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Lexi Wall
Ms. McGee
AP English 12 1B
18 March 2010
The Rise of the Battery Cage
When you consume eggs, do you ever stop to think from where those particular set of
eggs came? Most people do not, and what most people do not realize is that ninety-eight percent
of egg-laying hens in the United States spend their entire lives in tiny “battery cages” with five to
eleven other hens (PETA2).
An early reference to battery cages appears in Battery Brooding, a 1931 book by Milton
Arndt in which he reports that his cage flock was healthier and had higher egg production than
his conventional flock. Arndt also mentioned the use of conveyer belts beneath the cages to
remove manure and improve air quality. Original battery cages were used to select hens based
on performance. One hen was placed in a cage, and eggs were easily kept track of. From here,
the use of battery cages only continued to grow. In 1990, North and Bell reported that seventyfive percent of all commercial layers in the world and ninety-five percent in the U.S. were kept
in cages (Battery Cages).
The use of battery cages may have some advantages, such as cleaner eggs and expedited
culling. However, the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. A typical cage is about the
size of a filing cabinet drawer and holds eight to ten hens (Battery). These cages are stacked one
on top of another, side by side. In the confined space of a cage, the birds cannot stretch their
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wings or legs, and they cannot fulfill normal behavioral patterns or social needs (Factory
Farming). Because of overcrowding and stressful situations, hens often resort to excessive
pecking. To calm the erratic behaviors of hens in overstuffed cages, the lights are kept off and
the sensitive end of the beak is cut off with hot blades without any painkillers. The wire of the
cages rubs feathers and skin off of the hens (Factory Farming: Mechanized Madness).
Excrement constantly falls on the helpless birds in lower cages and into the manure pits lining
the sheds. Flies become a problem in these sheds and help to rapidly spread disease. Hens are
forced to live, suffer, and die with their cagemates (PETA2).
Chickens are capable of living for more than ten years, but laying hens in factory farms
are exhausted usually within two years (GoVeg.com). Laying more than 250 eggs per year, hens
suffer from "fatty liver syndrome" when their liver cells, which work overtime to produce the fat
and protein for egg yolks, accumulate extra fat. Osteoporosis is another common disorder
afflicting egg-laying hens, whose bodies lose more calcium to form egg shells than they can
absorb from their diets. An industry journalist from Lancaster Farming states that, “... a hen will
use a quantity of calcium for yearly egg production that is greater than her entire skeleton by 30fold or more.” Severe lack of calcium results in broken bones, paralysis, and death (Factory).
After a year or two, hens can no longer produce a sufficient amount of eggs. These “spent’ hens
are shipped to slaughterhouses, where their fragile legs are snapped into shackles and their
throats are cut. These slaughtered chickens often end up in chicken soups or animal feed
(PETA2).
PETA went on an undercover mission to Buckeye and Daylay Farms in Ohio. The owner
of these farms fled to Ohio after being convicted of animal cruelty in his home state. What the
investigators found were unbelievable amounts of flies and manure spills that killed thousands of
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fish in local water ways. Not only that, footage showed hundreds of thousands of hens shoved
into warehouses with no sunlight. Each hen had less than a half square foot of space to herself.
Unnatural living spaces caused cannibalistic pecking, which only resulted in the removal of beak
tips. Blisters and calluses had developed on the throats of many hens from where feeding
troughs had been rubbing. Bugs crept over the bodies of living and dead chickens. PETA found
many hens suffering from pasturella, paralysis, eye and sinus infections, hernias, vitamin
deficiencies, hematomas, and blindness. One hen was found underneath a feeding trough with
no access to water. Another hen was found alive in a dumpster amongst trash and dead birds.
One chicken was even alive found in a manure pit. These hens were unable to lift their heads or
open their eyes, and for what (Silent Suffering)? So people like you and I can enjoy an egg or
two in our breakfasts from time to time?
Almost all eggs found in restaurants and grocery stores are produced in farms like
Buckeye and Daylay. Unfortunately, there aren’t many ways to halt the use of battery cages
because, although they are cruel to hens, they are the most efficient way of producing eggs.
Only time will tell how the use of battery cages will continue in the future.
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Works Cited
"Battery cage." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2 Feb. 2010
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_cage>.
"Factory Farming | Farm Sanctuary." Farm Sanctuary | Watkins Glen, NY. 2 Feb. 2010
<http://farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/eggs/>.
"Factory Farming: Mechanized Madness // Take Charge! // peta2." Peta2.com // Interviews,
Giveaways, and Free Stickers. 4 Feb. 2010
<http://www.peta2.com/takecharge/t_factsheet_factoryfarm.asp>.
"GoVeg.com // Cruelty to Animals // Chickens." GoVeg.com: Vegetarian and Vegan
Information. People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 4 Feb. 2010
<http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming_chickens.asp>.
"PETA2 // Take Charge // Where Do Eggs Come From?" Peta2.com // Interviews, Giveaways,
and Free Stickers. 4 Feb. 2010 <http://www.peta2.com/TAKECHARGE/teggcartons.asp>.
Silent Suffering -- Egg Farm Footage. Http://www.petatv.com. 15 Feb. 2010
<http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=silent_suffer&Player=wm>.