Chicken OUT!
Put the chicken before the egg.
The aim of Chicken OUT! is to educate the public about the plight of battery cage egg-laying chickens (hens) used to produce eggs.
The vast majority (over 90%) of Canada's egg-laying hens are confined in what are called "battery cages". These small wire cages house 5-7 birds each, and are stacked row upon row upon row in large, windowless barns, housing hundreds of thousands of birds.
Battery cages are used because they allow eggs to be produced under factory-like conditions, thus lowering the market price of the eggs.
The life of an egg-laying or "battery" hen is a painful existence. In battery cages, there is no space for hens to flap or stretch their wings or engage in any of their fundamentally important, natural behaviors. Hens are often unable to stand up fully and raise their heads without hitting the bars of the cage. These animals pay the price for cheap eggs.
The battery hens' suffering is unnecessary. There are several alternative practices in use in Canada and abroad. Fortunately, many schools, communities, organizations and individuals are taking action to help improve conditions for egg-laying hens.
Visit our Chicken OUT! website to learn more about battery egg cages and for more information on what you can do to help get the chicken OUT!
Thank you to our 2010 funding partners:
