paperrepresentsthelivingspacefortwohens,andthebirds
are virtually sitting on top of each other.
Undertheconditionsstandardonmodernegg farmsin the
United States, Britain, and almost every other developed
nation except, shortly, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and
Sweden, everynatural instinct thebirds haveis frustrated.
Theycannotwalk around,scratch theground,bathein the
dust,buildnests,orstretchtheirwings.Theyarenotpartofa
flock.Theycannotkeepoutofeachother’sway,andweaker
birds have no escape from the attacks of stronger ones,
already maddened by the unnatural conditions. The
extraordinary degree of crowding results in a
condition that scientistscall “stress,” resembling the stress
that occurs in human beings subject to extremecrowding,
confinement,andfrustrationofbasicactivities.Wesawthat
in broilers this stress leads to aggressive pecking and
cannibalism. In layers, kept for longerperiods, the Texas
naturalist Roy Bedichek observed other signs:
Ihavelookedattentivelyatchickensraisedinthisfashionand
to metheyseemto be unhappy.... Thebattery chickens I
haveobservedseemtolosetheirmindsaboutthetimethey
wouldnormallybe weanedbytheirmothersandoff inthe
weeds chasing grasshoppers on their own account. Yes,
literally, actually, the battery becomes a gallinaceous
madhouse.^46
Noiseisanotherindicationofdistress.Hensscratchingina
fieldaregenerallyquiet, makingonly an occasionalcluck.
Cagedhenstendtobeverynoisy.Ihavealreadyquotedthe
reporterwhovisitedthepullethouseontheHainsworthfarm