Expert Statements on Conditions of Egg-laying Hens

Note: Dr. Mench sat on the UEP's advisory committee for its animal welfare guidelines, which recommend 67 square inches of cage space per bird for white laying hens, an amount of space Dr. Mench calls “meager”:

Michael Baxter, Ph.D.

Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Animal Science
Colorado State University

Note: Dr. Grandin is frequently requested to comment on animal welfare issues. See for example New York Times Feb 2, 2005, “ Sharpton Joins With an Animal Activist Group in Calling for a Boycott of KFC.”

Holly Cheever, DVM

March 9, 2005

To whom it may concern:

I have been asked to review a video of a commercial egg production facility which, I am told, supplies eggs to the Philadelphia region, and to give my expert opinion and evaluation of the conditions of the birds and their environment as depicted therein. To introduce myself, I am a practicing veterinarian in upstate New York, licensed in the states of New York and Vermont, with a food animal medicine background and a lifetime of experience with gallinaceous birds (chickens) from my youth spent on my grandparents’ Vermont farm. In addition, I have had my own backyard flock for 15 years and work in a practice which treats avian species, both commercial and companion animal. My professional degrees include an undergraduate degree from Harvard University (A.B. 1971, summa cum laude) and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, from which I graduated in 1980 with a class rank of #1. I have won awards for my work in the area of animal cruelty investigation from the New York State Troopers, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Humane Society of the United States (to name a few), and am a contributing author to two books which discuss animal cruelty case investigation and prosecution.

I was sent a video of approximately ten and a half minutes in length which shows close-up images of chickens in the “battery cages” used in this method of egg production. Battery cages, which are outlawed in the United Kingdom and the European Union due to their inherent cruelty, are wire rectangular cages into which chickens are crammed to minimize the cost of providing adequate space for the egg laying birds. As best as I could see, these cages contained 5-6 birds each in filthy wire cages measuring 24 inches wide and 12 inches high: the film does not show the third depth dimension. There is no solid footing for the hens but rather the same wire for flooring as is used for the sides and tops. This type of footing is very uncomfortable for the structure of a hen’s foot, and increases the likelihood of foot injuries and infections such as “bumble foot”. The camera shots did not permit me to visualize the bottoms of the birds’ feet, but did show clearly the very overgrown claws on all animals due to their lack of contact with a natural surface and their inability to scratch for their sustenance, which is a very basic chicken behavior for food prehension.

The environment shows poor air quality—the lighting reveals an atmosphere thick with particulate debris, and the mounds of manure underneath the cages (and sometimes on the birds themselves) indicate the inevitability of strong ammonia fumes which, since these fumes are inescapable for the caged birds, puts them at risk for ocular and respiratory irritation and disease. There are also several rats, both living and dead, near the birds and in an almost empty bucket of grain. Fecal contamination is evident in the grain which represents an additional health hazard for the birds.

The birds themselves show the pathetic, bedraggled, unhealthy appearance so typical of this kind of egg production system. Normal chickens given access to sunlight, solid ground, and an unstressful environment are meticulously clean and have upright red combs and a bright, alert demeanor. These birds, in sharp distinction, have drooped and pale combs, very tattered and shredded feathers, excessive feather picking resulting in bare flesh, as well as stool on some birds’ plumage and abnormally overgrown claws. In addition, these birds have been “debeaked” which is a brutally painful process in which recent hatchling chicks are held up to a hot searing blade for the amputation of the front one third of their beaks, which are highly sensitive structures. The debeaking process statistically results in the deaths of several chicks in any egg production facility, and is done to prevent the birds from practicing cannibalism and mutilation of their cage mates. Incidentally, such aggressive behaviors are entirely abnormal and are not seen in a well-maintained flock given adequate space in which to cohabit with adequate access to food: their establishment of their “pecking order” does not go to such destructive extremes in a normal setting.

Due to the dense crowding of the birds into such tiny confined spaces, they are unable to stand, stretch, dust bathe, or lie down in any normal postural attitude. Some birds act very stressed, others act very depressed and unusually dull and unreactive. At least one cage has a dead bird in it, trampled by her cage mates, and the camera shows a “dead pile” of those birds who succumbed to the unhealthy and stressful environment in this facility. The corpses are swarming with flies, raising the inevitability of disease transmission among the birds. In a couple of shots, birds are seen sticking half out of their cage, indicating that some cages are broken and therefore likely to produce injuries in the birds trying to escape.

In conclusion, although the size of the cages and the numbers of birds crammed therein are considered “industry standards”, this set-up deprives the birds of their ability to move, eat, and interact normally. Because of the inherent cruelty of this type of egg production system, it has been banned in Europe and Great Britain, as I mentioned, and upon its final phase-out will be replaced with cages with fewer occupants and the provision of roosting and dust-bathing areas. These battery cages depicted in the video cannot provide the birds with the means to satisfy necessary and normal physical and psychological needs. The battery cages only satisfy the egg production industry’s desire to maximize profit over expenses by minimizing the housing costs by maximizing the number of birds housed per unit space.

