Have you ever wondered where the store eggs come from? The truth? (besides chickens of course.) Though it varies on each type and brand, most (who are called "battery hens,") live their 1-2 year lives in very small cages with anywhere from 1-10 others, each chicken may be given an amount of floor space equal to LESS than a sheet of letter-size paper. At least 95% of egg-laying hens spend their lives in battery cages.
It starts when they are only one day old. They are born of course never seeing sunshine or their parents. They are sexed and then the males are immediately killed. Methods include being sucked through a series of pipes onto an electrified “kill plate,” being ground up alive and fully conscious in a “macerator,” or being gassed. They also kill/throw away the half-formed and the deformed. The females lives aren't much better.
At one day old their sensitive beaks are cut short so they won't kill each other from stress. This makes it difficult to eat. Imagine trying to use a fork without fingers. They are given no pain meds or bandages of any sort.
At 15-18 weeks old they are then put into cages, which are stacked on top of one another, so that they have no choice but to waste on each other.
At about 20 weeks they start laying thanks to a not-so-special diet of high-protein at around 18-19 % crude protein to boost egg laying and egg size as quickly as possible. This often makes the eggs they lay later in their lives have a poor shell quality. We usually feed our chickens about 24% in starter feed and 16% in layer feed.
In order to shock their bodies into another egg-laying cycle when production declines, hens are sometimes starved and denied any food for up to two weeks — a process known as “force molting.”
At about 1 year old they are put into trucks and those that survive the journey are put into foot shackles and their necks are cut off. They are then put into scalding hot water and those that the blades missed are scalded to death. Other methods include being gassed Some of them are then made into animal feed.
These hens never get to show their personalities, or scratch in the dirt or even see the sunshine. They are considered machines with only one purpose: to lay eggs. Nobody thinks about their feelings, or the horrible pain they are made to endure. The only things they will ever know are: cages, death, wires, and pain. Please just try to imagine that, if you can, never seeing your parents, your brothers killed, never knowing day from night, its a bit like running a treadmill forever, the speed just beyond you and if you fall or stumble you will die. I am in awe of how them, i wound't last a day.
So how can we help? Well for those who buy store eggs you can buy "cage free", or "free range" eggs if you can afford it, though these don't have much better environments. Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) eggs are probably the best out there, because their hens do not have clipped beaks, and are not "force molted", but they are hard to find in stores. "Certified Humane" is a good one, as well as "American Humane Certified", and "Food Alliance Certified". So what is the difference between "Cage Free" and "Free Range"? Well "Cage Free" means: no cage, free access to food and water, but no access to outdoors. "Free Range" means: hens have some sort of access to outdoors, however, this does not mean that the hens actually GO outdoors or that the outdoor space is more than a small, fenced-in area; it simply implies that a door exists that a farmer could at some point open.
For those who don't buy eggs; you can encourage your family or friends to do this. Or you can buy rescued chickens. Be warned these chickens will often have; broken bones, no feathers, clipped beaks, or worst of all; a broken spirit.
But you CAN, make a difference! Thank you for taking your time to read this. Please consider the suggestions.
It starts when they are only one day old. They are born of course never seeing sunshine or their parents. They are sexed and then the males are immediately killed. Methods include being sucked through a series of pipes onto an electrified “kill plate,” being ground up alive and fully conscious in a “macerator,” or being gassed. They also kill/throw away the half-formed and the deformed. The females lives aren't much better.
At one day old their sensitive beaks are cut short so they won't kill each other from stress. This makes it difficult to eat. Imagine trying to use a fork without fingers. They are given no pain meds or bandages of any sort.
At 15-18 weeks old they are then put into cages, which are stacked on top of one another, so that they have no choice but to waste on each other.
At about 20 weeks they start laying thanks to a not-so-special diet of high-protein at around 18-19 % crude protein to boost egg laying and egg size as quickly as possible. This often makes the eggs they lay later in their lives have a poor shell quality. We usually feed our chickens about 24% in starter feed and 16% in layer feed.
In order to shock their bodies into another egg-laying cycle when production declines, hens are sometimes starved and denied any food for up to two weeks — a process known as “force molting.”
At about 1 year old they are put into trucks and those that survive the journey are put into foot shackles and their necks are cut off. They are then put into scalding hot water and those that the blades missed are scalded to death. Other methods include being gassed Some of them are then made into animal feed.
These hens never get to show their personalities, or scratch in the dirt or even see the sunshine. They are considered machines with only one purpose: to lay eggs. Nobody thinks about their feelings, or the horrible pain they are made to endure. The only things they will ever know are: cages, death, wires, and pain. Please just try to imagine that, if you can, never seeing your parents, your brothers killed, never knowing day from night, its a bit like running a treadmill forever, the speed just beyond you and if you fall or stumble you will die. I am in awe of how them, i wound't last a day.
So how can we help? Well for those who buy store eggs you can buy "cage free", or "free range" eggs if you can afford it, though these don't have much better environments. Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) eggs are probably the best out there, because their hens do not have clipped beaks, and are not "force molted", but they are hard to find in stores. "Certified Humane" is a good one, as well as "American Humane Certified", and "Food Alliance Certified". So what is the difference between "Cage Free" and "Free Range"? Well "Cage Free" means: no cage, free access to food and water, but no access to outdoors. "Free Range" means: hens have some sort of access to outdoors, however, this does not mean that the hens actually GO outdoors or that the outdoor space is more than a small, fenced-in area; it simply implies that a door exists that a farmer could at some point open.
For those who don't buy eggs; you can encourage your family or friends to do this. Or you can buy rescued chickens. Be warned these chickens will often have; broken bones, no feathers, clipped beaks, or worst of all; a broken spirit.
But you CAN, make a difference! Thank you for taking your time to read this. Please consider the suggestions.
