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 Chickens are inquisitive, interesting and intelligent animals. They are even more intelligent than cats, dogs and even some primates. They are very social animals and like spending their days together, cleaning themselves, scratching for food, roosting in treese and lying in the sun.

Dr. Chris Evans, administrator of the animal behaviour lab at Australia's Macquaria University once sad, 'As a trick at conference, I sometimes list  their [chickens'] attributes, without mentioning chickens, and people assume I am talking about monkeys.'

If people knew more about these amazing and intelligent animals, maybe their suffering would cease. But it still hasn't - chickens are probably the most abused animals on the planet.

Chickens are amazing birds. Mother hens actually cluck to their unborn chicks, who chirp back to their mother and to one another from within their shells! The adaptibility of chickens makes them paticulary vunerable to factory farming because, unlike most birds, baby chickens can survive without their mother and without the comfort of a nest. They come out of their shell raring to explore and experience life. But the billions of chickens raised on factory farms every year in the US and UK never get the chance to do anything natural to them. They will never meet or be raised by their own parents, they will never take dust baths, feel the sun on their backs and the wind in their face, roost in trees or build nests. 

 1. Several recent studies have shown that chickens are bright animals, able to solve complex problems, demonstrate self-control, and worry about the future. Dr. John Webster of Bristol University found that chickens are capable of understanding cause and effect and that when chickens learn something new, they pass on that knowledge (i.e., they have what scientists call “culture”). How does your IQ compare to that of a chicken?

2. Quite simply, chickens are the most abused animals on the planet. Chickens raised for their flesh are packed by the thousands into massive sheds. They are fed huge amounts of antibiotics and drugs to keep them alive in conditions that would otherwise kill them, and make them grow so large that they often become cripple as their legs cannot support their huge bodies. This reckless use of antibiotics also makes drugs less effective for treating humans by speeding up the development of drug-resistant bacteria. Learn more about the overuse of antibiotics in chickens.

3. Only seven weeks after they are born, chickens are crowded onto trucks that transport them to the slaughterhouse. Tens of millions of chickens have their wings and legs broken in the process every year. They are trucked through all weather extremes, sometimes over hundreds of miles, without any food or water. At slaughter, chickens are hung upside-down and have their throats slit, and they are often scalded to death in defeathering tanks as some chickens miss the slitting. Watch undercover footage of chickens who are mutilated and scalded to death at a Tyson slaughterhouse.

4. The billions of chickens killed each year are not protected by a single federal law—the “Humane Slaughter Act” exempts birds, even though there are more than 55 times as many chickens slaughtered each year as pigs and cows combined! Chickens raised for their flesh have their sensitive beaks cut off with a hot blade without any painkillers. If factory-farm owners treated cats and dogs like they treat chickens, they would go to jail for cruelty to animals. Learn more about the routine abuse of chickens in factory farms.

5. A USDA study found that more than 99 percent of broiler chicken carcasses sold in stores had detectable levels of E. coli, indicating fecal contamination. In other words, if you’re eating chicken flesh, you’re almost certainly eating poop. Consumer Reports states there are “1.1 million or more Americans sickened each year by undercooked, tainted chicken.” Chicken flesh is also loaded with dangerous levels of arsenic, which can cause cancer, dementia, neurological problems, and other ailments in humans. Learn more about how eating chicken and meat puts your health at risk.
                          
6. Both the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization say that if the avian flu virus spreads to the United States, it could be caught simply by eating undercooked chicken flesh or even eating food prepared on the same cutting board as infected meat. Chicken flesh is packed with cholesterol—a 3-ounce piece of skinless chicken breast meat has as much cholesterol as beef! This cholesterol, along with a high intake of animal fats, blocks arteries and causes heart disease. Vegan or vegetarian foods, on the other hand, are all cholesterol-free and much lower in fat!

7. Slaughterhouse workers are more than three times more likely to suffer injuries while working than workers in other manufacturing jobs. The industry refuses to make working conditions safer by slowing line speeds or buying appropriate safety gear, which amounts to what Human Rights Watch calls “systematic human rights violations embedded in meat and poultry industry employment.” Contract factory farmers are forced to foot the bill for building and maintaining massive factory farms, which puts them deeply into debt and can drive them to financial ruin if their company cancels future contracts with them. Learn why Human Rights Watch calls meat-packing “the most dangerous factory job in America.”
                          
8. In a natural setting, a hen will cluck to her chicks before they even hatch while she sits on the eggs in her nest. They peep back to her and to each other through their shells. In factory farms, eggs are taken from the mother as soon as they are laid and put in large incubators—a chick will never meet his or her parents. Hens prefer to have private nests hidden from predators and will often go without food or water in order to obtain a private nest. This demonstrates the fact that hens will sacrifice their own comfort if it means protecting their chicks. Learn more about the personalities of these interesting animals.

9. Raising 9 billion chickens in factory farms each year produces enormous amounts of excrement. Factory farming leads to widespread fecal ground and water pollution. Because chickens are fed massive amounts of drugs, hormones, and pesticides, these chemicals are also found in high concentrations in their feces, which means that fecal pollution from chicken farms is especially disastrous for the environment. In West Virginia and Maryland, for example, scientists have recently discovered that male fish are growing ovaries, and they suspect that this freakish deformity is the result of factory-farm runoff from drug-laden chicken feces. Learn more about factory farming’s toll on the Earth.

10. Do you like the taste of chicken flesh but don’t like the suffering? No problem—try some of the fantastic alternatives now available, such as Boca Chik’n Nuggets, Gardenburger’s Meatless Buffalo Chicken Wings, and Yves Veggie Chicken Burgers. These super-tasty foods are high in protein, cruelty- and cholesterol- free, and available at your local supermarket. Instead of eggs, try tofu scramble, whip up some vegan French toast, or check out our egg-free baking tips.