“Battery” Hens

Photo by: Mercy for Animals, Weaver Brothers Egg Farm in Versailles, Ohio
Megaphone, please.
"I am battery hen. I live in a cage so small I cannot stretch my wings. I am forced to stand night and day on a sloping wire mesh floor that painfully cuts into my feet. The cage walls tear my feathers, forming blood blisters that never heal. The air is so full of ammonia that my lungs hurt and my eyes burn and I think I am going blind. As soon as I was born, a man grabbed me and sheared off part of my beak with a hot iron, and my little brothers were thrown into trash bags as useless alive.
My mind is alert and my body is sensitive and I should have been richly feathered. In nature or even a farmyard I would have had sociable, cleansing dust baths with my flock mates, a need so strong that I perform 'vacuum' dust bathing on the wire floor of my cage. Free, I would have ranged my ancestral jungles and fields with my mates, devouring plants, earthworms, and insects from sunrise to dusk. I would have exercised my body and expressed my nature, and I would have given, and received, pleasure as a whole being. I am only a year old, but I am already a 'spent hen.'
Humans, I wish I were dead, and soon I will be dead. Look for pieces of my wounded flesh wherever chicken pies and soups are sold."

Photo: Susan Rayfield
- The Life of One Battery Hen
- Chickens are great companions. If only people knew how smart and lovable they can be.
2023
- Our Letters to LA Times Chide Egg Shortage Complaints 12 January 2023
2022
- US egg factory roasts alive 5.3m chickens in avian flu cull - then fires almost every worker 28 April 2022 - www.theguardian.com
2021
- Massachusetts Legislature Betrays “Egg-Laying” Hens & Voters 22 December 2021
- Ghost of a Male Chick in Each Egg & What We MUST Do If We Care 12 November 2021
- Farmed Animal Welfare Law Betrayed in Massachusetts 18 October 2021
- WALMART Egg Supplier Tortures Caged Hens: Take Action 4 January 2021
2019
- Chickens Are NOT Cannibals 28 August 2019
2018
- Animalens Promo Video (1990s) 9 December 2018 - YouTube.com
- Take Action for Thousands of Tortured Hens! 14 August 2018
- For the Love of Chickens in Honor of International Respect for Chickens Day 27 April 2018 (Published on Alternet.org)
- California Ballot Initiative to “Prevent Cruelty” 3 January 2018 (Also in UPC Winter 2017-2018 Poultry Press)
2017
- Investigative Report: How Common Is Male Chick Grinding In America? 16 September 2017
- “The gruesome reality behind the pet food industry” 12 August 2017 (Also in UPC Fall 2017 Poultry Press)
2016
- My Hen Queenie: A Conversation With United Poultry Concerns 28 September 2016
- Raw Footage, Raw Pain (1994) 23 September 2016 - YouTube.com
- Pet Food, Bird Shredding & Embryo Sexing: Behind the Scenes 7 September 2016 (Also in UPC Fall 2016 Poultry Press)
- Happy hens, free of factory farms, don’t peck each other 21 August 2016 (Also in UPC Fall 2016 Poultry Press)
- Germany’s Decision to Affirm Legality of Male Chick Shredding Shines Global Spotlight on Practice 10 June 2016
2015
- Courting hen & egg producers leads animal charities into deep @#$% 25 June 2015
- Gassing “Spent” Hens to Death with Carbon Dioxide: Follow-Up to “The End of Hens” 6 January 2015
- The End of Hens: Inside a “Spent Hen” Slaughterhouse. 6 January 2015
(Also in UPC Spring 2015 Poultry Press)
2014
- Laying Hens and Foie Gras Ducklings: Harper’s Magazine & Newsweek Reports 22 October 2014
- The forgotten battery hens 12 September 2014 - www.youtube.com
- VOICES FOR CHICKENS: Karen Davis’s Podcast Interview, Robert Grillo’s Memorial to Doris 27 August 2014
- Hurting Animals Humanely - Two Views 21 August 2014
- Baby Chicks and “Breeder” Turkeys Tortured by Canadian Poultry Company 14 April 2014
- Sarah, A Former Battery Hen Determined to Live and Thrive at UPC! 14 April 2014
- Minny’s Dream: Story of a “Battery” Hen Who Escaped with “A Little Help from Her Friend.” 10 April 2014
- Eggs: What Are You Really Eating? 24 February 2014 - freefromharm.org
