The Coop and the Cage
Two Chicken Lives
Cluck 2683 & Sunny
Two different lives. Two different welfare statuses.
Cluck 2683 tells the story of living in an industrial factory farm, while Sunny tells the story of living in a coop at a small-scale farm. Both experience animal welfare differently.
Animal welfare is the commitment of humans to care for an animal’s mental and physical well being.6 Good animal welfare requires the commitment to the “Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare.”
The Coop and The Cage:
Part I: Life of Cluck 2683
Part II: Life of Sunny
The "Sunny" Life
Cluck
2683
No Freedom From Discomfort
“SQUACK!” Oops, I think I must have dozed off for a second. I’m not sure how with all the light shining in this huge crammed barn.1 I’m so exhausted. But really, I shouldn’t be complaining. Today we got a little more hours of dark time than usual. Though the 20th hour of light never gets easier. 3 At least we only have 4 more hours left until we get the comfort of the darkness again.3 We are all so exhausted in here. If only we had somewhere to perch so we would rest properly.1 Though, I don’t think they are happy with me dozing off. They want us to always be either eating or laying eggs as much as possible within these hours of light.3
Image: flikr Audio: freesound
Image: flikr Audio: freesound
I look over to my left. I see Cluck 2682. She’s been here with me for my whole life. I know we are both dying to stretch out our wings but we can’t.2 We’re as close to each other as possible within these cages, with only about the width of one sheet of paper between us.1 It’s so crowded. I’m not even sure if I remember how to run.1 Most of the chickens in here have gotten very weak and developed paralysis because of the lack of exercise we get.2
No Freedom from Pain, Injury, or Disease
My head's piercing with pain. I wonder if it’s the lack of sleep or the portion of the beak I am missing.2 I heard them talking about how removing our beaks causes neural tumours which is what creates the pain.2 Somehow they still are debeaking us. I still remember the first time I got it done. It was so painful as they gave me no anaesthesia.1
No Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour
flikr
flikr
Without my beak I also can’t even groom myself to ensure my feathers are in good condition.3 I yearn to forage and scratch in the dirt for food.3 I yearn for the space to dust bath and keep myself clean.3 I yearn for the space to nest my eggs the way I want.3 I yearn to perch.3 I am so frustrated and sad it makes me aggressive.2 I don’t even have the ability to flap my wings and wag my tail.2 I feel so claustrophobic.
No Freedom from Hunger and Thirst
I feel so hungry. I look around and don’t see any food and the water is almost gone.1 I hope they bring us food and water soon. I’m scared for the day I stop producing as many eggs as I do now. I’ve heard that once we stop producing the amount of eggs they want, they stop feeding us and stop giving us water, so that our bodies force out more eggs to the point they start to shut down.1 I’ve heard it lasts 7 to 28 days.1 I’m so scared because I’m almost 1, which is the age that they take us away and do this.1
pexels
pexels
No Freedom from Fear and Distress
I’m scared for my chicks, because I know they will be forced to live the same way. I wonder what happened to my parents. I never was able to meet them.1 I think how I would have loved to give my babies my warmth, and have them huddle under my wing when they were born, as I’m getting ready to produce another egg for them.1 I’ve had so many I can’t even remember which number this one is. They have manipulated our genetics to make us produce upwards of 300 eggs per year.1 Many of the chickens here have developed osteoporosis, tumours, and uterine prolapse because of it.1 I guess this is just how it’s supposed to be.
Sunny
Freedom from Hunger and Thirst
I’m woken up by the sun today. I think it must be a warm day today. I see that our humans have given us some fresh water and food to eat for breakfast.4
Freedom from Discomfort
I can’t wait to go outside today. I hear the shed door opening and the sun shines in. We are all aloud to go outside for most of the daytime if it is nice out like today.4 If the weather is bad we can also all enjoy the comfort of resting inside our coop.5 I love this time so much. I know Johnny and Bella do too. We have so much space to run and walk around it’s so refreshing.4 We are also given perches so that we can rest during the day and night comfortably.4 The perches are so spacious.5
Image: flikr Audio: freesound
Image: flikr Audio: freesound
The area I can see has just been cleaned of our waste, and our human is just changing the litter in our coop.4 I give him a thankful cluck!
