Assault and Battery
About six months ago we were approached by a friend of Karen’s to take some rescued battery hens that needed re-homing. She had a few hundred of them but we agreed to take 12 as that was all we could cope with.
When the SPCA arrived to deliver the chickens I was amazed and appalled at their condition. They were well below their natural free-feeding weight and all of them had feathers missing on their bodies and wings to some degree. Most had beak damage and some were limping.
These were the lucky ones. The chickens that were too far gone had already been destroyed by the SPCA. We gave them a fenced back yard with plenty of fresh water and feed. I built a chicken Ark to give them somewhere warm to roost at night with laying boxes they could use during the day.
Now six months later, you almost couldn’t tell they are ex-battery hens. Apart from the beak damage which will never re-grow, they are healthy, plump and free to express all their natural chicken behaviours. They peck and scratch in the back yard, chase bugs, sunbathe and even roost in trees at night sometimes. They have established a social order and spend their days busily pursuing their own chicken agendas. They are amazing animals to watch, each with their own personality and quirks. As far as I can tell, they are pretty happy.
Best of all, we have a constant supply of the best, freshest eggs we’ve ever eaten. Seems like a pretty good trade to me.
So we’ve provided a happy ending for our dozen chickens. Not so, the hundreds of thousands of battery chickens that are killed every year when they’ve outlived their usefulness (to the egg producer that is). Karen and I take spare eggs to our offices to convert our colleagues to free-range eggs. So far we’ve had 100% success. Once they taste the difference and understand where battery eggs come from, they are convinced to buy only free range eggs.
If you or I were reported to the SPCA with chickens in the condition of the photo at the top, we would be liable for conviction and fine under the Animal Welfare Act but the poultry and egg production industry has an exemption from this legislation and are free to torture chickens in the name of efficiency and profit. The SPCA factsheet on NZ battery egg production makes for very disturbing reading. Battery hens are given a cage smaller than an A4 piece of paper and spend their entire life there. They don’t even have room to stretch their wings. Physical injuries and behavioural problems are very common among battery hens
The simplest way to end battery egg production is to vote with your wallet. If you are buying eggs in New Zealand, don’t assume phrases like “Farm Fresh” or “Barn Laid” mean the eggs come from free range hens. The only way to ensure your eggs are not from battery operators is to buy eggs that are labeled Free Range. This labeling is protected by law (in NZ at least) so it guarantees the source of the eggs. One producer was recently fined for selling barn eggs as free range. To help consumers choose, the SPCA has recently launched an approved eggs campaign. Free range eggs do cost a little more than battery eggs, but once free range egg demand increases the price will get much closer to battery egg prices.
For a few cents more per egg you’ll know that at least one of your food choices isn’t responsible for the suffering of these amazing creatures.
Links worth reading
Chicken Rescue Network - rehoming ex-battery hens
SPCA - battery hen facts
Auckland Animal Action - battery hens
SAFE - battery hen campaign
Where to buy Free Range eggs
Most supermarkets will have free range eggs for sale - just make sure they are explicitly labeled as such. These producers supply free range eggs to various supermarkets:
Frenzs eggs - all Woolworths in NZ and selected New World and Countdown stores.
Eco Eggs - Woolworths, Countdown, Foodtown, New World, and Pak’ N Save.
Bio Eggs - Woolworths, Countdown, Foodtown, New World, and Pak’ N Save.
Glenrocks Free Range Eggs - supermarkets in Auckland and Northland.
If you know of any other brands or outlets, let me know.
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christine challies said,
April 18, 2007 @ 3:52 pm
I also have rehomed some battery hens - Lorraine, Beverly and Wendy. I have had some problems mainly with their eggs ie soft shelled, half and half (shell and membrane), misshapen eggs and today had to take wendy to the vet as a soft shelled egg broke inside her. They also will not perch which makes for very messy nest boxes each day. Have you had any of these problems with your hens and any solutions? They get plenty of grit and the vet said apart from the egg problem, Wendy was in excellent health. We have had them for 2 months and love them and are hoping that after a rest when they go off the lay things will sort themselves out.
