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the hens in the uk the defra code for the welfare of laying hens 32 states furnished cages should provide at least 750 cm 2 of cage area per hen 600 cm 2 of which should be usable the height of the cage other than that above the usable area should be at least 20 cm at every point and no cage should have a total area that is less than 2000 cm 2 in addition furnished cages should provide a nest litter such that pecking and scratching are possible appropriate perches allowing at least 15 cm per hen a claw shortening device and a feed trough which may be used without restriction providing 12 cm per hen furnished cages enriched give the hens more space than the conventional battery cages so that each bird may spread their wings without touching one another if desired enrichment such as nest boxes perches and dust baths are also provided so that the birds may carry out their natural behaviors such as nesting roosting and scratching as though they were outdoors enrichment of laying hen cages ultimately results in better bone quality 33 this is a result of the increased activity in the hens from the additional space and enrichment provided in the furnished housing system although the enriched housing system has its advantages such as reduced aggression towards one another and cleaner eggs modern egg laying breeds often suffer from osteoporosis which results in the chicken s skeletal system being weakened during egg production large amounts of calcium are transferred from bones to create egg shell although dietary calcium levels are adequate absorption of dietary calcium is not always sufficient given the intensity of production to fully replenish bone calcium this can lead to increases in bone breakages particularly when the hens are being removed from cages at the end of laying osteoporosis may be prevented by free range and cage free housing systems as they have shown to have a beneficial impact on the skeletal system of the hens compared to those housed in caged systems 34 countries such as austria belgium and germany are planning to ban furnished cages until 2025 additionally to the already banned conventional cages 35 urban chicken keeping edit main article urban chicken keeping raising chickens in urban or suburban environments is experiencing a resurgence in popularity in many countries including the united states proponents of this practice cite benefits such as access to fresh eggs natural pest control educational opportunities and a connection to sustainable food practices 36 while commercial operations typically use leghorn chickens many other breeds such as the bantam are well suited for urban settings 37 38 the practice faces legal and regulatory hurdles many cities have specific ordinances regarding the number of chickens allowed coop size and potential noise and odor issues 39 concerns surrounding predation from wild carnivores 40 such as raccoons 41 heavy metal exposure 42 43 potential reduction in property values 44 salmonella 45 46 avian flu 47 48 animal welfare 49 and potential conflicts with neighbors also exist despite these challenges urban chicken keeping continues to gain traction as a part of the broader local food movement and a way for individuals to increase their self sufficiency 50 meat producing chickens husbandry systems edit main article broiler industry broilers in a production house indoor broilers edit meat chickens commonly called broilers are floor raised on litter such as wood shavings peanut shells and rice hulls indoors in climate controlled housing under modern farming methods meat chickens reared indoors reach slaughter weight at 5 to 9 weeks of age as they have been selectively bred to do so in the first week of a broiler s life it can grow up to 300 percent of its body size 51 a nine week old broiler averages over 9 pounds 4 kg in body weight at nine weeks a hen will average around 7 pounds 3 2 kg and a rooster will weigh around 12 pounds 5 5 kg having a nine pound 4 kg average day old chicks about to drink stress pack broilers are not raised in cages they are raised in large open structures known as grow out houses a farmer receives the birds from the hatchery at one day old a grow out consists of 5 to 9 weeks according to how big the kill plant wants the chickens to be these houses are equipped with mechanical systems to deliver feed and water to the birds they have ventilation systems and heaters that function as needed the floor of the house is covered with bedding material consisting of wood chips rice hulls or peanut shells in some cases they can be grown over dry litter or compost because dry bedding helps maintain flock health most growout houses have enclosed watering systems nipple drinkers which reduce spillage 52 keeping birds inside a house protects them from predators such as hawks and foxes some houses are equipped with curtain walls which can be rolled up in good weather to admit natural light and fresh air most growout houses built in recent years feature tunnel ventilation in which a bank of fans draws fresh air through the house 52 traditionally a flock of broilers consist of about 20 000 birds in a growout house that measures 400 500 feet long and 40 50 feet wide thus providing about eight tenths of a square foot per bird the council for agricultural science and technology cast states that the minimum space is one half square foot per bird more modern houses are often larger and contain more birds but the floor space allotment still meets the needs of the birds the larger the bird is grown the fewer chickens are put in each house to give the bigger bird more space per square foot 52 because broilers are relatively young and have not reached sexual maturity they exhibit very little aggressive conduct 52 chicken feed consists primarily of corn and soybean meal with the addition of essential vitamins and minerals no hormones or steroids are allowed in raising chickens 52 53 issues with indoor husbandry edit in intensive broiler sheds the air can become highly polluted with ammonia from the droppings in this case a farmer must run more fans to bring in more clean fresh air if not this can damage the chickens eyes and respiratory systems and can cause painful burns on their legs called hock burns as well as blisters on their feet broilers bred for fast growth have a high rate of developing leg deformities because their large breast muscles cause distortions on their developing legs and pelvis leading to them often being unable to support their body weight in cases where the chickens become crippled and can no longer walk farmers have to go in and pull them out because of their difficulty moving the chickens cannot change their environment to avoid heat cold or dirt as they would in natural conditions the added weight and overcrowding also puts a strain on their hearts and lungs possibly leading to ascites in the uk up to 19 million broilers die in their sheds from heart failure each year in a heat wave if a power failure shuts down the ventilation 20 000 chickens could die in a short period of time in a good grow out a farmer should sell between 92 and 96 of their flock with a 1 80 to a 2 0 feed conversion ratio after marketing the birds the farmer must clean out and prepare for another flock a farmer should average 4 to 5 grow outs a year 54 indoor with higher welfare edit in a higher welfare system chickens are kept indoors but with more space around 14 to 16 birds per square metre 