- Egg farm worker exposed in Team 10 investigation could face charges 20 January 2014 - www.10news.com
- Killing practices of day-old chicks exposed on prime time Israeli TV The exposé is available on YouTube with no translation, but the images speak for themselves - 9 January 2014
2013
- Beautiful Hens Fly Home to United Poultry Concerns! 14 October 2013 (Also in UPC Fall-Winter 2013 Poultry Press)
- The Hens Have Arrived Safely 5 September 2013
- Hens Fly to Loving Homes at United Poultry Concerns & Other Sanctuaries! 5 September 2013
- 20,000 Chickens Will NOT Be a Community Asset 27 June 2013
- The Screaming Hen Bill and the Curse of “Enriched” Cages 19 May 2013
The Screaming Hen Bill
- The Rotten Egg Bill aka "The Screaming Hen Bill" Needs Our Help To Be Defeated! 8 May 2013
- Animal Place Documentary About the Largest Rescue of Egg-laying Hens in California History 25 February 2013
- California Egg Farmers Face Felony Cruelty Charges for Leaving 50,000 Hens to Starve to Death 15 February 2013
2012
- "Enriched" Cages – A Gaping Loophole in the "Welfare" Law for Egg-Laying Hens in the European Union UPC Winter 2012 Poultry Press
- Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012: Inquiry re: Cage Space Phase-in Schedule 10 July 2012
- Proposed Legislation for Egg-Laying Hens: An Update 7 June 2012
- Animal Organizations Intensify Opposition to Egg Bill (H.R. 3798) in Anticipation of Senate Version 19 April 2012
- Agreement Raises Flags for Egg-Laying Hens: A Chicken Activist’s Perspective on the “New Deal” UPC Spring-Summer 2012 Poultry Press
- "Enriched Colony" Cages for Egg-Laying Hens: TV Report from New Zealand 20 March 2012
- "Agreement Raises Flags For Egg-Laying Hens: A Chicken Activist's Perspective on the 'New Deal,' " ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2012. 5 March 2012
- Over 4,000 Hens Saved by Animal Place and Harvest Home 28 February 2012
- Help ANIMAL PLACE Save & Rehabilitate Thousands of Starving Hens in California! 26 February 2012
- Will Battery Cages for Egg-Laying Hens Be Banned by Proposed Federal Law? 30 January 2012
- Irish Hens: Update from Eden Farm Animal Sanctuary in Ireland Includes Photos of Hens Who Escaped Being Slaughtered by Irish Farmers - 16 January 2012
- Irish Battery Hens Cruelly Slaughtered; Some Lucky Hens Saved 10 January 2012
- Battery Hens with Waiting Homes Slaughtered by Irish Farmers 5 January 2012
2011
- Undercover Investigation: The Rotten Truth Behind McDonald's Egg McMuffins 21 November 2011 - www.mcdonaldscruelty.com
- Hens deserve better conditions - Letters, Los Angeles Times Sunday Edition, July 17, 2011 20 July 2011
- Agreement Raises Hopes & Fears for Egg-Laying Hens: Our Perspective 10 July 2011
- Is the US Egg Industry “Evolving”? Agreement Raises Hopes for Egg-Laying Hens 8 July 2011
- UPC Chickens Brochure Now Available in Spanish! 24 June 2011
2010
- Investigation Reveals Horrific Conditions for Countless Birds at Country's Largest Egg Producer 30 November 2010 - freefromharm.org
- Hillandale Farms and Wright County, Iowa Egg Farms Investigation 2010 30 November 2010
- Ban Battery Cages in Israel! Add Your Voice to the Demand! 11 November 2010
- “Enriched” Cages for Egg-Laying Hens in the US and EU 10 July 2010
- New Hatchery Video Shows the Miseries Forced on Newly-Hatched Birds 2 June 2010
2009
- Hatchery Horrors: The Egg Industry’s Tiniest Victims 2 September 2009
- Life and Death on Little Rhody Egg Farms Updated 1 September 2009
- A Moral Question on the Dinner Table: NY Times Letters 16 April 2009
- California Voters Pass Proposition 2 with 63 % of the Vote UPC Winter 2008-2009 Poultry Press

Photo by Laurie Melichar
This is Luce, who was rescued by UPC member Laurie Melichar. Every year in the United States, a quarter of a billion of these beautiful male chickens are buried alive or ground up alive by the egg industry as soon as they are born. These birds represent 250 million more reasons each year to go - and stay - vegan.