Freedom to Express Normal Behavior
Today I’m going to spend most of my day foraging for food in the dirt as usual, and do a bit of scratching and sunbathing.5 I may even join Johnny and Bella with whatever they are doing.5 I might even lay an egg today in the nesting area.4 I love it there. It's so cozy and spacious that I can easily lay on my eggs to keep them warm.4
Flikr
Flikr
Freedom from Pain, Injury, or Disease
I think this is my 5th egg this year! I’m halfway to what I usually produce in a year naturally.1 I think that I might be given a calcium supplement to lay my eggs so that my bones don’t start hurting.4 Other than that I’m pretty healthy. I really have no diseases or ailments. My human always makes sure of it through giving us the needed vaccines!5
Freedom from Fear and Distress
I think the day is almost done. I can see the sun setting. We’re going back in the shed now, so we can be free from any predators.4 Yikes! We usually are ushered in but are rarely touched.4 I’m happy to go anyways. I'm tired. I’m excited for tomorrow! I think it’s my birthday. I’m turning 3! I’m so excited for the many years to come!4
Flikr
Flikr
What life would you want to live?
The "Sunny" life!
There's no doubt Sunny experiences a more healthy and happy life through the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare. A life of health and happiness is a life we too would want.
Want to help make this life possible for all chickens?
Works Cited
- “Factory-Farmed Chickens: The Cruelty of Chicken Farms.” The Humane League. January 19, 2021. https://thehumaneleague.org/article/factory-farmed-chickens#:~:text=On%20factory%20farms%2C%20animals%20are,%2C%20depress%20chickens%27%20immune%20systems.
- Duncan, Ian. “Welfare Problems of Poultry.” In The Well-Being of Farm Animals: Challenges and Solutions edited by Benson, G. J., & Rollin, B. E. Wiley-Blackwell. (April, 2008): 307-322. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/9780470344859
- EFSA AHAW Panel (EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare) et al. “Welfare of Broilers on Farm.” EFSA Journal. European Food Safety Authority vol. 21. February 21, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9941850/#efs27788-sec-0324title
- Elkhoraibi C, R. A. Blatchford, M. E. Pitesky, J. A. Mench. “Backyard Chickens in the United States: A Survey of Flock Owners.” Poultry Science Volume 93, Issue 11. November 1, 2014:2920-2931. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579119385451?ref=cra_js_challenge&fr=RR-1
- Karabozhilova, I, B. Wieland, S. Alonso, L. Salonen & Dr B. Häsler. “Backyard Chicken Keeping in the Greater London Urban Area: Welfare Status, Biosecurity and Disease Control Issues.” British Poultry Science vol. 53,4. 2012: 421-30. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00071668.2012.707309?needAccess=true
- American Veterinary Medical Association. “Animal Welfare.” https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/animal-welfare
Media Sources
Videos
Ehlers, Magda. “Chickens in a Henhouse.” n.d. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/video/chickens-in-a-henhouse-5081529/
Василишин, Владислав. “Video Of Chicks In Poultry.” n.d. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/search/videos/chicken/
Elements Interactive. “White Roosters Eating - Poultry Farm.” n.d. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/video/white-roosters-eating-poultry-farm-26736826/
Images
Stanley-Erickson, Cathy. "2 Chickens." n.d. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/8pVv6o.
Brīvība, Dzīvnieku. "Balticovo Daugavpils-03." n.d. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/MyPX5s.
Balticovo Iecava-06. n.d. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/NoQL22.
Khan, Filisteen. "Trimmed." n.d. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/9g7fS7.
"File:Indiapoultry.JPG." Wikimedia Commons. August 8, 2009. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indiapoultry.JPG.
"File:Battery-farm.jpg." Wikimedia Commons. n.d. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battery-farm.jpg.
Tapes, Travel. "Chicken Coop." n.d. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/ok2hQD.
Next_in_Line. "Chicken." n.d. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/gga23t.
Barron, Stephen. "Chicken." n.d. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/8Jy8kb.
Pulat, Oguz. "Egg Machine." n.d. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/V9UMVY.
Holbrook, Jamie. "P4I." n.d. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/Ccam7K.
Audios
“Freesound - Poultry Barn, Many Chickens, Rooster Crowing, Inside, Weird Sept 98.flac by TRP.” n.d. Freesound. https://freesound.org/s/571619/.
“Freesound - Chickens_on_Farm_Noisy_Collecting_Eggs_Wind_Distant_Traffic by Nickmaysoundmusic,” n.d. Freesound. https://freesound.org/s/724215/.
Built with Shorthand