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Industrial Egg Production

Problems during the process

Dirty environment.

High number of animals stocked together and insufficient ventilation can cause respiratory diseases.

Risk of epidemics and pandemics, such as bird flu.

Violent beak trimming and male chick disposal.

Impossibility of natural behavior, as it is not possible to scratch, fly, dust bathe or make a nest.

Behavioral disorders, like pecking at the cages, due to frustrating environments.

How are they raised

95%

Around 95% of laying hens are kept in battery cages.

The stages of chicken breeding: hatching, raising, laying eggs and processing eggs.

There are farms that carry out all stages at the same place, while in others it is spread over different locations.

IN 2019 THE CONSUMPTION OF EGGS IN BRAZIL REACHED THE MARK OF 230 EGGS PER PERSON

FONTE: ABPA

The duration of the stages

from the 1st to the 10th week of life.

Hatching

from the 1st to the 10th week of life.

from the 11th to the 17th week of life.

Raising

from the 11th to the 17th week of life.

from the 18th to the 100th week of life

Laying eggs

from the 18th to the 100th week of life

Egg processing

preparation for commercialization.

After the chicken stops laying eggs, she is usually sent to be slaughtered.

Learn more about each phase

Alternative systems of egg production

Free-Range

Must adhere to Technical Standard ABNT NBR 16437/2016

Neither the color nor the size of the egg determines whether it can be considered free-range, but instead the genetic lineage and characteristics of the production system.

Hens are never kept in cages. They must have access to an external area, which must provide at least 0.5 m2 per bird. They are set loose in the morning and re-collected in the late afternoon, except when the weather does not allow for it.

Inside the barn, where the feeding trays, drinking fountains, perches and nesting areas are located, there is a maximum of 7 birds per m2.

The use of antibiotics or anti-parasitic medicine as growth promoters is not allowed, only for the treatment of diseases and other complications.

Organic

Must adhere to Normative Instruction 17/2014, from the Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA)

Only non-genetically modified hens

Hens are never kept in cages. They must have access to a pasture or circulation area in the open air with a minimum space of 1 m2 per bird, with sufficient trees and vegetation to provide shade for all animals, avoiding them having to fight for space.

Inside the barn, where the feeding trays, drinking fountains, perches and nesting areas are located, there should be a maximum of 6 birds per m2.

 Beak trimming is not allowed.

 The feed of the hens must be organic

The use of antibiotics or anti-parasitic medicine as growth promoter is not allowed, only for the treatment of diseases and other complications (with more restrictions than in the case of free-range eggs).

The stages

Hatching

Setting up a restrictive infrastructure for the chickens: circles, heaters, drinking fountains and feeding trays.

Purchasing of chicks and placing them in the circle.

After a week of life, the chicks are removed from the circle and sent to the battery cages or kept freely in the barn.

Inside the battery cages (where they will be kept for most of their lives), the chicks do not have space to express their natural behavior, such as exploring the environment (foraging, searching for food), interacting (naturally) with other chicks, bathing in dust or dirt, nesting before laying eggs, running, jumping, etc. Deprived of all that, they develop behavioral disorders, such as pecking their cage mates (which the industry calls cannibalism). This can injure and even kill them.

To avoid this loss, producers started to trim the tip of the birds’ beaks. This does not resolve the mental disorder, but only prevents them from getting hurt and consuming too much feed. This mutilation is carried out from the 1st to the 12th week of life, with a blade that should have a temperature between 500º C and 570º C. It is very common for this process to be executed poorly, trimming the beak excessively, which can cause chronic pain and complicate eating (holding on to the feed). An alternative is trimming the beak with infrared, which in principle is less traumatic and generally performed until the 10th day of life.

Male chicks (accounting for about half of newborns) are disposed immediately, as they do not lay eggs. They are eliminated either by shredding, gassing with CO2, or simply by disposal without rapid treatment, to reduce the suffering.

Raising

Around the 11th week of life the raising phase begins.

The hens are distributed by size, creating more uniform groups that generate less disproportionate competition for resources (water, feed, space).

Another round of beak trimming can be carried out if necessary.

The lack of space is detrimental to their muscles, joints, bones and health in general.

Skin injuries resulting from the tight bars are frequent.

They are deprived of social contact, which can cause extreme boredom and distress.

Laying eggs

Inside the cage, each hen has on average a space smaller than an A4 sheet. Crowded and discouraging environment. Widespread suffering and frustration.

Few natural activities, due to lack of space and resources (perches, nesting material or area, sand)

 Condições anti-higiênicas.

Unhygienic conditions.

Fights between hens are common, usually over food.

Animals can be injured, suffer from stress and still not get sufficient food, resulting in hunger.

Lighting and ventilation are controlled by means of a curtain.

Skin injuries resulting from the tight bars are frequent.

They are deprived of affinity and social contact, which can cause extreme boredom and distress.

Slaughter

A drop in productivity (either by age or illness) results in the hens to discarded and sent for slaughter.

Commitments

Various food companies that use products of animal origin, such as eggs and pork, have made public commitments to adopt animal welfare measures in their production chain. See what these commitments are.

Laying hens
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Pigs
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