Animals on Factory Farms / 53dogs or cats. They point out how even birds who have never seen
the light of day will display natural behaviors soon after rescue.
They will stretch their wings, take dust baths, and walk for the very
fi rst time. Despite their enjoying these simple pleasures, the reality
is that chickens bred for eggs or meat will suffer health problems.
For example, rescuing a “broiler chicken” to live out a “normal” life
raises the question about what, because of the bird’s genetically
altered body, a “normal” life would be. “Broilers” are bred to reach
slaughter weight at six or seven weeks of age, although they often
live fi ve or six years after rescue. Those who go into sanctuary typ-
ically have health problems related to selective breeding for unnat-
urally fast growth. The birds often suffer foot and leg deformities
and joint problems because their bones cannot support the weight
of their overly muscled breasts and thighs. The lack of space in
grower houses means that broilers sit in urine-saturated litter. Pro-
ducers do not change or clean the litter during the chickens’ six-
week growing cycle. Consequently, the litter becomes increasingly
wet and caked with urine and feces, resulting in burns and blisters
on the breasts and the hocks, or the upper parts of the legs. These
often require extensive treatment after rescue. Regardless of these
obstacles, rescuers see the chickens as conscious individuals whose
interests have been disregarded by the industrial farming system.
In contrast, poultry companies see the birds as commodities.
Their response to a disaster is to do what is most economical, which
often means bulldozing the facility, burying the birds, and starting
over again. The corporate stories report losses of “product.” The pri-
mary issue becomes one of carcass disposal. Rescue efforts mean
bad publicity because, in learning about the disaster, the public also
learns about the everyday conditions of factory farming. Poultry
companies cite safety issues to keep rescuers and the public away
from a site. As Coston explained about Buckeye’s decision to end
the rescue, “They cleared us out once they started getting press.
That made them nervous. They were like, ‘Stop. You have to stop.
Back up and leave and we will deal with this ourselves.’ So to them
it was bad press. To us it was exposure.” The growers and farm
workers are often put in the middle during a rescue. The compa-