FarmGeek said,
April 18, 2007 @ 6:27 pm
When ours first arrived we had much the same problems. It can take them a while to adjust to their new life. I thought the soft shell problem was related to a lack of grit or calcium but it turns out it has more to do with stress levels. We had a few soft eggs in the early days but they stopped altogether after a few months.
Our Girls now perch in the trees at night, but it took them quite a while to learn they could do it.
Good on you for giving your hens a new life.
FarmGeek » The Chicken Rescue Network said,
May 25, 2007 @ 10:21 am
[...] a year ago Karen and I adopted a dozen rescued battery hens from the SPCA. At the time I found out just how few of the millions of battery hens in New Zealand [...]
kim said,
July 31, 2007 @ 9:44 am
battery hens should be banned!!!!!!!!!
Peter Sandle said,
October 2, 2007 @ 9:39 am
Otaika Valley Free Range Are producing eggs at Otaika just south of Whangarei and are selling into Pak n Saves and New Worlds cafes etc.Some are sold also as New Day Eggs.All enquiries to 0272941819
emily said,
October 11, 2007 @ 7:46 pm
Im studying vet nursing and we are doing an ethics essay and im doing mine on battery farming,even being a student i still buy cage free-free range eggs,battery farming makes me sick to the stomach,people just don;t seem to care about those chickens,its just disgusting,but how can it be stopped??!!!
kayla said,
October 27, 2007 @ 3:37 pm
Im doing my school speech on battery hens and pig factories, its discusting that these people could get away with this abuse!!!
Delphi Hamilton said,
November 12, 2007 @ 7:48 pm
I would like to comment on the problem of price and how it maintains battery methods of farming.
It may seem that getting a higher price for the free range eggs is very attractive but it does in fact create resistance with consumers thus perpetuating the battery method.
For personal use I have no problem buying free range but as the manager of 2 cafes I am responsible for spending other peoples money and therefore answerable for how that money is spent. In a business with tight margins or with chefs with very little awarness of ecological issues, its all about profit margins.
If free range eggs were competitively priced there would definitely be a commercial shift as most people dont need a lot of persuading that free range is a better method and product. Chefs and bakers do value a good quality product and would easily make the shift if it was economically viable.
The only thing maintaining the battery method is cost. If there was a massive shift of support on a commercial scale to free range the battery industry would be destroyed and the free range method would be so overwhelmingly supported that they could afford to lower their prices and still make a tidy profit. That is if supply could meet the demand.
I am so convinced that this is the way to deal once and for all with this problem that I would like to lobby this idea widely but dont know quite how to go about it.
Any suggestions on where to begin.
What about the govt subsidising free range farming to set the ball rolling?
What about the free range farmers proving their committment by taking a slight cut in profit in the short term in order to secure a lasting and prosperous future in free range farming ?
How do we convince those who can make the difference about these stratergies.
FarmGeek said,
November 13, 2007 @ 7:34 am
I agree Delphi, there needs to be more done to support non-battery farming. Unfortunately, the expectation of “cheaper food” has become so ingrained that it pushes animal welfare issues out of consumer’s minds.
In my experience, the single biggest factor in getting people to change to free range eggs is awareness. Whenever I give away our spare eggs I ask the recipient to consider only buying free range if they enjoy our eggs. I also make sure they are aware exactly what they are responsible for when they support the battery industry with their dollars.
Without exception, the 30-odd people I’ve given eggs to in this way so far have vowed to only buy free range from then on. Most of them change because of the welfare issues, but a fair chunk also love the quality of the eggs.
If enough consumers knew what the battery egg industry is like, there would be more than enough support for free range eggs, and the economies of scale would bring the prices down. I don’t think it’s fair to expect the producers to make less money just because their battery competitors have the unfair advantage of cheaper production costs through the abuse of chickens in their care. The poultry industry has a specific exemption from the animal welfare legislation we all have to live by. I was told by a senior SPCA inspector that if you or I kept pet chickens in the state they live in a battery operation, we’d be liable for prosecution.
I think the public needs to make it clear they want the practice of battery chicken farming banned, and with an election year coming up, next year is the time to make it an election issue. I’ll be doing more next year to raise awareness. The government should set a strict timetable for the phasing out of battery eggs and provide assistance to the free range industry to grow.
Ultimately it’s up to us to vote with our wallets (that seems to be the basis of democracy thee days). The battery egg producers are just giving consumers what they want - cheap eggs, no questions asked. It’s time to start asking questions.
Delphi Hamilton said,
November 13, 2007 @ 7:14 pm
Hi there,
Well I agree about it not being fair but we are not talking about reasonable and fair here. We are talking about undermining a practice of cruelty that is a moral outrage. There is nothing fair about the whole business.
I think it is not only the consumers who need to vote with their wallets but also the producers. That is if they truely believe in combating this. Or is it that they are happy to take advantage of the extra money that can be made. Why would they bother to fight a price war with the battery industry when they are advantaged by it existing. By charging nearly double the price they do maintain the statis quo. Which is also unfair. Are the production cost truely greater, could you explain in what way.
I dont really want to get into judging peoples motives. But I would like to find some effective way to eliminate this barbaric practice. And it seems to me that there are several different groups contributing to the perpetuation of it. Making consumers aware is only dealing with one aspect of the problem.
Can you explain why the commercial enterprises are exempt from prosecution and who the hell ok-ed such a move in the first place. Sounds like there are some very nasty characters involved here. Not that im suggesting there is a conspiracy going on but Im sure there must be stratergies to destablise this protective wall.
Please let me know what you are planning in this campaign as I am following this issue very closely and would like to help where I can.
(perhaps ferret farming(Joke).
(Bring back the Little red rooster!)
joe trunkfield said,
October 12, 2009 @ 9:16 am
hi there,ive been keeping hens and ducks fo roughly 5 years now but i have always felt the urge to rescue some battery hens wich is what i am doing at the start of november i am getting some ex-batteries. i hope to rescue around 20 so, any advice or tips from anyone would be much apreciated…
hope to hear from you soon,
joe :-D
Beth said,
December 6, 2009 @ 4:28 pm
Do you know of anywhere in Christchurch that sells eggs that are laid by chickens allowed to live out their natural life? I.E not killled when they stop laying and the males are allowed to live, too. I am vegetarian and love eggs but hate these practises :(
Anita said,
December 8, 2009 @ 6:21 pm
Hi, My Name is Anita Manning, and my company is Sunset Free Range Poultry Ltd. We are News Zealands only Certified producers of SPCA Free Range Eggs. You Mentions this in your artical,so I thought you might want to put a name to it. Our company is trying to make positive changes within our industry. We are the new trusted garentee for authentic cruelty free food. Check out our wesite on http://www.sunsetfreerange.co.nz
Regards
Anita
Snow Clements said,
January 18, 2010 @ 12:51 pm
Are you the organic Farmer who sells Organic Pork to an Albany butcher with your Pigs being fed field layed eggs; this Butcher then makes Sausages and sells them online?
If so, can you give me the Website or email address for this particular Butcher?
My grateful thanks
FarmGeek said,
January 18, 2010 @ 1:54 pm
Sorry Snow, it’s not us but good luck in your search.
John
Duncan said,
August 9, 2010 @ 11:32 am
I am keen to find someone who sells eggs but doesn’t kill their chickens once they have stopped laying (for my daughter who is considering eating eggs again after being a vegan). I figure there wouldn’t be any commercial farms doing this so would love any advice.
Thanks