For Animals.

Chickens are the sweetest animals. On farms they are viewed only as economic units of production, but really, just like all animals, chickens are living, feeling individuals. They have their own personalities just like our companion animals. Did you know that chickens purr when they’re happy? They are curious and loving and deserve only to be treated with respect and compassion.

The Cruelty in the Egg Industry

Hatcheries

Layer hens are born in large industrial hatcheries. These are highly mechanised facilities where the chicks are treated as mere products, being sent on conveyor belts and handled roughly by workers.

Baby chicks hatch into a scary and unnatural world. They never get to experience their mothers love or explore the outdoors.

As soon as chicks hatch they are sorted into female and male. Since males don’t lay eggs they are all killed. They travel along a conveyor belt and are dropped into a macerator which grinds them up alive.

The female chicks will have their beaks trimmed. This is a very painful mutilation because chickens have sensitive beaks. Once the female chicks are old enough they’re transported to farms where they’ll be kept for the entirety of their short lives as egg laying machines.

Life of a Layer Hen

Chickens used for their eggs are kept one of three main ways: caged, in a barn setup, or “free range”. However, whichever way they are farmed, all chickens used for eggs end up at a slaughterhouse. Once their egg production starts to drop all the chickens are slaughtered and replaced, usually at only 18 months old. The practice of killing all male chicks is also standard in all forms of egg production. So, no matter what kind of eggs you buy, you are always paying for innocent chickens to be killed. Why not just eat something else?

Caged Chickens

Over half of all the chickens in Aotearoa are forced to live in cages. As you have probably seen before, these cages are horrible. They’re filthy and overcrowded and the chickens are forced to stand on wire their whole life.

Chickens Kept In Barns

While many would think that hens kept in barn systems would get pleasant lives, they don’t. Egg companies would like you to believe this, that’s why they make it sound appealing and use nice images on their egg cartons. Unfortunately though, these chickens still suffer greatly. Each barn contains thousands of chickens who are packed tightly and even though they are not caged, they still never get to experience sunlight, fresh air or freedom. And of course they are all killed at a fraction of their natural lifespan, as were all the male chicks.

Free Range Chickens

Many people read this label and think of happy chickens in lush grassy fields. Sadly, even free range hens may never get to go outside. This label is another marketing ploy egg companies use to get consumers to keep buying their products. For eggs to be labelled as free range there must be the potential for chickens to access to the outdoors. Usually there are a few “pop holes” in the large sheds where the chickens are kept which some may be ale to go out. However, because there are so many chickens in the barns and not very many exits for them to go out, many “free range” chickens still never make it out of the shed. Male chicks are still killed for free range eggs and the layer hens are killed too just like on other egg farms. So as you can see, “free range” does not mean the chickens are “free”.

What about SPCA Certified, or Organic Eggs?

Organic means that only organic fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides and antibiotics are used, it doesn’t have much to do with how the chickens are treated. Chickens on organic farms do have to be free range, but as you’ve just read above, this doesn’t mean the hens are happy.

You would think that if you bought SPCA Certified eggs then there would not be any cruelty involved, after all ‘SPCA’ stands for ‘Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’. Despite this, the practice of grinding up male chicks is approved by the SPCA, as well as the killing of all hens after their egg production starts to drop. Apparently it’s only a society for the prevention of cruelty to some animals, and not others.

Health Issues for Hens

Egg laying hens often suffer from feather pecking and injuries from each other because the crowded conditions are so stressful for them. It’s not uncommon in egg farms to see injured chickens and even deceased hens lying among the living ones. The unclean conditions also promote disease spreading. Chickens also suffer as a result of their selective breeding. We have bred hens to lay about 300 eggs every year, which takes a huge toll on their bodies. The chickens wild ancestor would naturally lay only about 12 eggs a year. The huge number of eggs we’ve forced hens to lay frequently causes osteoporosis and reproductive disorders.

Slaughter of Hens

After around 18 months hens are dragged roughly from the cages or sheds on the farm and carried by their legs before being stuffed into crates. They are treated as if they are just objects, not living, feeling, individuals. The crates of chickens are packed onto trucks and the chickens suffer through a long journey before reaching the abattoir. Here they are hung by their legs in shackles on a moving line. The chickens are electrocuted by being dragged through a water bath that is alive with electricity. Then their necks are dragged across a bladed mechanism which slits their throats.

Every chickens life is just as important to them as yours is to you. They do not want to die. They did nothing wrong to deserve what we do to them. Do not be part of the reason they suffer and lose their lives.

What about Backyard Eggs?

Even though you may be giving hens a much better life in your backyard than what they get in a farm, there are still problems with taking their eggs. As you read above, chickens bodies are prone to having weak bones and eventually developing osteoporosis because of the huge number of eggs they lay. One way you can help chickens replenish the nutrients in their bodies that they lose from laying eggs is by feeding their eggs back to them. After all chickens eggs belong to them, and they enjoy eating their eggs if you break them open.

Another reason not to take chickens eggs away is because when you do you’re encouraging them to lay more. Hen’s instincts are to lay a clutch of eggs, so when we take their eggs away they lay more to keep trying to make clutch, further depleting their bodies of nutrients.

It’s also not just about the chickens welfare, it’s also about the mindset we have towards them. When we keep chickens for the purpose of eating their eggs we are viewing them as being here for our benefit, instead of here with us. What it comes down to is that animals bodies, and everything which they produce, belong to them. It is not our right to take away from them what they naturally produce, or to manipulate them to produce more of what we want to take, at the cost of their wellbeing. If we keep taking hens eggs we would be encouraging the mindset that animals are here for our benefit, instead of just appreciating them for who they are, like we do with our other companion animals.

Egg Alternatives

There are plenty of delicious alternatives to eggs which have all the taste but none of the cruelty. Instead of scrambled eggs you can try scrambled tofu or a different egg alternative you can buy in a packet at the supermarket. When it comes to replacing eggs in baking there are endless alternatives that work just as well as real eggs. Flaxseeds, applesauce or banana are just a few examples. If you’re looking for protein rich foods there are also a tonne of delicious vegan recipes you can try that are packed full of healthy plant protein. There’s really no good reason to keep supporting the egg industry and all the cruelty it causes to chickens.

More Information:

For more details about what happens to chickens in the egg industry visit: www.egg-truth.com/life-of-a-hen

References:

• https://thehumaneleague.org/article/egg-production
• https://safe.org.nz/our-work/animals-in-aotearoa/hens-2/
• https://www.egg-truth.com/life-of-a-hen