A majority of laying hens in Australia are still kept in small wire cages, called battery cages. Thousands or even tens of thousands of hens are crammed into rows of cages in each shed. The wire mesh floor allows droppings to fall through into a manure pit under the cages. Any hens that manage to escape from the cages fall into the manure pit, where they die slowly of hunger and thirst. The wire mesh is very uncomfortable for the hen's feet. Feathers are rubbed off on the wire and when hens scramble over the top of each other in the crowded conditions. A hen is a sorry sight after a year in a cage.
The factory scale of cage egg production. The individual hen counts for little in this production line. Hens that fall into the manure pit under cages face a slow death (Farm Sanctuary)
Cages are too small for hens to be able to flap their wings or even walk freely. This lack of exercise contributes to weak bones that break easily. Some hens break bones in cages, and even more have broken bones by the time they reach the slaughterhouse after one year in cages, depending on how roughly they are pulled out of cages. Broken bones are undoubtedly painful.
Hens can't carry out the behaviour that has evolved over thousands of years, such as laying eggs in a nest, dustbathing, scratching the ground, and roosting on a perch. Battery hens still have the same instincts as their ancestors, so it is stressful and frustrating for them not to be able to behave like normal hens.
Ex-battery hens are a sorry sight. Here some released hens feel sunshine for the first time and decide to sunbathe.
Hens (caged and some free range) are debeaked to stop them pecking each other. Up to one third of the upper beak is cut off when they are chicks. Nerves reach almost to the tip of the beak, so this mutilation cuts through nerves and is painful.
After 1 year, hens are roughly pulled from cages and sent to slaughter, even though they can live for 10 years and continue to lay for many of these years. Many suffer injuries as a result of this rough handling. They are scrawny compared to meat chickens and so are of little value. Some poultry slaughterhouses don't want to waste their time slaughtering hens for stock cubes or pet food, so "spent" hens often have to be transported long distances. For example, hens were transported for 13 hours from a battery shed in Canberra to a slaughterhouse in Geelong. More than 1% can die in the transport crates, especially if they have broken bones or the weather is particularly hot.
Some countries, such as Switzerland, have already banned cages of the type still used in Australia. The European Union will ban battery cages in all member countries after 2012. After that time, hens must be given more space, a perch, a nest, and litter to scratch and peck. You can play your part in getting rid of battery cages by not buying cage eggs.
In Australia, 20% of eggs now come from free range hens. Unfortunately there are no enforceable standards on how hens must be kept to qualify as free range. Therefore, Animal Liberation SA set up the Free Range Egg Production Audit Scheme to ensure that participating farmers adhered to high standards. If you buy eggs, make sure they come from genuine free range hens
However, if you are interested in avoiding cruelty and killing, think about whether you should buy eggs at all. Free range hens definitely have a better life, but they are still slaughtered after 1 year. When eggs hatch, half the chicks will be male, and they are killed when they are only a day old because they are of no use to the egg industry. They are gassed or macerated (ground up).
Male chicks don't lay eggs so they are killed and thrown out with the egg shells (Farm Sanctuary)
Fast facts
- In 2007 there were 15.2 million egg laying hens in Australia
- 75% of hens were in cages, 20% on free range and 5% in barns
- From 2008 caged hens were supposed to get a space of at least 550cm2 (21cm x 26cm), but in 2009 some hens still didn't have this minimal space.
What can you do? Best of all, use recipes without eggs. Try:
If you do decide to buy eggs, at least make sure they are genuine free range.
Have a look at the photo galleries:
For more information you can download:
- Leaflet: Cheap eggs come at a high price for hens
- Factsheet: The real cost of cage eggs is cruelty (4 pages including references)
May 2010
