Larger pens breed chicken 'cannibalism' on egg farms

[The Straight Story]

Larger pens breed chicken 'cannibalism' on egg farms
Decades of breeding have boosted chickens' territorial instincts and made them prone to fierce pecking attacks.

As more states move to ban restrictive livestock cages, the campaign to free egg-laying hens from cramped cages and shift them to pens animal rights advocates call more humane could be poised to unintentionally boost deaths among those birds.

Researchers say decades of breeding to make the white leghorn hens that lay most of the nation's eggs more productive have also boosted the birds' territorial instincts, making them prone to pecking attacks so fierce they're often called "cannibalism."

Scientists and egg producers warn that deadly skirmishes that start with feather-plucking and turn into bloody frenzies when a bird's pecking breaks a flockmate's skin will increase if those same aggressive hens are moved from small cages with five to 10 birds to open pens that can hold dozens.

Animal rights groups want those pens to replace the small "battery cages" they call cruel because hens are so confined they can't even spread their wings.

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/pets-animals/stories/larger-pens-breed-chicken-cannibalism-on-egg-farms

[aikoaiko]

1. The literal pecking order is no joke among birds

[DJ13]

2. I misread the title

I thought it said "Larger penis breed chicken 'cannibalism' on egg farms"

ooops!

[Clyde39]

3. Watch "Food, Inc." and you'll never eat another chicken

It was brutal to see what agribusiness has done to our farms----just sickening!

[BlooInBloo]

5. Wanna bet?

[cliffordu]

16. Reptile.

:rofl:

[flvegan]

7. Not if one embraces ignorance and animal cruelty. n/t

[Dorian Gray]

23. I watched the first half of it just last night

The chicken farms, are, of course, the most disturbing thing I've seen. The cattle, too.

Look forward to watching the rest of it tonight.

[BlooInBloo]

4. Is this like the chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey thing I've heard so much about?

[Oregone]

6. "if those same aggressive hens are moved from small cages...to open pens that can hold dozens"

Damn...what difference does it make? I mean, are they increasing the square feet per animal, or simply taking down some walls? It doesn't sound more humane to shove them in a larger space, but what do I know.

Is this really what "animal rights advocates" are calling more humane?

[Better Today]

32. From reading the article, it seems they are concerned the hens can't spread their wings.

In a larger cage, they could, except they rarely, virtually never spread their wings anyway. At least none of my hens do. They ruffle them up, but I've never seen one spread their wings.

[flvegan]

8. Read the article.

All I'm going to say about this.

[pitohui]

9. animals rights groups know and care fuck all about chickens

this is not exactly late breaking news...this is alas normal chicken behavior

these birds just love to fight and hurt each other, the world is as it is, not as peta's fantasies about how they wish it is...

[Tumbulu]

12. Normal chickens do not love to fight and hurt each other,

roosters will fight, but normal hens do not unless they are crowded and underfed and bred to be abnormal in their behavior. Which these poor birds are suffering from. So, reduce the crowding and change the genetics. I worked hard to pass this bill in California, along with many of my neighbors who are also organic farmers who love their animals.

Temple Grandin writes a lot about this issue in her books- take a look at what she has to say in her book " Animals Make Us Human".

[Mojorabbit]

20. I have 5 chickens in a very large pen

which is 8x8x10 feet with multiple nest boxes and perching areas and they will gang up on one another and peck. It surprised me when I first started keeping them as pets and for eggs.
They are ruthless. They really are. My mother said as a child in the 30's it was the same, so I am ruling out breeding in all cases.
edited to be clear,... ruling out breeding as the cause in all cases per the article .
I should have been asleep hours ago.

[Better Today]

29. Yes, they do. Honestly hens are not very nice to each other.

[girl gone mad]

17. No, chickens do not love to fight.

There are dozens of chicken coops in my community. Free range chickens frequently wander onto my property. I've seen/heard hens fight precisely zero times in the last 8 years.

