higher....Brokenlegsandbruisedheadsareboundtooccur
when you move birds.”^31
Whatever the method of rearing used, all the big egg
producers nowkeeptheirlaying hensin cages.(Theseare
oftenreferredtoas“batteries”or“batterycages,”notbecause
thereisanythingelectricalaboutthem,butfromtheoriginal
meaning of the word “battery” as “a set of similar or
connected units of equipment.”) When cages were first
introducedtherewasonlyonebirdtoacage,theideabeing
thatthefarmercouldthentellwhich birdswerenot laying
enougheggstogiveaneconomicreturnontheirfood.Those
birdswouldthenbekilled.Thenitwasfoundthatmorebirds
couldbehousedandcostsperbirdreducediftwobirdswere
putineachcage.Thatwasonlythefirststep.Nowthereisno
questionofkeepingatallyofeachbird’seggs.Cagesareused
becauseofthegreaternumberofbirdswhocanbe housed,
warmed,fed,andwateredinonebuilding,andthegreateruse
that can be made of labor-saving automatic equipment.
Theeconomicdemandthatlaborcostsbekepttoanabsolute
minimum means that laying hens get no more individual
attentionthanbroilers.AlanHainsworth,ownerofapoultry
farmin upstateNewYork,toldan inquiringlocal reporter
thatfourhoursa daywasallheneededforthecareofhis
36,000 laying
hens,whilehiswifelookedafterthe20,000pullets:“Ittakes
herabout 15 minutesaday.Allshechecksistheirautomatic
feeders, water cups and any deaths during the night.”
Thiskindofcaredoesnotensureahappyflock,though,as
the reporter’s description shows: