IN PRAISE OF CAGES FOR LAYING HENS, BY: DENNIS T. AVERY

April 15, 2009
CHURCHVILLE, VA—My wife and I used to have free-range chickens. We didn’t get an abundance of eggs because the hens hid them in the barn hay—and then brought us batches of live chicks instead of breakfast makings. And, they stopped laying during the winter so we had to buy commercial eggs at the local grocery.
 
Then the local foxes and hawks discovered our chickens, and we learned first-hand why people invented chicken houses: the roosters and non-nesting hens usually survived by roosting in the barn rafters, but the nesting hens and those with chicks got taken, with the chicks as appetizers. That’s why Britain invented fox-hunting in the old days—to protect the village hens. People also kept the birds inside their homes at night, which meant more disease risk, poor husbandry, and poor hygiene.
 
Reluctantly, the Averys decided to put the new chickens into a coop with a fenced yard—and netting overhead to keep off the hawks.
 
Now our problem is that the chickens peck some of each others’ feathers off. We haven’t had any chickens pecked to death yet, but that’s the typical problem with birds that are confined, but not caged. The “pecking order” is real and natural. The only real solution is to de-beak the birds and my wife won’t allow it. We have thrown the roosters out of the “safe house” and the damaged hens are in a separate area re-feathering. But we have fewer than two dozen chickens to fuss over.
 
That’s why the egg producers of the modern world have invented wire cages for their hens. The birds are kept safe and comfortable, and they’re socially surrounded by other birds that can’t peck them to death. Higher feed efficiency with the cages is kinder to the planet, because millions of acres don’t have to be converted from wildlife habitat to grow extra feed and for chicken pastures.
 
Across the affluent world, bans on caged laying hens are being pushed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Humane Society of the U.S. HSUS is not your local Humane Society that accepts pets for adoption but a radical anti-pet group—that  wants to eliminate all domestic livestock and poultry, along with all pets and circus animals.
 
Activist pressure hit the European Union years ago, and the EU announced it would ban cages for laying hens pending a report from an advisory commission. In due course, the advisory commission reported that non-caged layers pecked each other to death more often, while spreading salmonella and other dangerous bacteria. Surprise!
 
Sweden refused to accept the EU commission’s good-sense report, and moved ahead with banning cages for laying hens. Now, Sweden is reporting “significant” increases in cannibalism, bird disease and bird deaths. How does this help the birds?  Meanwhile, the Swedes are importing eggs from neighboring countries that allow cages, in order to supply enough eggs for the kiddies.
 
California may go Sweden one better. California has already passed a layer-cage ban in a referendum vote that takes effect in 2015. Now Assembly Bill 1437 would ban any imported eggs from other states or other countries—except the powdered and liquid eggs used for institutional cooking. California not only won’t have electricity, they won’t be eating omelets! 
 
That’s why I have recited our recent real-world experience, which sums up the history of chicken-raising over recent centuries. Now, like the U.S. Congress, which over the past 15 years demanded that banks make more housing loans to people who wouldn’t make their payments, California and perhaps some other states are planning to make egg-production nearly impossible.
 
Do the activists pushing the cage bans really have the best interests of the birds and our children at heart?
 
 
DENNIS T. AVERY is an environmental economist, and a senior fellow for the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC.  He was formerly a senior analyst for the Department of State. He is co-author, with S. Fred Singer, of Unstoppable Global Warming Every 1500 Hundred Years, Readers may write him at PO Box 202, Churchville, VA 24421 or email to cgfi@hughes.net

Predators on the Farm; Part 1 - Poultry

When we think of predator/prey relationships, it may be of wild animals, not domestic ones. But on farms, lines can be crossed and domestic livestock and poultry can be preferred targets for some predators. On islands especially, ecological imbalances can be acutely felt when predator numbers explode.
Poultry, such as chickens, turkeys and ducks are common targets. Allowing poultry to free-range may seem to be humane, but they can be easy pickings for eagles, hawks, ravens, mink, racoons, owls and even dogs. Young chicks can be eaten by cats, and sometimes rats. At one time all chickens were kept this way and their outdoor diets of grass, worms, grubs and mice (yes, chickens are predators too) were supplemented with grains and household scraps. Many people would keep just a few chickens close by, and the chickens would see that it was safer to hang out where the people lived. After nutritional requirements for chickens were scientifically established, and a complete commercial diet available, chickens were able to be kept indoors for their own protection. From this, the next step was a caged system that allowed for easy collection of clean eggs. Chickens are nibblers by nature, so feed is kept in front of them at all times, and water. A long day light triggers laying, like the onset of spring, so light systems are used to keep the hens laying. Breeding programs were developed for chickens so they would lay eggs year round. Chickens lost their freedom, but were protected from predators.
Nowadays, many people feel that chickens should be allowed to have access to the outdoors so they can enjoy their natural behaviours that they can't enjoy in a cage, like dust bathing and scratching the ground for insects and seeds. However, unless the farmer is willing to take a big loss due to predators, they must have fencing and housing that prevent predator entry, even from the sky. Quite a task, especially in the Gulf Islands where all the predators listed above now reside. We may not have “foxes in the hen house” here, but we seem to have everything else.

Raccoon, from Wikimedia

According to Todd Golumbia, an ecologist with the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, there are plans to look at the role of medium-sized, or mesopredators, like raccoons on several small islands. In the Gulf Islands, the story can be quite complicated since raccoons are on some islands and not on others. In some instances this can be related to island size and suitability of habitat but there is evidence of human-initiated introductions of raccoons to islands. Raccoons that are captured in town are often relocated, sometimes to the Gulf Islands. Species like raccoons are not viewed strictly as an introduced species, since they are native to this region. All the large predators historically present on the islands are now gone so a species like raccoons are more numerous than in the past. In this instance, they often "explode" in numbers and become hyper-abundant leading to negative effects in the environment as smaller, more vulnerable prey species decline or even become extinct, especially on islands. They can be voracious predators and are particularly hard on nesting birds.
Historical records, and long time residents of the Gulf Islands, have said that raccoons were never on North Pender Island, so we had a large population of grouse, quail and other ground nesting birds. Former BC Premier Simon Fraser Tolmie had worked as a Dominion Livestock Inspector early in his career. After one of his visits to the Menzies dairy farm on Pender Island in the early 1900's, he wrote that he loved to come to the island to see and hear the many grouse that lived here. Since the raccoons came to North Pender just a few years ago, I have not heard a grouse in our woods, nor seen a family of quail cross my path.
We had every imaginable predator attack our chickens this year, so that there are only five wiser and cautious pullets that are counted every morning. They haven't even begun laying yet!! All our egg layers were killed, so there were no eggs on the stand this summer. I had to chase a mink out of the chicken house just the other day, so now the grateful chickens come running and follow me around the yard. This summer I also chased an eagle off of a very stunned pullet – but the eagle kept coming back until he finally received his reward. Not all our predator attacks are face to face confrontations – usually we just see the aftermath – a pile of feathers, a leg, or nothing at all. Just fewer chickens, with the remainder hiding in the bushes. Our black Spanish turkeys free range with fewer problems, at least for the adults, because they resemble Turkey vultures. The young are easy targets for ravens. Racoons are nocturnal, so I just see families on the road at night. Then this summer, we caught a raccoon who quickly put his hands over his eyes. He was so darn cute; I can see why people like to feed them, but it should be remembered that raccoons are wild animals and should not be fed. They can also be vicious, and often carry disease. He put up a fight as he went into a cage while his fate was deliberated. It's definitely time to regroup and fabricate a humane yet better predator-proof system for the chickens.