2008
- L.A. Times: Mercy For Animals Releases Footage of Norco Egg Ranch in California, October 14, 2008. 16 October 2008
- United Poultry Concerns Pokes Claim that Animals Can’t Have Rights 11 November 2008
- UPC President Karen Davis Has a Letter in Today’s New York Times about the Plight of Egg-Laying Hens and Voter Support for California’s Proposition 2. 13 October 2008
- CONNECTICUT YANKEES SAY, "Get the hens out of the cages!" 8 July 2008
- Latest Information About Forced Molting of Hens in the U.S. 7 July 2008
- Morningstar Farms Responds to Pleas for Egg-Free Foods 8 January 2008
2007
- Debeaking Birds Has Got to Stop UPC Winter 2007 Poultry Press
- Animal Advocates Rescue Hens Left to Die after Closure of Egg Factory 2 May 2007
- Morningstar Farms Letter 4 April 2007
- Chickens Sadistically Abused at Kansas State University Basketball Game 26 February 2007
- Urge MORNINGSTAR FARMS to Stop Using Eggs 22 February 2007
2006
- UPC's Letter Condemning Hens' Death in Battery-Cage Buildings 14 August 2006
- Battery Cages for Laying Hens – Going, Going . . . Gone? UPC Spring 2006 Poultry Press
- ANIMAL-RIGHTS ACTIVIST WHO FILMED EGG FARM ACQUITTED OF BURGLARY 4 May 2006
- United Poultry Concerns Supports Delaware Bill to Give Egg-Laying Hens More Space 12 April 2006
- Forced Labor on the Factory Farm 17 February 2006
- The Gestapo of the Human Spirit 17 February 2006
- UPC’s Letter to The University of Minnesota’s Dining Services, Jan 16, 2006 19 January 2006
- UPC's Letter to Wegmans Food Markets Jan. 17, 2006 19 January 2006
2005
- Battery-Caged Chicken Houses Under Rapid Fire 9 December 2005
- Ruth Harrison Speaks Up for "Laying" Hens – "these much abused birds" 21 October 2005
- Investigation Shows the Hidden Horror of Egg Barns in Canada 13 October 2005
- Federal Trade Commission Announces End to Misleading Egg Logo 3 October 2005
- Karen Davis op-ed against battery cages 19 Augusut 2005
- Contra Costa Times: "Groups save chickens, offer them for adoption" 19 August 2005
- Activists Sexually and Physically Assaulted During Battery Farm Raid 28 July 2005
- Hens Will No Longer Be Starved But They Will Still Suffer (news release) 28 July 2005
- Hens Will No Longer Be Starved But They Will Still Suffer (full story) 9 June 2005
- Humaneness of Killing Birds with Carbon Dioxide is Disputed by Science 30 March 2005
- New Investigation Exposes Appalling Cruelty at Ohio’s Largest "Animal Care Certified" Egg Farm" 3 March 2005
2004
- Christian Science Monitor Looks at the Search for “Guilt-Free” Food 27 October 2004
- 90 hens rescued from illegal cages in battery unit 25 October 2004
- AV MAGAZINE SUMMER ISSUE ALL ABOUT ANIMAL AGRICULTURE 27 September 2004
- BBB refers ACC case to FTC -- major COK victory 26 August 2004
- Please take a quick second to thank WJLA! 17 July 2004
- Historic verdict: NOT GUILTY for animal liberation 14 July 2004
- AVMA Responds Falsely to New York Times Ad 28 June 2004
- Today's New York Times Runs Full Page Ad Targeting AVMA Perfidy 21 June 2004