They are not natural fighters and it is definitely not normal behavior for them to peck one another to death.

[Better Today]

30. "Hear a fight"???? Hens don't make noise when they fight, they just fight.

Unless and until you have some and care for them over an extended time, you just don't know.

[greenbird]

36. Um, not EXACTLY true.

I have a large free-range laying flock. Most of the time, they're fine, but sometimes we have to set a hen aside for her own protection. If there's an open bleeding wound, the others will keep at it, and I imagine that if we didn't stop them, the bleeding hen could die. That's not really fighting, I guess, but more a compulsive behavior, like egg-eating. That being said, I have noticed a decrease in aggressive, territorial behavior when spring comes and they have the whole place to roam. Now I don't claim to know anything about Leghorns, as mine are Red and Black Stars.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Quantess]

11. No, he isn't sick. He's merely the messenger, telling of a complex scenario.

Leghorns are notorious for pecking each other, more so than
other breeds. Leghorns are also the most prolific egg laying breed, and also, they lay the white eggs that look so clean and pretty to consumers. So they are the most popular commercial egg layers.

Giving chickens just a little more room is not necessarily better for them, if it translates into more bullying. I would like to see a lot more room given to each chicken, and I think we can agree on that.

I have 12 chickens myself, and they are completely free range, much to the annoyance of one neighbor whose yard they sometimes venture into.

[Tumbulu]

13. He is not a messenger- he attacked a group of people who

are trying to make life a little less miserable for animals that we use to have more enjoyable lives. Who we humans use in a very bad way, I may add.

If he was a messenger he would have cited facts and not named called.

You cited facts and have posted something that a person can read and learn something from. He did not.

[Quantess]

14. The OP, The Straight Story? Who? Good grief.

I would like people to stop supporting YUM! Brands. That includes KFC, Taco Bell, and maybe some other franchises that I can't remember right now.

YUM! Brands are mean to their chickens. From chick to slaughter, their meat chickens lead terrible lives.

Edit to add: Tumbulu, I just now read your post upthread, and what you wrote is true. That changes my perspective. :)

[Tumbulu]

18. Thanks, Quantas, I was referring to pitobul (nt)

[Trillo]

15. Is this a metaphor? n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

19. They should at least give the chickens some nice Chianti to wash it down. -nt

[Dogtown]

21. Bullshit sensationalism.

Intended to castrate any attempt to limit the industry's ability to make Profit.


Look, they used the scary word "cannibalism"!

That's a purely human taboo. Chickens have eaten anything edible in their path since they were dinosaurs. Anyone that allows their emotions to be triggered that easily is a fool for the corporate propaganda-meisters.

It remains horribly cruel to pen up these animals in squalor and unhygienic conditions merely to increase profit per-square-inch.


Also, cage-free eggs are much better!

[Better Today]

27. Do you now or have you ever owned hens? It isn't sensationalism.

Hens can be ruthless to each other, and mine are free all day and willingly enter their safe community cage at night, except the one I let roam the barn free, because the other's would kill her and yes, essentially eat her, if I didn't let her stay separate. It isn't practical for large hatcheries and egg farms to allow for free range, even with my small group, who are free all day, there are constant concerns and losses to hawks, cats, foxes (yes foxes around here are out in the day), and at night, foxes, coons, and skunks.

Now I like the whole backyard thing for my small group, but I can see it as generally impractical for a business.

[Dogtown]

38. Yes, chickens eat other chickens.

Hence, calling it "cannibalism" is sensationalist. It adds a "moral" theme by evoking a human taboo.

I understand and accept the business concern. It's a pragmatic POV, not a moralistic one.

I assume I pay more for free-range eggs than battery-farm products. It's worth the cost because the eggs are of better quality. I do applaud your contribution to the market and appreciate your effort to produce a superior product.


Pigs will eat piglets. Active toms will kill and eat any kittens they find unprotected. I remember seeing a documentary of chimpanzee males raiding another tribe and eating a captured infant.

