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Unwanted male chicks are discarded— gassed or ground up alive.

Chicks are often 'debeaked', where part of the beak is sliced through with a hot iron.

Cages are typically stacked in tiers to maximise the number of birds that can fit into any one shed.

Unable to escape, hens spend day after day, night after night, trapped inside their tiny cages unable even to spread their wings.

Weak and dying hens may be left to be trampled by cagemates in their struggle for space.

Many hens suffer 'defeathering' from rubbing painfully against their wire enclosure.

With no perch, birds are forced to uncomfortably stand on wire 24 hours a day.

The floors of battery sheds can accumulate with faeces, making the air thick with ammonia.

These rescued battery hens experience laying in the sunshine for the very first time.

The birds who lay Australia's 'cage eggs' will never feel the sun on their feathers, beat their wings, or experience the life that nature intended them to. Instead, each hen is imprisoned in a wire cage with up to four other birds. Her 'living' space is smaller than one A4 sheet of paper—not even enough space to stretch her wings.

Although she is known to be smart and social, to the egg industry she is just another production unit. In Australia, a 'Code of Practice' protects battery hen operators from being prosecuted for cruelty.

From Shell to Hell

Over 12 million of day-old male chicks (an unwanted 'byproduct' of all egg production systems) are gassed or ground up alive each year, while female chicks will often have the tips of their beaks painfully sliced through with a hot iron in a process called 'debeaking'.

Caged Cruelty

Cages in today's battery farms are typically stacked in tiers to maximise the number of birds who can be crammed into one shed.

In these barren enclosures, hens are denied the freedom to express important natural behaviours such as being able to stand on a perch to keep their legs strong; dust bathe to keep their feathers clean and free from parasites; and the strong urge to lay their eggs in a secluded nest.

Hens can also suffer severe 'defeathering' from rubbing painfully against their wire enclosures. Their feet can become entangled in the wire that they are forced to unnaturally stand on 24 hours a day, while weaker birds may die unnoticed in their cages, trampled by cagemates.

To compound their misery, lack of exercise causes hens' bones to become weak, brittle and break easily. Studies have shown that 1 in 6 hens inside battery cages live with broken bones1.

'Spent Hens'

There is no happy retirement for a battery hen. Birds are killed when their egg laying rate declines at around 18 months of age (of a natural lifespan of about 12 years). These so-called 'spent hens' are forcefully pulled from their cages and stuffed into crates to be sent to the slaughterhouse. During this process, another third of hens sustain newly broken bones due to rough handling.2 The terrifying last moments of a battery hen are then spent hanging by her legs on a slaughter chain.

The Solution

Sadly Australian standards lag behind those of other developed nations. Barren battery cages have been banned in all 27 countries of the European Union since January 2012. It is also illegal to keep hens in battery cages in Switzerland and they are banned in at least 7 states in the U.S. Despite these global developments, there is no legislative movement on this issue in Australia.

Food giants such as McDonald’s Europe and Subway in the UK have also stopped using cage eggs, with others such as Burger King US (better known as Hungry Jack's in Australia) and Subway in the U.S. currently phasing out the use of cage eggs. Unfortunately, none of their Australian subsidiaries are following this trend.

Self-interest drives politicians and industry operators to invest in cruelty, but the power to Free Betty rests with each of us. The choice is ours. Take action, and Free Betty!

References

[1] Parkinson G (1993), "Osteoporosis and bone fractures in the laying hen", Progress report of work at the Victorian Institute of Animal Science, Attwood

[2] Gregory N & Wilkins L (1989), "Broken bones in domestic fowl: handling and processing damage in end-of-lay battery hens", British Poultry Science , vol 30 (555-562)