- Austrian Parliament Votes Unanimously To Ban Battery Cages! 28 May 2004
- A brief history of Austria's current campaign to ban battery cages, written by Martin Balluch (PhD) Physics 18 May 2004
- AP: Better Business Bureau Nixes Egg Ads 17 May 2004
- Austrian battery farm campaign: first signs of a breakthrough 17 May 2004
- "How Switzerland Got Rid of Battery Hen Cages" Now Available Online 17 February 2004
- How Switzerland got rid of battery cages 17 February 2004
- Battery Hen Farm Horror in New Zealand; Activists liberate 44 hens from Shocking Conditions 16 February 2004
- United Poultry Concerns Petitioners Urge Egg Industry to Stop Starving Chickens 21 January 2004
2003
- DOES THE USE OF WOODCHIPPING MACHINERY TO DESTROY UNWANTED LIVE CHICKENS VIOLATE CALIFORNIA LAW PROHIBITING CRUELTY TO ANIMALS? 18 December 2003
- Los Angeles Times op-ed on hen wood chipping incident and AVMA farmed animal welfare policy 3 December 2003
- BBB Rules in Favor of COK re ACC Logo 24 November 2003
- The Los Angeles Times Has a Great Article on the Wood-Chipper Episode 23 November 2003
- Emperor of the World UPC Winter 2003 Poultry Press
- UPC Cited in Cleveland Plain Dealer Mega Egg Farm Series 6 June 2003
- Swedish Animal Rights Group Open Rescue 9 May 2003
- Animal Rights Activists Liberate Battery Hens 24 April 2003
- DA asks for more information in chicken chipping case 22 April 2003
- San Diego DA Won't Prosecute Company That Threw 30,000 Hens Into Wood-Chipping Machines 11 April 2003
- MFA Exposes Egg Industry Cruelty...Again 6 March 2003 - www.mercyforanimals.org
- Saving Hope, One of the Egg Industry's Tiniest Victims 6 March 2003 - www.mercyforanimals.org
- Wood chippers used to reduce flocks at two poultry ranches 23 February 2003
- Urge Baking Companies to Include Vegan Alternatives to Eggs in Their Package Instructions and Recipes 10 February 2003
2002
- UPC Letter Dayton Daily News Re: Battery-Caged Hens 11 December 2002
- New York Times exclusive: Advocates for Animals Turn Attention to Chickens 4 December 2002 - www.nytimes.com
- Battery Hens: Egg industry stalked by pressure to give its birds more room16 October 2002
- Activists To Target Battery Hen Giants 16 October 2002 - www.scoop.co.nz
- Litchfield County Times: A Cage is No Place for a Hen 3 May 2002
- Letter to Living on Earth Re: Show on Germany's Battery Cage Ban 23 April 2002
2001 & earlier
- Feedstuffs Article - Consumer views on animal production pushing toward more ethical husbandry 1 January 2001
- Poll-US Public Supports Humane Treatment For Hens 19 September 2000
- The Battery Hen: Her Life Is Not For The Birds
- Welfare Problems of Laying Hens UPC Fall 2001 Poultry Press
- Crippled Chickens Choose Pain Relief 26 March 2000 - BBC News
- Photo Gallery: Battery Caged Hens 2000 - Esbenshade Farms, Mount Joy, PA
- Action Animal Rescue Team - Rescue a Hen Today!
- Rescuing Layers UPC Spring/Summer 1995 Poultry Press
- A Visit to a Factory Farm - "The Sound We Heard Was Singing" UPC Winter 1993 Poultry Press
- Red Contact Lenses for Chickens: A Benighted Concept February 1992