flocks.TodayintheUnitedStates, 102 millionbroilers—as
table chickens arecalled—are slaughtered each week after
being reared in highly automated factorylike plants that
belongtothelargecorporationsthatcontrolproduction.Eight
ofthesecorporationsaccountforover 50 percentofthe5.3
billion birds killed annually in the U.S.^3
Theessential stepin turningchickensfrom farmyard birds
into manufactured items was confining them indoors. A
producerofbroilersgetsaloadof10,000,50,000,ormore
day-oldchicksfromthehatcheries,andputsthemintoalong,
windowless shed—
usuallyon thefloor, although some producers usetiers of
cagesin order to getmore birds intothe samesize shed.
Inside the shed, everyaspect of thebirds’ environment is
controlledtomakethemgrowfasteronlessfeed.Foodand
waterarefedautomaticallyfromhopperssuspendedfromthe
roof. The lighting is adjusted according to advice from
agricultural researchers: for instance, there may be bright
lighttwenty-fourhoursa dayfor thefirst week ortwo,to
encouragethechickstogainweightquickly;thenthelights
maybedimmedslightlyandmadetogooffandoneverytwo
hours,inthebeliefthatthechickensarereadiertoeataftera
periodofsleep;finallytherecomesapoint,aroundsixweeks
of age,whenthe birdshavegrown somuchthat theyare
becomingcrowded,andthelightswillthenbemadeverydim
atalltimes.Thepointofthisdimlighting istoreducethe
aggression caused by crowding.
Broilerchickens arekilled whentheyareseven weeksold
(thenaturallifespanofachickenisaboutsevenyears).Atthe
endofthisbriefperiod,thebirdsweighbetweenfourandfive
pounds;yettheystillmayhaveaslittleashalfasquarefoot