Backyard Chickens, a Sad Fad

By Jasmin

 “But what if you raise your own chickens for eggs?” well-intentioned people may ask, assuming that “backyard chickens” are a cruelty-free alternative to store-bought eggs. Unfortunately, raising backyard chickens is not all it’s cracked up to be, and this new fad, which is popping up in cities and towns across the country, is propagating major animal welfare problems.

Though most people who are drawn to raising backyard chickens are trying to secure their own uber-local source of fresh eggs, they rarely consider the accompanying cruelty. To start, in most places there are no laws regarding how breeding hens and roosters are housed, so they can be crammed into tiny cages with no outdoor access. Further, the vast majority of backyard chickens are purchased from hatcheries, which cruelly ship day-old birds through the postal system with minimal oversight.

In backyard egg-production, just as in conventional and organic egg-production, male chicks are not considered of any use. They are therefore killed, often at the hatcheries where they are born. However, due to sexing errors – and the industry practice of using male chicks as packing material – males also end up being shipped to customers. An estimated 20-50 percent of “hens” purchased are actually roosters! They are not only unwanted, but also illegal in most urban and suburban settings; they are therefore usually killed.

Hens don’t produce large quantities of eggs for very long, so the females can also become unwanted. Though they can live for 10 years (some even longer), their egg production tends to wane after about one year, and it often becomes sporadic within three years. (That’s pretty unreliable if it’s Sunday morning omelets you are after.)

What happens to the hens after their egg-production declines? Many people have no interest in keeping these girls as pets; these social creatures require a significant amount of care, time and money – and since there are few vets who specialize in avian medicine, veterinary care for chickens can be expensive and hard to find. Furthermore, animal sanctuaries such as Farm Sanctuary are currently reaching the limit of chickens we can shelter, especially roosters. As this fad grows, it will be more and more difficult to place these birds in permanent homes, meaning that the hens will likely be killed when their egg production begins to wane – while the roosters will be killed at the very start of their lives.

The country’s largest coalition of animal sanctuaries involved in the direct care of unwanted chickens has issued a position statement on backyard poultry, which lays out in detail the many unanticipated problems involved, and our recommendations henceforward.
To prevent the cruelties that come with backyard chicken-raising, we need your help! There are a number of actions you can take to educate your community and stop the expansion of this disturbing trend. Help prevent an outbreak of backyard chicken mania in your town or city.

Comments

[valereee]

The kinds of chickens many backyard chicken-keepers keep aren't likely to become nonproductive after a year. That's factory-farming hens that are like that -- they're bred to produce a lot of eggs FAST, then be culled. Heritage breeds lay for years, and many families consider these birds pets and would no more cull an unproductive hen than they would a dog that is no longer young.

[Casey]

Valeree,

We have a wide variety of hens on our shelters, including jungle fowl, bantams, Wyandotte, Barred Rocks, and a number of other heritage breeds. Our direct experience has shown that many of the “heritage” breeds have been selectively bred to lay large numbers of eggs, just like those used on factory farms.

Also, while there is variation between breeds, and even between different hens of the same breeds, all hens decline in production as they age; that’s just a fact of life. Those who are prolific layers when they’re young continue to have the highest production as they age, relative to other hens of the same age. It’s not that the hens become “non-productive” after a year, but production does go down, and as it does, there is more incentive for many (not all) hobby farmers to slaughter or euthanize them.

Furthermore, many would-be backyard chicken farmers often fail to realize how difficult (not to mention expensive) it can be to provide high quality veterinary care to chickens. Most small animal vets have very little experience caring for chickens and the common problems they face, especially as they get older.

Finally, another important point that many hobby farmers seem to miss is that regardless of how well their own hens are treated, and regardless of whether they will provide lifelong care, just as they would for a dog or cat, the initial act of purchasing hens supports terrible cruelty at the industrial hatcheries that supply virtually all egg farmers, big or small.

[Connor]

I'm late with this article however I keep a few Chickens as pets.

I got them from people who no longer wanted them and have been living happily with them since.

They have a nice sized coup and are treated very well.

I don't agree completely with you, but I am worried about how many people are talking chickens with no knowledge or experience causing problems with the birds.

[Daniel]

Most people nowadays were bound by the intention of keeping chickens solely for eggs only. I think it is important that most newly chicken raisers to understand how to love chickens as other pet before they can actually keep them. Those poor litte feathered friend deserved more than being treated as an egg laying machines.

Daniel

Chicken coop plans

[Gary]

Laying hens in general have been bred to lay too many eggs - this started centuries ago. In nature, birds lay enough eggs for the species to propagate - typically one or two clutches a year, then their bodies get a rest. Since egg production requires resources and energy from a hen's body, it makes little sense in nature for a hen to be laying far more eggs than necessary.

Generally speaking, if a hen is laying eggs all year round, it's probably because of years of selective breeding for increased egg production. This in itself causes a hardship on the hen, and also increases the risk of painful complications such as prolapse, and may increase the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers. We certainly see this at the sanctuary where I volunteer.

Also, to repeat an earlier comment, egg production does tend to decline as birds get older, regardless of breed.

Finally, an amen to Daniel's comment. Let us stop seeing particular species of birds as egg factories for our use. I believe in time we can get un-used to the idea of birds "supplying" eggs for us. We don't covet the eggs from a cardinal's nest, do we?

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