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EGGS
How producing Eggs impacts chickens
"There are ethical and welfare issues common to all egg production systems — including free-range and organic."
~ Animals Australia
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Modern egg-laying hens have been selectively bred to lay up to 300 eggs in their first year of production; this is an increase from the 12-15 eggs they would have laid once a year in spring before human intervention. Hatcheries supply all parts of the egg industry (free range, barn laid and caged egg production). Half of all eggs that hatch will be male. As male chicks will never lay eggs, they are considered waste products and killed the day they hatch.
Fast Facts
Male Chicks
THE WASTE PRODUCTS OF EGG PRODUCTION
Half of all eggs that hatch will be male chicks.
Unable to produce eggs, these male chicks are useless to the egg production industry; on the day they hatch, they are sorted from their sisters and killed.
The most common methods of killing these newly hatched male chicks are either gassing or grinding them alive (maceration).
Battery/Caged Systems
A LIFE OF CONFINEMENT
Around 10 million hens are confined in caged egg systems across Australia.
Despite the planned 'phase out' of "barren" battery cages that won't occur until 2036, hens will remain in caged systems.
Hens in battery cage systems have limited space to move and spend 12 months on a wire floor without access to perches. The restricted movement they endure leads to chronic muscle and bone weakness. As a result, hens in caged systems end their lives with the highest number of fractures of hens from all egg-laying housing systems.
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(Image: Caged Hens at NSW farm 2017 Courtesty Farm Transparency Project)
Barn Laid
SOCIAL STRUCTURES SUFFER
While hens in barn-laid systems aren't confined to cages, they live in barren, windowless sheds without access to the outside.
Chickens can recognise up to 100 faces and use this to form complex social structures known as "pecking orders". The stocking densities of barn-laid systems mean that hens can't develop these natural hierarchies, and as a result, the hens are in a constant state of stress.
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Feather pecking, mortality and cannabilism are particularly problematic in barn-laid systems.
Hens in barn-laid systems are killed at 18 months of age as their egg production dips from its peak level.
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(Image: Barn Laid Hens at VIC farm 2021 Courtesty Farm Transparency Project)
Free range
NOT WHAT YOU PICTURED?
The Australian definition for free-range egg production prescribes only that chickens have 'meaningful and regular access to an outdoor range during daylight hours during the laying cycle', and are 'able to roam and forage on the outdoor range'.
Free range systems are 'subject to a stocking density of 10,000 hens or less' per hectare, which equates to only one square metre of space each.
Despite the common belief that hens in free-range systems experience higher welfare, the reality is that they still suffer immensely. As in barn-laid systems, hens in free-range systems cannot establish their social pecking order, which causes enormous stress and aggression among the flock.
Hens in free-range systems are culled at 18 months as their egg production dips from its peak.
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(Image: Free Range Hens at WA farm 2019 Courtesty Farm Transparency Project)
Common Practices in
Egg Production
ROUTINE CRUELTY
Hens across all production systems (caged, barn-laid and free-range) are routinely subjected to a range of practices, including:
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Forced moulting, where food and water are removed from the flock to induce a moult and boost production as it begins to decline,
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Debeaking, where a heated or infrared beam sears off the end of the hen's beak, and
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Early slaughter, hens cannot sustain artificially high levels of egg production, so as this declines, she will be culled, typically at just 18 months, vs a hen's natural lifespan of 8-12 years.
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(Image: Spared from slaughter, newly rescued ex-battery hens at Little Oak Sanctuary 2013)
Breeder Birds
PARENT BIRDS
Most people are aware of hatcheries that produce chicks that end up in the different sectors of the egg industry, but it rarely occurs to people where these fertile eggs come from.
Breeder birds are kept to produce the fertile eggs that become the hens for caged, barn-laid and free-range egg production systems.
Breeder birds are typically housed in large sheds (similar to barn-laid) with thousands of birds. The main difference is that hens are kept with numerous roosters to ensure any eggs produced are fertile.
The roosters are replaced frequently to ensure maximum fertility, but hens are retained and often mated until they lose the feathers on their backs.
As their level of egg laying reduces (around 18 months of age) they too will be culled and replaced with younger hens.
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(Image: Breeder birds at Hatchery VIC 2016 Courtesty Farm Transparency Project)
Put the Chicken First
Actions you can take to make a better world
Aside from the cruelty, all animal products are inherently inefficient to produce. Because animals are living beings who grow, move and spend energy just living, they use up more calories than we end up being able to extract from their products (meat, milk or eggs). The ratio of how much feed goes in vs how much we get out is known as the 'feed conversion ratio'. The feed conversion ratio for eggs is 2 for commercial industry and up to 9.2 for backyard hens. That means it requires between 2 and 9 kilograms of feed for every kilogram of eggs produced.
The grain that must be grown to feed egg laying hens uses vast amounts of land and water, in fact, it takes 200 litres to produce a single egg. The global water footprint of layer chicken in the period 1996-2005 was 7% of the total water footprint of animal production in the world (all farm animals). Waste from the large numbers of hens housed on commercial egg farms can contribute to water pollution.
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Each year, 12 million chicks are killed the day they hatch because as males, they will never lay eggs. Put the Chickens before eggs, go egg free, and you will no longer be contributing to the suffering of chicks, hens and roosters in the egg industry.
From breakfast (Egg-free Benny, anyone?) to baking, there are lots of ways to replace eggs that are better for the animals, the planet, and your health.
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Put the chicken before the egg - Stand up for hens and spare millions of day-old male chicks by swapping eggs for plant based alternatives. Download our action pack for tips on replacing eggs in your diet.
Kinder Options
