Eggs are a staple food for many of us. We include eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We bake cakes with them, make omelets or make desserts. Eggs are an integral part of our diet. But have we ever wondered where the eggs come from? From chickens, of course. But how? Under what conditions? What do chickens have to go through in order to give us our meals?
What are Battery cages?
Battery cages are a form of housing system for hens that lay eggs in an industrial setting. Usually, 1-5 cages are connected into a row and are stacked in 3-9 tiers. In other words, Battery cages are small enclosures that hold hens within mostly in urban poultry farms as they lack the space to let chickens roam free. On average, these cages house ten to fifteen hens, so each hen has the space of less than an A4 paper in size. Yes, only that much. To eat, defecate and lay eggs.
These battery cages are used along with many other poultry farm equipment like automatic chicken feeding systems, poultry drinking systems, poultry manure removal systems, and climate control systems.
Did you know that about 90% of the eggs we eat come from such farms? But we couldn’t care less as long as there are eggs to eat.
Why do most poultry farms use battery cages?
Battery cages are used mostly in urban poultry industries. It is very advantageous to poultry farmers because it can be used for high-dense chicken stocking and egg production, easy management, cost-saving in space, time, labor, and of course, high profit. The reduction in costs for poultry farm owners also means consumers can buy eggs at a lower price.
Generally, a single cage is about 40cm square. This can raise four chickens each. Some even manage to stuff in more. Contrary to floor housing systems, battery cages can raise 110 chickens in only a ten square meter space.
Another advantage of battery cages is that it saves you feed in addition to space. When chickens are enclosed in small cages without much space to move, they spend less energy and, thereby require less food. This also means that there is less excretion.
In addition, it keeps the chickens warm and safe from the elements because battery cages are mostly indoors. It reduces the heat energy consumption of chickens and this, in turn, reduces its food consumption because it does not require energy to maintain its body temperature. The chickens also do not waste food while eating. As opposed to food served in troughs, caged chicken eat evenly, saving 5-10 grams of food per day.
There are waste removal systems that can prevent epidemics among the flocks. The chicken manure collects under the cage, and this is either cleaned at a fixed time or very conveniently after raising the batch of chickens. Battery cages are very convenient in collecting eggs easily, inspecting chickens, and maintaining them.
Since chickens are in a state of isolation from the outside world, they could catch comparatively less diseases through other livestock. Moreover, the eggs produced are not soiled by feces, stained with grass, or covered in soil like other free-range eggs. They are clean and does not require additional cleaning before packaging for the market.
Caged chickens are raised indoors in a stable and hygienic environment. The temperature is controlled easily. Lighting systems can also be tuned to mimic sunrise and sunset. Chickens lay eggs throughout the year. And very importantly, they generate high income, and poultry farmers stay rich.
Truth be told, the only individuals who benefit from the battery cage system are poultry farm owners and consumers who don’t give a thought to where their eggs come from. But there are some truths regarding battery cages you never imagined possible.
The horrifying evils of the battery cage system.
There are many disadvantages in using battery cages. Some are issues concerning the chickens, some concern unsuspecting consumers, and other issues concern the society in general.
Let’s talk about issues concerning the chicken first. The biggest problem in battery cages is the lack of space. Hens usually don’t have more space than a sheet of A4 paper. This means that they cannot move around properly or even spread their wings. This extreme confinement in tight closure results in the birds’ bones becoming brittle and breaks easily.
By confining them in cramped barren cages, the natural behaviors of the chicken are suppressed. They can no longer scratch, fly, or peck. They cannot explore or nest. Simply, they cannot be who they are. They are imprisoned and forcefully fattened for commercial gains. They have no means of escape. No say in the matter. And nobody cares, either. Because they are just chicken.
Chicken living in battery cages are always surrounded by the stench of their own feces. The intense stress caused by living too long in too small a place causes them to peck at other birds and injure them or sometimes even lead to cannibalism. Due to this, farmers trim their beaks to almost one third of the beak. The resulting chickens have hideous-looking mouths that look like a bad case of chapped lips. They cannot eat normally after this. And sadly, beak trimming is hardly the solution to the problem, but only the suppression of the symptom.
It is a truth that most hens cannot withstand these conditions for long and end up dying. Caged hens experience a lot of mental and psychological trauma. They experience a state of constant stress in which they constantly try to escape from their fellow caged chickens. They are also frustrated that they cannot nest prior to laying eggs, an instinct that are natural to hens.
Under normal circumstances, hens select private places for themselves and construct nests. In battery cages, these birds try to deal with their suppressed instincts by repetitively pecking at others, being restless, or ‘vacuum nesting’ when hens mimes the nesting instinct.
Chicken in battery cages also suffer forced molting by poultry farmers. Molting is when they are denied food and water for a period of time, causing them to stop laying eggs and restore reproductive health. Then when given food again, she produces eggs that are larger in size and better quality. This impacts the skeletal health of birds and causes a lot of stress to them.
Hens housed in battery cages have the worst health possible for living chicken. This is caused by their inability to move around or feel the sunlight. They have extremely fragile bones and osteoporosis. Moreover, the proportion of blood spot in eggs is high in battery-caged hens. Their egg quality is also poor, and the rate of breeding eggs is low. This is a clear indication that all is not well with them.
The wire mesh flooring of the battery cages causes various foot disorders like toepad hyperkeratosis due to the sloping floor of the cages. This leads to painful open lesions. In addition, they have overgrown claws because they don’t scratch the ground, a behavior that naturally shortens their nails.
Hens in battery cages are also often selectively bred and genetically engineered to produce high volumes of eggs. The amount of eggs these chickens produce are unnaturally higher than normal free-range chickens. This results in high levels of calcium being depleted from the bones of the hens leading to bone fragility.
In extreme cases, a syndrome called cage layer fatigue develops where birds become paralyzed due to the extreme calcium depletion, and it collapses. Unable to reach for food and water, it dies of thirst within the cages.
When consumers eat carcasses of Beings that have undergone so much of suffering, nothing happens, and they are blissfully unaware. But it would definitely impact the health of the people and the quality of their diet. Whether eating such oppressed chicken and their eggs cause psychological and mental problems in human beings is still a subject for research. And when communities as a whole ignore oppression of this kind and are negligent towards animal welfare, the well-being of the society is compromised.
How do we solve this?
Many countries have recognized the problems that battery cages cause to chickens and have stepped up and banned them. Countries that have banned battery cages are New Zealand, Bhutan, India, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, and the European Union.
There is no legislation yet on the ban on battery cages in the United states. A whopping 85% of eggs consumed by Americans are produced in battery cages. However, there are some states like California, and Ohio have passed legislations to either ban or impose regulations on battery cages. Please read this for more information on battery cages in the U.S.
The best way is to stop buying eggs from farms that have battery cage systems. This boycott would pressure them to adopt more humane methods of poultry farming. When you buy eggs or chicken, look for pasture-raised, free-range, or cage-free supply chains. Don’t underestimate the small step you take. It’s still one step in the direction of positive change.
Please read this article for another controversial debate concerning animal welfare.