Minimum criteria for health and welfare
The living conditions of industrially reared birds differ considerably from those of birds living in the wild. In a natural environment, chicks are used to spending much of their time foraging for food. This motivates them to express their specific behaviours, such as pecking, feeding, pecking, including feather maintenance by bathing and dust bathing. In addition, they perch in trees at night to avoid predators (Compassion in World Farming International, n.d.).
By comparison, chickens kept for meat production are reared much faster and their life is shorter. Under natural conditions, the average lifespan of chickens is six or more years, but in intensive farming they are usually slaughtered before they are six to eight weeks old (Compassion in World Farming International, n.d.).
Because chickens live in crowded, vegetation-free environments, they suffer from injuries and stress caused by being forcibly trapped, transported, and slaughtered. As well as not having access to natural light, the air can become polluted by ammonia in the droppings, which affects the eyes, respiratory system and can cause painful burns on the feet, known as ‘hock burns’. On top of this, chickens isolated in halls can’t adjust their environment to avoid heat, cold or dirt as they could under natural conditions. Especially in summer, if the ventilation system is not working properly, birds can die from heat stress (Compassion in World Farming, n.d.).
Sources
- Compassion in World Farming International. (n.d.). Chickens farmed for meat.
- Flatabø, G. (2015, June 14). Chickens in their natural environment [Photograph]. Flickr.
- Otwarte Klatki. (n.d.). Fermy Brojlerów 2020 [Photograph]. Flickr.
- Albert Schweitzer Foundation. (n.d.). European Chicken Commitment.