The domestication of jungle fowls was a great leap in the history of animal agriculture driven by mankind's appetite for animal protein. Chickens and eggs are one of the most widely consumed animal products in Malaysia due to their relatively cheap price and easy accessibility. According to the latest figures provided by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, there were over 21 billion chickens in the world in 2014, exceeding human population by 3 folds, where half of the number came from Asia. In 2014, the United States of America produced about 40% of chicken meat in the world which weighed almost 18 million tonnes while for egg production in 2013, China produced nearly 60% from the total in the world, including eggs for hatching, with a staggering number of 50 billion eggs. Slaughtering chickens for meat and collecting eggs are acceptable actions for most people because it is a 'necessary evil' that put food on our table. However, ever since before they are hatched out, chickens risk deaths throughout their existences in the hatchery or farm, where these deaths do not result in food on our plates.
BEFORE HATCHED
Uniformity in shape and size is a standard to follow in the fresh produce section of hypermarkets where no crooked or misshaped fruit and vegetable is tolerable. The same may be said about the chicken-farming industry, where the rule of uniformity is practised even before the chicks are hatched. At the hatchery, fertile eggs will be incubated for 21 days, when most chicks will pip the egg shell on the last day. Then, the egg shells and other stuffs that are left behind will be incinerated for proper disposal, including the chicks who are relatively slow to hatch compared to the majority. The industry wants all chickens to have the same quality, including the same hatching time to make transportation and processing easier. Laggers are goners.
DAY OLD
It is undeniable that the animal-rearing industry is a very sexist business, especially in the egg production line. Male chicks do not lay egg when they grow up, so there is no place for them in the farm. Through years of selective breeding, two very distinct strains of chickens were created - the broilers, who are raised for meat, and the layers, who are raised for eggs, in order to maximize the production of both chicken meat and eggs in the shortest amount of time in the respective strain. Due to this reason, their respective 'purpose' is not exchangeable. Thus, the male layer chicks are born to die, within one day.
AROUND 1.5 YEARS OLD
In order to get the most out of the layers, the hens are not allowed to get broody, which is a natural instinct of wanting to incubate the eggs, even though the eggs are infertile. Broodiness is seen as a problem in an egg farm and this 'problem' needs to be corrected so that the hen will start laying eggs again. The worst thing about being a layer is not that she cannot exhibit natural behaviors, but she can only live up to 1 year after reaching sexual maturity as the production of eggs will go down after that. Non-productive hens are losers who will be 'depopulated' to make space for new laying hens. If properly cared for, chickens can have a lifespan up to 10 years just like our pet cats and dogs.
INJURIES & DISEASES
Chicken behavior and physiology have been studied extensively to ensure the quality of the products we obtain from them and to make sure that their welfare is taken care of as much as the margin of profit will allow. Layers - who lay a single egg daily from the moment they attain sexual maturity - are mostly osteoporotic since the egg shells are made of calcium originating from the bones of the hens. This causes the hens to have the tendency to fracture their keel bone as they are clumsy fliers. Besides, due to their large number in the farm, stepping on their own droppings can lead to transmission of diseases besides feather plucking that can draw blood, leaving open sores that increase risk of infection. For broilers, as they gain 70 times body weight in a short period of time, their legs cannot support themselves, causing difficulties in walking and problems to their legs. Their high metabolism rate often cause high body temperature that leads to panting and attempt to disperse the heat. Thus the best solution to avoid injuries and disease transmission is to place the chickens in indoor cages that prevent the chickens from moving around much to reduce risk of self injury.
If the chickens are wounded or sick due to the reasons above, they could be deemed as unfit for human consumption. If their condition is beyond salvage or costs too much to treat, the only way to deal with this issue is to cull them, in which their dead bodies will go to the rubbish bin instead.
Information stated in this article is based on the practices in UK farms where the animal welfare system can be considered as one of the most humane in the world. Under this best case scenario, there are still so many unnecessary deaths happened to the chickens in which these deaths only benefit the industry in maximizing profits. The chickens are treated as disposable objects with an expired date. When they are found to have low or no value to the industry, death is the only choice they have. I know that deaths can be as painless and as humane using the techniques or technologies we have today, but do we, humans, appreciate life? Is it appropriate to kill an animal because it hatches slower, because it is a male, because it can no longer produce egg every day? I do not know the practices used in Malaysia chicken farms, but I am sure of one thing - whenever profits are involved, the animals are going to suffer.
P/S: Special thanks to Tanya from Woodlawn Farms Sanctuary for the lovely photos of their chicken rescues and I am glad to have Cyren who provides me technical support since the first day of my vegan journey. All the information stated in this article was obtained from the 5-week Chicken Behavior and Welfare free online courses provided by the University of Edinburgh on Coursera.