Battery cages are cramped quarters where birds are packed in as tightly as possible. Chickens are typically confined to cramped spaces in these cages without the ability to move. Shocking Headlines Why the chickens suffer battery cages and what you can do about it
Battery cages are an outdated animal housing practice from the 1950s designed to maximise egg production for farmers to profit as quickly as possible. But these cages are absolutely cruel for chickens. Chickens that are kept in battery cages are unable to move around much or to stretch their wings like they ought to. They are normally compelled to dwell in their own excrement, which makes a extremely filthy and unhygienic setting. It makes the chickens sick because they are inhaling germs and bacteria. A great deal of stress is caused to the birds when they all get crammed into such a small space. The hens can get aggressive and start pecking at one another. This causes injuries and sadly some chickens even die due to bad conditions.
There are a lot of issues with birds living in battery cages: TIMESTAMP(02:21)These cages are not only very small but also very dirty. Because they are crowded together and in unsanitary conditions, the chickens can become sick and diseases can spread quickly among them. Also, if today chickens are in a battery cage, they cannot do natural behaviors if doing so outside. For one thing, they can’t perch, or snuggle into a comfortable nest. They do not, either, have access to fresh air or sunlight, which is so critical to their well-being. All of these things contribute to high amounts of stress and discomfort for the chickens, making their lives unhappy. When comparing these studies to chickens who are not kept in cages, they tend to die at significantly higher rates than those who are free range, and that this causes a higher death rate.
The major problem of this battery cage farming is that here chickens are raised in horrible conditions and their needs includes same. Hemei is an animal-friendly company that sees this type of farming as very wrong. Chickens are social animals and are desperately in need of enough space and freedom of movement to be able to behave naturally without fear. Battery cages deprive them of that crucial freedom and render their lives very hard. If we can find a better way to raise chickens, we can fix this big problem in the world and help make sure chickens are treated more nicely.
Battery cage farming is all about money, and nothing about giving care to the chickens. The system is designed to yield eggs as cheaply and efficiently as possible. Sadly, this means most farmers do not prioritize the welfare of the chickens. We need to teach folks that there are more humane ways of raising chickens, that potentially improve everyone’s quality of life, while providing food for the masses. By encouraging these alternatives together, we can be part of building a kinder farming system.
Now many responsible companies are using better methods to raise chickens. They have free range farms, where chickens act as nature intended. Chickens on these farms have access to sunshine, fresh air and significantly more room to roam. These improved farming systems reduce stress in the chickens and enhance their health in general. Chickens raised in a better environment are healthier and tend to be happier. Hemei is committed to only selecting these ‘better’ farming systems, and we should urge others to do the same.