Due to modern selective breeding, laying hen strains are different from those of meat production strains. Male birds of the laying strains do not lay eggs and are unsuitable for meat production, therefore, they are culled soon after the hens' gender is determined, often on the day of hatching. Methods of culling include breaking the neck or spine, deficient by carbon dioxide and maceration using a high speed grinder.
At approximately 16 weeks of age, pullets (hens which have not yet started to lay) are placed into cages. In countries with relevant legislation, floor space for battery cages ranges upwards from 300 cm2 per bird. EU standards in 2003 called for at least 550 cm2 per hen.In the US, the current recommendation by the United Egg Producers is 67 to 86 in2 (430 to 560 cm2) per bird. The space available to each hen in a battery cage has often been described as less than the size of a sheet of A4 paper. Others have commented that a typical cage is about the size of a filing cabinet drawer and holds eight to 10 hens.
To reduce the harmful effects of feather pecking, cannibalism and vent pecking, most chicks eventually going into battery cages are beak-trimmed. This is often performed on the first day after hatching, simultaneously with the gender being confirmed and receiving vaccinations. Beak-trimming is a procedure considered by many scientists to cause acute pain and distress with possible chronic pain; it is practised on chicks for all types of housing systems, not only battery cages.
Flocks are sometimes force moulted, rather than being slaughtered, to egg-laying. This involves complete withdrawal of food (and sometimes water) for 7 to 14 days or sufficiently long to cause a body weight loss of 25 to 35%.This stimulates the hen to lose her feathers, but also reinvigorates egg-production. Some flocks may be force moulted several times. In 2003, more than 75% of all flocks were moulted in the US.This temporary starving of the hens is seen as inhumane and is the main point of objection by critics and opponents of the practice. The alternative most often employed is to slaughter the hens instead of molting them.
Battery hens live in highly automated, windowless sheds containing up to 100,000 hens; they are cramped in long rows of stacked "battery cages." Up to 10 hens may inhabit an area of 2.33 ft sq. That is less than half the size of a sheet of A4 (8.5x11) paper per hen; they have a wingspan of 30-32 inches. Battery cages have sloping wire floors that prevent a hen from sitting, sometimes causing a hen's feet to grow around the bars leaving her immobile and starving to death.
At approximately 16 weeks of age, pullets (hens which have not yet started to lay) are placed into cages. In countries with relevant legislation, floor space for battery cages ranges upwards from 300 cm2 per bird. EU standards in 2003 called for at least 550 cm2 per hen.In the US, the current recommendation by the United Egg Producers is 67 to 86 in2 (430 to 560 cm2) per bird. The space available to each hen in a battery cage has often been described as less than the size of a sheet of A4 paper. Others have commented that a typical cage is about the size of a filing cabinet drawer and holds eight to 10 hens.
To reduce the harmful effects of feather pecking, cannibalism and vent pecking, most chicks eventually going into battery cages are beak-trimmed. This is often performed on the first day after hatching, simultaneously with the gender being confirmed and receiving vaccinations. Beak-trimming is a procedure considered by many scientists to cause acute pain and distress with possible chronic pain; it is practised on chicks for all types of housing systems, not only battery cages.
Flocks are sometimes force moulted, rather than being slaughtered, to egg-laying. This involves complete withdrawal of food (and sometimes water) for 7 to 14 days or sufficiently long to cause a body weight loss of 25 to 35%.This stimulates the hen to lose her feathers, but also reinvigorates egg-production. Some flocks may be force moulted several times. In 2003, more than 75% of all flocks were moulted in the US.This temporary starving of the hens is seen as inhumane and is the main point of objection by critics and opponents of the practice. The alternative most often employed is to slaughter the hens instead of molting them.
Battery hens live in highly automated, windowless sheds containing up to 100,000 hens; they are cramped in long rows of stacked "battery cages." Up to 10 hens may inhabit an area of 2.33 ft sq. That is less than half the size of a sheet of A4 (8.5x11) paper per hen; they have a wingspan of 30-32 inches. Battery cages have sloping wire floors that prevent a hen from sitting, sometimes causing a hen's feet to grow around the bars leaving her immobile and starving to death.