
- JOIN Animal Liberation and help us to help the hens
- SEND US A DONATION!
