Do my hens experience ''labor'' as they are laying an egg??

[Viroflay]

I can only repeat "since the animals haven't been guilty of disobedience, there should be no reason for their femailes to undergo the same suffering". It looks like a very rough justice to include the animals in the punishment that was meted out to the human race. Come to think of it, it seems a bit rough to punish the wholle of the human race for the disobedience of one woman. In fact, given the extremes of unbearable/lethal to barely-noticeable labour pains, it all seems a bit random, especially as the level of pain doesn't seem to correlate to the woman's state of guilt Moreover, even though hens may not suffer as much as humans, it's obvious that many mammals have a very hard time in labour. How guilty are they?.

 

[Lisa Wood]

I can only repeat "[COLOR=333333]since the animals haven't been guilty of disobedience, there should be no reason for their femailes to undergo the same suffering[/COLOR]". It looks like a very rough justice to include the animals in the punishment that was meted out to the human race. Come to think of it, it seems a bit rough to punish the wholle of the human race for the disobedience of one woman. In fact, given the extremes of unbearable/lethal to barely-noticeable labour pains, it all seems a bit random, especially as the level of pain doesn't seem to correlate to the woman's state of guilt Moreover, even though hens may not suffer as much as humans, it's obvious that many mammals have a very hard time in labour. How guilty are they?.

Viroflay, you asked for Biblical references /explanation. " Where in the bible does it say?" was the question, which is off topic, but we answered the biblical reason you asked for. Now this question is above my knowledge. I do know, life is not not not fair. And trying to figure out why God Almighty, or anyone, for that matter, does what they do, is NOT a mathmatical equation
Has bad stuff happened to you/me/everyone on the planet? Were they quilty as in tit for tat? Of course not. But I dont have these answers.
You have to ask God.

 

[aart]

A personal anecdote about "biblical wisdom" has absolutely nothing to do with whether animals feels pain! What a ridiculous response. A logical fallacy. This reinforces my fear of faith based education.

Science is pretty amazing, it can provide a clearer fact based insight into the existence of other beings. As far as chickens and pain,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...cientists-say-chickens-empathy-feel-pain.html
Not only could the chicken feel pain, it may be sensitive the the pain of other chickens. That's right, they have feelings. They maybe fairly simple but they have sensitivity.

Temple Gradin's thoughts...
http://www.grandin.com/inc/animals.in.translation.ch5.html

Physically it may be more difficult for some chickens to lay, and sometimes they create extremely large eggs, or become impacted. Women may have multiple children and have different pain levels with each child as well.

As far as experience "labor",
this looks like labor to me...

Nature is Awesome, and you can spend your whole life learning about it and you will still only know 1% of what is out there.

No kidding!!

 

[azygous]

I watched my six-year old EE Francie lay her egg several weeks ago, and she would grunt and squeak each time she pushed the egg along. It definitely looked like labor.

 

[graygiant]

My daughter raises sheep and we were able to watch one of our ewes deliver her twins her very first pregnancy . . . she didn't seem to be in pain at all. She did do a bit of panting, but didn't exhibit any signs of discomfort. I suspect it may be different for each animal just as it is for each human. I can't wait for our hens to start laying! It's fascinating to me that they can produce an egg nearly every day! Amazing creatures!

 

[Wfpendragon]

Actually, the Bible does mention animals and labor pains. Contrary to what many believe, God's word is quite scientifically accurate, after all, He created everything as we know it.

Job 39:1-30

"Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer? "Can you count the months they fulfill, Or do you know the time they give birth? "They kneel down, they bring forth their young, They get rid of their labor pains.

I always marvel at how God made all animals, including my own chickens. Take their reproductive tract for example. It's like a conveyor belt or egg factory, each little step meticulously planned out and designed with purpose.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Pretty much so.

My hens will be ran out of a nest have an egg nearly there and begin running to the nest box.

 

[Eberhardt Huhn]

Viroflay stated: "How guilty are they?"

Well, they are murderous, adulterous fornicators.

Seriously - the world is sinful. Pretty much, being from this planet makes you a sinner, no exceptions - according to Christian philosophy. That's the unfortunate truth. Think of it this way: if those chickens lived unaffected by sin they would not be subject to death, "for the wages of sin is death."

And I guess you've been really bad if your life consists of slaving for two years in an egg farm where each bird gets about 67 square inches of room (that's less space than the surface of an 8-by-11-inch piece of paper). No thank you's, and no good byes. Your retirement plan is the chicken soup factory or KFC.

There's no workers comp or life insurance.

That's billions of bad chickens every year. At least they're getting their wages, right?

 

[songbirdfarms]

How do we "put them through" the process? The egg laying process is a natural process that takes place due to the hen's biology, not because we cause it. Do we benefit from it, absolutely, but we do not cause it.

We do, really, as we have bred chickens to lay 200-300 eggs a year and they are naturally built to lay between twelve and twenty.

 

[AmericanMom]

I have no doubt the hens feel something, whether its actual "labor" pains or not who knows..

As far as animals not experiencing labor pains my Nigerian Dwarf does might have something to say about that!