This production system also raises health concerns for the birds and for the humans ingesting their eggs. The amount of flies, filth, and vermin are all red-flag indicators of maximal disease transmission potential for the birds. From my experience with the industry, veterinary care is seen as an unnecessary, non-cost-effective expense for birds who become ill, so all the animals seen to be suffering from ill health in this video will be permitted to die without receiving any medical treatment or relief from their suffering. Furthermore, many studies have shown that increased stress levels in the birds increase the amount of Salmonella enteritidis in the birds, enhancing the rate of infection and the degree of disease transmission from the birds into their eggs and then to the people ingesting them. This is particularly an enhanced risk for the elderly and for any cafeteria feeding system in which large numbers of eggs are combined for mass cooking—such as is seen in schools and nursing homes.

Fast food giants such as McDonalds and Burger King are demanding a higher standard of humane care from their suppliers. It is my hope that the battery cage system will be outlawed in this country, as it is in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Sincerely,

Holly Cheever, DVM

Cem Akin, Senior Research Associate
People for the Ethical Treatment of Aninals

February 9, 2005

Via email

Dear Ms. Levinson:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the world's largest animal rights organization with more than 800,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending animal suffering. We have conducted numerous investigations into various factory farms and slaughterhouses and evaluated the evidence with academicians, industry experts, and law enforcement officials. Based on this experience, we submit the following comments on the video footage you sent us depicting conditions on an egg farm using battery cages to house hens.

The footage depicts approximately 6-8 hens crammed into wire cages approximately 24.5 inches-wide, 11.5 inches long, and 15.5 inches high, as measured in one of the scenes. Clearly, the birds don't have enough room to comfortably lie down or even stretch one of their wings, let alone both. One scene depicts a bird lying down with her face forced close to the cage floor, completely surrounded by other birds, none of whom have any room to move without disturbing their cagemates. Under such conditions, there is absolutely no opportunity to engage in natural behaviors such as foraging, dust-bathing, or exercise. This leads to poor welfare both in psychological and physiological terms.

Constant contact with wire cages, especially as hens are feeding by reaching with their necks through the wire to access the conveyor belt, leads to injury and painful skin conditions. Many birds in the footage have lost feathers in their necks and on their bodies, leaving them vulnerable to injuries and infections. The footage also depicts several hens who have become trapped in the wire of the cages—one whose entire body appears to be painfully jammed in a gap in the cage. If left in this state, the animal would surely suffer a slow and painful death without adequate access to food or water.

Judging by the great number of dead or dying animals left in the cages aside still-living hens, it appears that proper veterinary treatment is rarely afforded, if at all, leading to prolonged suffering. The air is visibly polluted with heavy concentrations of dust, which likely is comprised of fecal matter and feathers. This can lead to severe respiratory problems and disease. Many birds have what appear to be dried feces caked onto their bodies and heads, creating uncomfortable, unsanitary conditions.

Overall, the footage depicts oppressive, filthy, and inhumane conditions for hens which cause great suffering in terms of psychological welfare as well as physiological conditions, as demonstrated by mortality in the cages.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at 757-622-7382, ext. 8013.

Sincerely,

Cem Akin, Senior Research Associate

Charmaine L. Wright
Animal Welfare Institute

At the request of AWI's Farm Animal Advisor, Diane Halverson, I have reviewed the DVD video you sent to our office. I have many years of experience as a small farmer raising both laying chickens as well as meat-type chickens and I hope my comments will be of some assistance to you…

While it is impossible to get a sense of the egg production facility as a whole from the video it does appear to be poorly maintained and extremely unsanitary. The obviously old piles of manure, inadequate vector and rodent control and the many dead and decaying chickens – in a trash can, on the floor and in the cages with the live chickens all would contribute to poor air quality and a generally unhealthy environment. I can't tell how many chickens are in each cage but it is clear that they are packed in tightly.

The physical condition of the chickens is poor and is typical of this type of egg production system. Packing the greatest number of chickens into the least amount of space may be the most cost-effective way to produce eggs but it also inflicts constant physical and psychological stress on the chickens. The design of the cages and the overcrowded conditions thwarts the chickens' efforts to engage in their normal instinctive behaviors.

Chickens naturally arrange themselves into a hierarchy within a flock and need space for the less dominate hens to avoid the aggressions of more senior hens. Avoidance is impossible in a battery cage resulting in feather pecking which can lead to death and even cannibalism. In an effort to stop feather picking in battery cages chickens are frequently debeaked resulting in a lifetime of pain and frustration. A chicken's beak has many nerves and is the main avenue for interacting with its surroundings. It is used for eating, pecking at and exploring foreign objects, maintaining position in the “pecking order” and for preening--feather grooming. Once debeaked these instinctive behaviors become difficult and painful for the chickens and the opportunities to exercise them are eliminated by the overcrowded battery cages.

The instinctive urges to wing-flap, to stand up fully, to scratch the ground, to dust-bathe and especially to make and use a nest are very strong in chickens and can't be acted on in an overcrowded battery cage leading to an almost constant state of frustration. The friction of rubbing against the wire cage and the other chickens combined with the inability to preen results in rough, dirty and missing feathers. A lifetime of standing on wire without access to the ground for scratching results in long, curled claws. Chickens kept in battery cages usually develop osteoporosis due to lack of exercise and the constant draw of calcium from the chickens' bones for eggshells. When the hens reach the end of their productive lives their skeletons are frail and brittle, breaking with the slightest handling. Even after they are finally removed from their cages for transport to slaughter many chickens continue to suffer because of broken bones.

Every aspect of this system of egg production is cruel and exploitive, failing to provide any consideration for the welfare of the chickens on which it depends.