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Battery Cages: Beneficial or Brutal to Birds?
The battery cage system involves several birds to be placed together in a wire cage that is closely arranged with hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of other cages, with two or three hens each. This is usually utilized in laying hen production, but can also be found in rabbit operations. Before I go any farther, I must admit that, beyond cooking a mean chicken pasta, I am absolutely not an expert in anything poultry-related, have very little personal exposure to the field, and am only basing this article off of what little I’ve seen at stock shows, heard from farmers, or could find from reputable sources online. If anyone does have hands-on experience with this housing system, please head on over to my social medias and tell me about that! To be clear, I am not advocating for or against battery cages, only explaining the pros and cons to dispel the myth that they are a completely evil form of torture that farmers use just to turn a profit. That is not the case at all. |
Photo from https://www.flickr.com/photos/agriculturasp/5811710792/
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Fun fact: Chickens are one of the most researched species in the world! |
So, let’s start with the shortcomings of battery cages. The UK completed their absolute phase-out of battery cages in 2007 and the entire European Union followed suit in 2012, which was initiated because of welfare concerns. Because of this law and increased public concern for hen welfare (if because they were wrongly informed about the bird's quality of life in the cages, one can't be sure...), eggs from free range hens grew to take up 18% more of the market than in the previous decade, before the law was enacted. The most obvious welfare violations of battery cages are the lack of space and privacy for hens. In conventional chicken coops or more open-ended designs, hens have personal space in the form of a “nest box” to lay eggs in private. Living so closely to other birds and having limited space to move around discourages many natural behaviors of the hens such as:
One other danger of battery cages is cuts in the birds’ feet. There are certainly improvements to be made in the battery cage system to enhance the birds’ quality of life. As I discussed in my post, Why Veganism is Not More Humane (yes, you read that right!), any stressors livestock animals experience actually inhibit productivity. In this case, consistent aggravations or deviances from the hen’s natural habits would decrease the amount of eggs they produce, hinder the quality of those eggs, and lower the number of years the hens produce (longevity). By meeting the hen’s needs, farmers would not only be improving welfare (which, contrary to popular belief, farmers do value very much), but also boosting profits.
- Birds in cages are not able to get proper exercise, which may lead to metabolic conditions and, over time, osteoporosis which increases the risk of bone or joint damage
- Cages prevent wing flapping, which, in nature, is done to cool themselves, threaten predators, communicate with each other, or stretch their muscles
- Nesting behaviors are almost always disturbed in the battery cage design
- Chickens kept indoors don’t have access to soil particles for dust bathing, which is where they settle into a dirt area and coat themselves with the substrate then shake it off, to remove external parasites and keeps their feathers clean and healthy
- Inability to perch in closely packed systems discourages natural roosting behavior
- Birds cannot forage, which is how they naturally come by food in the wild
One other danger of battery cages is cuts in the birds’ feet. There are certainly improvements to be made in the battery cage system to enhance the birds’ quality of life. As I discussed in my post, Why Veganism is Not More Humane (yes, you read that right!), any stressors livestock animals experience actually inhibit productivity. In this case, consistent aggravations or deviances from the hen’s natural habits would decrease the amount of eggs they produce, hinder the quality of those eggs, and lower the number of years the hens produce (longevity). By meeting the hen’s needs, farmers would not only be improving welfare (which, contrary to popular belief, farmers do value very much), but also boosting profits.
However, all this is not to say that the battery cage system is cruel and should be done away with. Science shows that mortality is overall lowest in the battery cage model compared with other housing systems. Although it might come as a shock, multiple, in-depth studies conducted by LayWel found that no-cage operations actually had much lower welfare conditions than battery cage-raised chickens. The truth is that battery cages offer many animal welfare advantages, and do a lot to avoid stressors for the hens. Examples of ways that batter cages improve hens’ quality of life include:
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Photo from http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/european-union-bans-battery-cages-for-egg-laying-hens/#.WRdUIeXyvIU
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- The open-bottomed design of battery cages allows for feces to fall straight through and removes litter problems, improving hygiene
- There are less incidences of diseases and parasite infestation with hens kept in a battery cage system
- Although restricted movement is also a downfall, being kept stationary reduces the risk of keel bone deformation or fractures that can occur while on the loose or during natural perching habits
- Battery cages can be kept in climate controlled barns, removing the seasonal climatic stressors
- A stable social hierarchy among the birds avoids the risk of cannibalism, feather pecking, and smothering
- Insuring the hens always have access to fresh water and nutritiously-adequate feed is much easier in a battery cage system
- Air pollution is notably lower in battery cage barns than in traditional poultry housing units
- Birds are kept safe from predators when housed indoors
Non-welfare related advantages of the battery cage design include cleaner and more nutritious eggs because waste is not held in the housing area, lower running costs, safer working conditions, and ease of access to the birds for record-keeping and veterinary care.
So what’s your opinion? Are the stressors induced by the battery cage system worth the advantages? Are chicken producers completely blameless, or does the animal welfare movement have a point in questioning their methods? What are some ways battery cage systems could fix these welfare violations? Head on over to my social medias to get in on the conversation!
Sources:
"Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Housing Systems for the Welfare of Laying Hens." LayWel - Advantages and
Disadvantages of Different Housing Systems for the Welfare of Laying Hens. LayWel, n.d. Web. 13 May 2017.
"Backyard Flock Tip: Egg Laying Behavior." The Poultry Site. 5M Publishing, 11 Nov. 2007. Web. 13 May 2017.
Costa, LS, DF Pereira, LGF Bueno, and H. Pandorfi. "Some Aspects of Chicken Behavior and Welfare." Revista Brasileira De Ciência Avícola. Fundação APINCO De Ciência E Tecnologia Avícolas, July 2012. Web. 13 May 2017.
Duncan, Ian J. H. "The Pros and Cons of Cages | World's Poultry Science Journal."Cambridge Core. Cambridge University Press on
Behalf of World's Poultry Science Association, 01 Sept. 2007. Web. 13 May 2017.
Jacob, Dr. Jacquie. "Normal Behaviors of Chickens in Small and Backyard Poultry Flocks."EXtension. EXtension, 5 May 2015. Web.
13 May 2017.
Poulter, Sean. "Battery Hens to Be Banned." Daily Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 25 June 2002. Web. 13 May 2017.
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