and found “complete pandemonium.” Here is the same
reporter’s account of the laying house:
Thebirdsinthelayinghousearehysterical.Theuproarofthe
pullethousewasnopreparationforthis.Birdssquawk,cackle
andcluckastheyscrambleoveroneanotherforapeckatthe
automaticallycontrolledgraintroughoradrinkofwater.This
is how the hens spend their short life of ceaseless
production.^47
Theimpossibilityofbuildinganestandlayinganegginitis
another source ofdistress for thehen. Konrad Lorenz has
describedthelayingprocessastheworsttorturetowhicha
battery hen is exposed:
Forthepersonwhoknowssomethingaboutanimalsitistruly
heart-rendingtowatchhowachickentriesagainandagainto
crawlbeneath herfellow-cagemates,tosearchthereinvain
forcover.Underthesecircumstanceshenswillundoubtedly
holdbacktheireggsforaslongaspossible.Theirinstinctive
reluctance to lay eggs amidst the crowd of their
cagematesiscertainlyasgreatastheoneofcivilisedpeople
to defecate in an analogous situation.^48
Lorenz’sviewhasbeensupportedbyastudyinwhichhens
wereabletogainaccesstoanestingboxonlybyovercoming
increasinglydifficultobstacles.Theirhighmotivationtolay
inanestwasshownbythefactthattheyworkedjustashard
toreachthenestingboxastheydidtoreachfoodafterthey
hadbeendeprivedoffoodfortwentyhours.^49 Perhapsone
reason why hens have evolved an instinct to lay eggs in
privacyisthattheventareabecomesredandmoistwhenthe
eggislaid,andifthisisvisibletootherbirds,theymaypeck