The Truth

Laying hens are reared for egg production. There are over 33 million laying hens in the UK. About 85% are kept in battery cages. Alternatives to battery cage systems are percheries (aviaries) and free-range systems. About 10% of laying hens in the UK are free-range and this is likely to increase.

 Battery Egg Production & Regulations

Battery cages are arranged in rows of three to six tiers inside huge, windowless sheds. These can contain up to 30,000 birds. Heating, ventilation and lighting are all automatically controlled. Egg-laying is promoted by light and so artificial lighting is kept on for 17 hours/day to help increase production. Feeding and watering is also automated. Feed can include the recyled remains of unwanted male chicks and other animal products as well as growth-promoting antibiotics, yolk colourants and other additives. Hens are taken from breeding farms when 18-20 weeks old and put into cages, usually with four other birds. Each hen can produce 300 eggs per year. This compares with only 12-20 eggs produced each year by their wild ancestors. Hens are so crowded that they are unable to move freely or flap their wings. After twelve months, the hens' egg-laying ability starts to decline. Hens are then considered spent and so are slaughtered and used in baby foods, pet foods, soups, pies and other processed foods. The natural lifespan of a hen is about 5 or 6 years. A single cage housing five birds averages only 40 x 55 cm in size. The 1986 EC Battery Hens Directive sets a minimum floor area of just 450 square cm per bird (considerably smaller than the 620 square cm of the original A4 that this sheet was printed on.) This legislation currently only covers cages built after January 1st 1988. Cages pre-dating this have until 1995 to meet the requirements. 30 to 50% of cages in the UK do not currently comply with these standards. Eggs from battery hens do not have to be labelled as such. Eggs sold as farm-fresh or country-fresh are invariably from battery hens.

 Welfare & Disease

The intensive overcrowding and barren environment faced by battery hens means they are prone to a wide range of welfare and disease problems. Hens kept in battery cages are unable to fulfill basic behavioural needs such as wing-flapping, dust-bathing, scratching, pecking, perching and nest-building. The resulting frustration and stress leads to aggressive behaviour such as feather-pecking and cannibalism. Cages prevent hens from dust-bathing. Despite this, caged hens will attempt to dustbathe on the wire floors or on other birds. This is called vacuum dustbathing. Such stereotyped behaviour is common amongst battery hens. Pecking and scratching for food is also impossible. Hens naturally spend a great deal of time pecking at objects. Hens in cages have nothing to peck at and so may peck cage fittings and each other. Feather-pecking is a major problem in cages. Many hens eventually lose all their back feathers as these are easy targets for other birds. As birds are unable to escape one another, feather-pecking can escalate into increased aggression and cannibalism. In an attempt to prevent feather-pecking, many hens undergo debeaking or beak-trimming when young chicks. This involves cutting off about one-third of the bill using a heated blade without anaesthetic. This is obviously very painful for the birds and studies have shown that the pain lasts for a prolonged period if not indefinitely. Birds may not resume normal pecking or preening for as long as six weeks after debeaking, and in some cases profuse bleeding and death from shock occurs.

Hens show elaborate nest-searching and nest-building behaviour given the opportunity. Caged hens have no nesting material and no quiet, dark place in which to lay. Hens become frustrated and aggressive prior to lay and may attempt to hold back egg-laying. Unchecked growth of claws is another problem faced by battery hens. Normally their claws would be worn down by walking and scratching. This is not possible in battery cages and so claws may grow and become entangled in the wire floor. This can prevent birds from reaching food and water, causing death from hunger or thirst. Damage to feet and claws can also result from having to continually stand or crouch on thin wire floors, especially as these are generally sloped. Steep sloping floors lead to high levels of foot deformities as birds are more likely to slip.

 So what are the Alternatives, if any, to Battery Farming?

• Perchery and Free-Range Systems
• Do It YourSelf... Frank & Dannie's Way!

  Please, consider what you are contributing to when you buy your eggs. Anybody can do their bit, even if, like US, it's just a little bit.