Abby Jade Sarfas
Laying hens produce far more eggs on factory farms than they would in the wild, ever wondered how?
The wild ancestors of modern commercial chickens, jungle fowl, lay between 10-15 eggs per year. But commercial breeds of hens used in farming today can lay around 300 eggs per year. This massive increase is not natural. So how does the egg industry achieve this, and what is the impact on hen welfare?
Why do farmers want to increase egg production?
As in all farming practices, the purpose of keeping egg-laying hens is to make profit.
During the 1950s, a huge development of agriculture began, with the purpose of maximising productivity and profit. Since then, the egg industry has sought to increase the potential profit of laying hens, meaning that each hen needed to produce more eggs with less resource.
In the 1960s commercial hens were laying at a rate of around 60%. This means 100 hens were laying, on average, 60 eggs a day. Today hens are closer to laying an egg a day. This has been achieved through selective breeding, supported by improved feed and husbandry.
What is selective breeding?
Selective breeding is the process of mating animals who have certain desirable traits. This is done in the hope that those traits are duplicated and strengthened in the next generation.
For hens, selective breeding focuses primarily on the trait of laying a high number of eggs. Over the decades, this has resulted in a massive increase in the number of eggs being produced by each hen.
Selective breeding is carried out by genetics companies; there are two major laying hen genetics companies supplying the vast majority of egg producers globally.
The negative effects of increased egg production
The genetics of laying hens have been altered over time to result in high levels of egg production. For the hens, this means multiple welfare issues associated with high production, including osteoporosis, bone fractures and diseases of the reproductive system, which may ultimately lead to death.
Painful keel bone fractures are common. In fact, a recent study showed over 85% of hens in commercial systems had keel bones fractures. These were noticeably absent in the males of the same genetic line.
Even if hens survive these issues, their lifespan on commercial farms is greatly shortened. Laying hens are considered ‘spent’ by the industry, and sent to slaughter at just 18 months of age. Even laying hens who are rescued may not live as long as their wild ancestors would, due to health complications arising from excessive strain on their bodies from high egg production.
And it isn’t just hens that suffer through egg production.
There are roughly an even number of male and female chicks hatched in laying hen hatcheries. Male chicks are deemed useless, since they are unable to lay eggs. They are therefore disposed of. This means that, for the entire commercial population of laying hens in the world today - around 7 billion - the same number of male chicks were culled. Their tiny bodies are then used for pet food, fertiliser, and food for the exotic animal trade.
This is an often hidden consequence of egg farming.
What we're doing to help hens
We run corporate campaigns to persuade companies to source eggs from higher welfare hens. Over time, this increases the demand for higher welfare production, and reduces the suffering of hens.
We have been involved in hundreds of corporate campaigns to date, with our most recent victory resulting in YUM! Brands committing to a global cage-free egg policy. This commitment applies to 150 countries and more than 50,000 restaurants, which will improve the lives of countless hens.
We also work with animal welfare specialists to devise a system of welfare improvements that will do the most to reduce hens’ suffering. Examples of these are:
- Working to eliminate cages, globally
- Ensuring that hens have the space to carry out natural behaviours such as foraging, perching, and dustbathing
- Setting more humane slaughter standards.
The decades-long selective breeding of hens is a systemic challenge. It requires the industry to consider hen welfare over ever increasing productivity and is difficult to combat. But there's still plenty you can do to help hens, including removing eggs from your diet.
How you can help hens
If you want to help hens, sign up to our emails.
You'll receive quick ways to get involved in our campaigns for hens, and other animals raised for food.
Together, we can make the world a kinder place for hens raised for eggs.