55 they have a richer environment for example with natural light or straw bales that encourage foraging and perching the chickens grow more slowly and live for up to two weeks longer than intensively farmed birds the benefits of higher welfare indoor systems are the reduced growth rate less crowding and more opportunities for natural behaviour 17 56 one example of indoor production with higher welfare production is the better chicken commitment standard 57 free range broilers edit turkeys on pasture at an organic farm free range broilers are reared under similar conditions to free range egg laying hens the breeds grow more slowly than those used for indoor rearing and usually reach slaughter weight at approximately 8 weeks of age in the eu each chicken must have one square metre of outdoor space 17 the benefits of free range poultry farming include opportunities for natural behaviours such as pecking scratching foraging and exercise outdoors because they grow slower and have opportunities for exercise free range broilers often have better leg and heart health 17 organic broilers edit organic broiler chickens are reared under similar conditions to free range broilers but with restrictions on the routine use of in feed or in water medications other food additives and synthetic amino acids the breeds used are slower growing more traditional breeds and typically reach slaughter weight at around 12 weeks of age 58 they have a larger space allowance outside at least 2 square metres and sometimes up to 10 square metres per bird 11 the soil association standards 23 indicate a maximum outdoors stocking density of 2 500 birds per hectare and a maximum of 1 000 broilers per poultry house dual purpose chicken edit a dual purpose chicken is a type of chicken that may be used in the production of both eggs and meat 59 in the past many chicken breeds were selected for both functions however since the advent of laying and meat hybrids industrial chicken breeding has made a sharp distinction between chickens with either function 60 so that certain characteristics have been promoted to an extreme degree partly due to the discussion about male offspring of laying hens that are not economically viable and are usually gassed or ground alive as day old chicks a discussion is currently underway as to whether dual purpose chickens have a future role on a large or smaller scale 61 historically the distinction between egg and meat production did not exist it only appeared with the development of industrial farming and the breeder s specialization including day old chicks modern laying breeds have become unable to provide enough meat to satisfy consumers accustomed to breeds selected for fattening which are poor layers and brooders citation needed in addition the strategies for killing livestock affected by avian influenza or highly pathogenic diseases or with significant epidemiological or eco epidemiological risks have led in a large number of family backyards to replace old mixed varieties with laying poultry or modern meat dishes citation needed faced with the criticism leveled at industrial farming in particular concerning the killing of millions of chicks by gassing with co 2 or even in certain cases denounced by the media by grinding live chicks asphyxiation in plastic bags when the animals are not buried alive or simply thrown in a dumpster the concept of dual use is one of the possible answers and as such supported by the demeter network in germany in switzerland where two million chicks of hybrid laying breed are put to death every year according to oswald burch director of gallosuisse on srf1 radio these animals killed almost at birth are sold as food for animals in zoos or animal stores or are transformed into biogas 62 another solution would be to analyze the sex of the embryo or fetus in the egg before the incubation phase when the egg is still consumable and to eliminate it from the breeding circuit to direct it to the egg sales circuit eggs that have not yet been incubated and fertilized can be consumed during the first days after laying recalls ruedi zweifel director of the aviforum foundation the competence center of the swiss poultry farming the universities of leipzig and dresden are testing ways to achieve this but have not yet found any that are applicable in real time on an industrial scale 63 the german company lohmann is one of the first to have integrated this concept on a large scale as part of its collaboration with the agricultural association déméter 64 it produced its own poultry by crossing lines presenting the sought after characteristics 65 which is a way to solve the problem of killing male chicks 66 the dual purpose chicken selected by the lohmann group the lohmann dual 67 is raised in switzerland by a few breeders and the coop network decided to launch the experiment with a test on 5 000 poultry although knowing that instead of producing up to 300 eggs per year like very good laying hens it will only produce around 250 eggs per year which are also smaller according to the journal of the swiss poultry organization 62 if the consumer accepts higher prices in exchange for better consideration of the animal cause then a sector could be launched 62 concerning meat coop spokesperson ramon gander estimated that the demand was there and according to him the meat has also convinced tasters 62 issues edit inhumane treatment edit battery cages chickens transported in a truck animal welfare groups have frequently criticized the poultry industry for engaging in practices which they assert to be inhumane many animal rights advocates object to killing chickens for food the factory farm conditions under which they are raised methods of transport and slaughter animal outlook formerly compassion over killing and other groups have repeatedly conducted undercover investigations at chicken farms and slaughterhouses which they allege confirm their claims of cruelty 68 better source needed a common practice among hatcheries for egg laying hens is the culling of newly hatched male chicks since they do not lay eggs and do not grow fast enough to be profitable for meat there are plans to more ethically destroy the eggs before the chicks are hatched using in ovo sex determination 69 chickens are often stunned before slaughter using carbon dioxide or electric shock in a water bath methods claimed to be more humane that could be used are low atmospheric pressure stunning and inert gas asphyxiation 70 according to animal charities carrying chickens by their legs is inhumane the european commission advocates for this practice and the uk government is intending when to legalize it 71 72 beak trimming edit main article debeaking laying hens are routinely beak trimmed at 1 day of age to reduce the damaging effects of aggression feather pecking and cannibalism scientific studies have shown that beak trimming is likely to cause both acute and chronic pain 73 74 75 76 77 78 severe beak trimming or beak trimming birds at an older age may cause chronic pain following beak trimming of older or adult hens the nociceptors in the beak stump show abnormal patterns of neural discharge indicating acute pain 73 79 80 81 neuromas tangled masses of swollen regenerating axon sprouts 82 are found in the healed stumps of birds beak trimmed at 5 weeks of age or older and in severely beak trimmed birds 83 neuromas have been associated with phantom pain in human amputees and have therefore been linked to chronic pain in beak...