“If people saw what caged chickens looked like when they came out, how poor the conditions are, they’d never buy a cheap tray of eggs ever again,” said Alison Wink, who provides a home for retired battery farm chickens. This article is about these farms, and how these chickens can be rescued and be given a better life.
Up to 35% of eggs in the UK come from chickens in battery farms. A battery farm is a large inside area, where chickens are crammed into cages, and forced to lay eggs every day until they are no longer economically viable.
While the old-style battery farms are now banned across Europe, the new battery colonies, or enriched cages still exist. These seem to offer more space for the chickens, but up to five chickens are stuffed into a space the size of a small supermarket trolley with zero access to natural light or a space to run. The small amount of space offered often stresses out the chickens, causing them to peck each other's out feathers, and affects the chickens mentally and physically.
Some farms manipulate the artificial light, tricking the chickens into believing a day has passed, when in reality its been less than 24hrs. It is in a chicken's genetic code to at first light in a day to lay an egg. This way, farms can get three days' worth of eggs in only two days.
At 72 weeks, the chickens have reached their peak number of eggs they can produce and are no longer considered worth keeping. The majority of these chickens are gassed, then minced up into animal food.
However, there are charities who step in when farms are getting rid of their chickens and rescue them. They find good homes for these chickens all over the country. One such home is Alison Wink’s.
The chickens arrive in terrible conditions, with little feathers and fear of the outside world. Most stand petrified, having never seen a blade of grass or even the sun before. The first day, they have to be helped around, shown what to do by Alison.
There are some scuffles between the old chickens and newer ones, but they soon fall into their place in the pecking order.
They learn quickly, copying the older chickens and soon fall into a routine. Most survive on average for two years after their release, but there is a black chicken whose been around for four years. These farms really do harm to these chickens, as they are meant to live for up to ten years.
“If I'd known how easy it was to keep chickens I'd have started earlier in London.” said Alison Wink. “The average suburban house could accommodate a small chicken run.”
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