Nature is not cruel. These acts by unreasoning animals are merely natural-selection at work. Attempting to anthropomorphize natural-selection is infantile.

We eat life. All life does. We can choose how we treat the animals we eat, though.

Many factory-farm techniques to increase profit are inhumane and of questionable efficacy. *That* is not sensationalistic, it's a fact. We have the capacity to judge our actions and their results. Chickens don't.

[Better Today]

41. Okay, I see your point. The word is sensationalism. I suppose

to an extent I've had the same argument at some chicken forums where they claim that hens that eat their own eggs (unfertilized eggs when there are no roosters in the group) are cannibal hens. I have to point out that even in nature, sooner or later the nests need to be cleared of nonviable eggs, and hence hens have no other way to remove them except by breaking them and then cleaning up the mess, ie eating them.

[Dogtown]

42. An excellent example.

Also, I note from your anecdote proof that nature doesn't allow any resource to go to waste. Many mammals eat the placenta, both to tidy up and to nourish the lactating dam.


:hi:

[mainer]

22. One of the most horrifying chicken attacks I saw was in free-range birds

It was on the island of St. John, where there are chickens roaming free everywhere. I saw several chickens gang up on another hen and they pecked it bare. It could barely stagger away.

[Better Today]

31. Exactly, hens are not all cuddly and sweet as some are trying to portray.

[SpiralHawk]

24. Free clue for republicons: "You are what you eat." - Tiny Tim

[Better Today]

25. I have hens, a variety, and none are leghorns. Mine out in the

yard all day and in a safe cage in a barn at night. I mention this to point out that I have some knowledge of hens in general.

Now, I'll say, hens don't spread their wings. If the consideration is between hens spreading their wings (which they rarely do anyway) and being pecked to death, then I would think the smaller cages will be better. Even with my small group of hens, there is one hen I leave out of the cage at night, just loose in the barn, because the others will attack her all night. I couldn't imagine how horrible her life would be if I didn't. She'd probably be perpetually de-feathered and/or injured, or dead. And that's without any of mine being a normally aggressive breed.

[TwilightGardener]

26. I will still buy cage free eggs. The chickens will have to learn how to get along.

[Better Today]

28. You do realize that cage free doesn't mean humane.

We have a cage free hatchery/egg farm around here. Every June they clear out as many hens as reasonably possible because of the heat. I've gotten a few hens from them so I've seen the set up. Instead of cages, they are in a huge steel barn with nesting boxes stacked on the walls. No sun, no grass, and quite literally (until they are cleared out in June) the floors are completely covered in hens fighting, and pecking each other, and even all the nesting boxes are full with anywhere from one to three hens. They are so crammed in, it can't be considered any better than what was already going on. It's a play on words to say they are cage free. Perhaps "free-range" hens are in better shape, but not this cage-free, which is just semantic crap.

[TwilightGardener]

33. In general, I want to support that direction with my money. I understand it's not

chicken utopia--but I want to push producers in the direction of at least TRYING to think of the birds' well-being. I also buy organic produce when I can, not because I think it makes a huge difference in quality or in my health for each individual purchase, but because I want to support ag businesses who try to do the right thing by growing stuff without pesticides. And edit to add: I know chickens attack each other--I've seen that happen. I still don't believe tightly confining them is the solution.

[Better Today]

34. My point is that it isn't any better at all, except in your imagination.

But, hey, who cares, you feel better.

[TwilightGardener]

37. Yep--still going to buy cage free eggs.

[superduperfarleft]

35. Maybe instead of twisting ourselves into knots with "reforms" that do very little to alleviate

suffering in an attempt to soothe our consciences, we should just quit eating eggs. :shrug:

[LeftyMom]

40. It's so crazy it just might work!

[LeftyMom]

39. Oh yes, industry packs six hens into a cage the size of a file cabinet drawer to protect them.

:eyes: Pull the other one, it has bells on it.