Compassion Over Killing > The Abolitionist #16: 45 Days: The Life and Death of a Broiler Chicken

In just a single year in the United States, ten billion land animals are slaughtered for us to have meat, milk, and eggs. Four out of every five of those animals killed are chickens raised for meat, called “broilers” by the industry. A total of eight billion birds every year, approximately one million every hour.

The number of broiler chickens killed for food is almost beyond comprehension. These birds are exploited in greater numbers than any other animal on the planet. Yet, they have virtually no legal protection whatsoever from abuses that would horrify nearly anyone, were they not kept hidden behind the walls of factory farms and slaughter plants.

Over two months, COK investigators gathered video and photographic evidence of systematic abuse on factory farms and in slaughter plants across the United States, including two of the largest poultry producers, Tyson and Perdue. Our footage documents the week-by-week living and dying conditions for these animals who reach slaughter weight after only 45 days.

The photos and video clips clearly depict the egregious abuses inflicted on “meat” chickens—abuses so terrible that they would be grounds for animal cruelty charges if forced on dogs and cats.

To supplement our evidence, COK also reviewed scientific literature on welfare problems within the broiler industry and produced an extensive, fully cited report detailing each of the major causes of suffering for these chickens. Please visit ChickenIndustry.com for our comprehensive report with citations.

“In the 1950s, it took 84 days to raise a five-pound chicken. Due to selective breeding and growth-promoting drugs, it now takes only 45 days. Such fast growth causes chickens to suffer from a number of chronic health problems, including leg disorders and heart disease.”

“According to one study, 90 percent of broilers had detectable leg problems, while 26 percent suffered chronic pain as a result of bone disease. Two researchers in The Veterinary Record report, ‘We consider that birds might have been bred to grow so fast that they are on the verge of structural collapse.’”

The suffering of broiler chickens is immense, but we can make a real difference for these sensitive—yet so abused—animals.

Cause for Concern

Below is a short list of some of the most significant causes of animal suffering on broiler chicken factory farms.

• Selective breeding for rapid growth leads to high rates of leg disorders, lameness, and heart and lung failure.

“[B]roilers now grow so rapidly that the heart and lungs are not developed well enough to support the remainder of the body, resulting in congestive heart failure and tremendous death losses.”
—Martin D, “Researcher Studying Growth-Induced Diseases in Broilers,” Feedstuffs, May 26, 1997.

“Is it more profitable to grow the biggest bird and have increased mortality....[S]imple calculations suggest that it is better to get the weight and ignore the mortality.”
—Tabler GT, Mendenhall AM, “Broiler Nutrition, Feed Intake and Grower Economics,” Avian Advice 5(4) (Winter 2003): 8–10.

• Intensive confinement packs the birds into overcrowded warehouses where they have little room to move freely and never go outside.

High-stocking densities allot each bird an average of 130 square inches of space, although a chicken requires 138 square inches just to stretch a wing, 197 to turn around, and 291 to flap her wings.
—Ernst RA, Univ. of Calif. Cooperative Extension, Poultry Fact Sheet No. 20, June 1995; Dawkins MS, Hardie S, “Space Needs of Laying Hens,” British Poultry Science 30 (1989): 413–6.

• Poor air quality results from housing tens of thousands of birds in their own excrement and leads to respiratory problems and breast blisters.

High ammonia levels cause painful skin and respiratory problems in the broilers, as well as pulmonary congestion, swelling, hemorrhage, and even blindness.
—Berg C, “Foot-Pad Dermatitis in Broilers and Turkeys,” Veterinaria 36 (1998).

• Violent catching and transport cause many birds to suffer bruises, broken bones, and sometimes mortality.

“Chickens find transport a fearful, stressful, injurious and even fatal procedure.”
—Webster A, “Thermal Stress on Chickens in Transit,” British Poultry Science 34 (1993): 267–77.

• A painful slaughter procedure in which the birds are hung upside down, electrocuted into paralysis, and have their throats slit open.

“[The] problems associated with inefficient neck cutting [are] only too common in poultry processing plants.”
—Gregory NG, “Humane Slaughter,” Outlook on Agriculture 20 (1991): 95–101.

Week One

Chicks raised for meat are hatched in incubators. Just days old, they are boxed up and dumped on to factory farms where they will spend an average of 45 days before reaching slaughter weight.

Week Two

Many chicks suffer from such serious leg disorders due to selective breeding for rapid growth that they cannot move throughout the sheds. COK investigators provided water to many crippled chicks.

Living in their own waste, the birds cannot escape the high levels of ammonia and bacteria. Their bodies are often scalded by ammonia, and many suffer from respiratory infections.

Week Three

Industry research reports that 26 percent of broiler chickens suffered chronic pain as a result of bone disorders. This crippled chick, unable to reach the water, sits underneath the dispenser.

Week Four

As the weeks pass and the birds grow, open space decreases. With tens of thousands of chickens in a single shed, movement is often restricted and the birds must compete for food and water.

Week Five

COK investigators found this bird immobilized in the feeder. After drinking for several minutes, she was freed, but unable to walk. Other trapped birds were also seen, dead from dehydration.

Week Six

Factory-farmed birds receive no individualized veterinary care and often die from illness and disease. COK investigators found this dead chicken, her body decomposing amidst the litter.

Week Seven

The birds—not even two months old—enter their last week of life. In the 1950s, it took 84 days to raise a five-pound chicken. Today, it now takes an average of only 45 days.

Severely overweight, birds languish throughout the sheds. University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture reports, “If you grew as fast as a chicken, you’d weigh 349 pounds at age 2.”

Slaughter-Bound

Chickens are gathered three or four at a time, carried upside down by their feet. Their legs and wings often break in the process. They are denied food or water once on the multi-tiered transport trucks.

Slaughter

At the slaughter plant, the birds are hung upside down in shackles and their throats are slit. A COK investigator documented birds missing the killing blade, to drown in the scalding tanks.

On Our Plates

Four out of five of the land animals raised and killed for human consumption in the United States are broiler chickens. One million die every hour. Each one of us can make a difference. Start today.

You Can Help!

1. The best way to help end the abuse of broiler chickens is to not eat them. We have no nutritional need for meat, and our taste for their flesh necessarily causes the suffering and misery of billions of animals. For information on the health benefits of vegetarian eating, visit TryVeg.com or call toll-free 866-Meat-Free for a free copy of our Vegetarian Starter Guide with all the whys and hows of animal-friendly eating.

2. Reduce or eliminate your consumption of all animal products, especially eggs. Factory-farm cruelty is not unique to broiler chickens. In fact, egg-laying hens suffer even greater abuses than chickens raised for meat. Visit EggScam.com to learn more.

3. Order a copy of COK’s “45 Days: The Life and Death of a Broiler Chicken.” Produced with undercover footage from our investigators, this 12-minute documentary film exposes the U.S. broiler industry—from hatching and factory-farm life, to slaughter and packaging. Click here for details. Available in DVD and VHS formats.

4. Write your legislators. Every session, U.S. legislators vote on issues that gravely impact farmed animals, most notably subsidies to factory farms and their feed suppliers, as well as which products the federal government will buy for the national School Lunch Program. Ask your representatives not only to end factory-farm subsidies, but also to include more vegetarian options in the School Lunch Program. See action.fund.org/directory/ to find your representatives.