How Egg-Laying Hens Are Farmed and Killed
Behind every egg is a story of suffering, violence and death. 24–26 hours of suffering — that’s the real cost of an egg.
<20
EGGS / YEARIn natural conditions, hens lay fewer than 20 eggs a year.
300+
EGGS / YEARHens are bred to produce over 300 eggs a year, laying roughly one egg every 24–26 hours.
You already know cage eggs are cruel, but you’ll never hear the cage egg industry admit it. We can all agree that animals should be protected from cruelty, so it’s no surprise that the egg industry doesn’t advertise any of this… So what else might they be cagey about? These six facts may ruffle some feathers.
Cruelty to hens is legalised.
01 / 06
Hens in the egg industry don't live to see their 2nd birthday.
02 / 06
Factory farms have squeezed small family farms out of business.
03 / 06
Male chicks are routinely killed as 'waste products' of the egg industry.
04 / 06
Hens have little more space than an A4 sheet of paper.
05 / 06
You have the power to protect hens -and save lives!
06 / 06
Chickens are far more vocal and expressive than many people realise. They communicate through more than 30 distinct vocalisations, each serving a different purpose. From warning others about danger to calling their young or signalling the discovery of food, their calls carry specific messages. What sounds like ordinary clucking to us is, in fact, a complex language that helps chickens navigate their social lives.
The bond between a mother hen and her chicks begins before they hatch. Developing chicks can hear their mother’s calls while still inside their eggs and respond to sounds around them. If an embryo becomes too cold, it can produce a distress call that prompts the hen to adjust her position or move the egg to a warmer place.
Chickens also communicate with one another before they even emerge from their shells. Towards the end of development, chicks make clicking sounds that help synchronise hatching, allowing them to emerge at around the same time. Once they are together, communication remains essential. Chickens use different alarm calls depending on whether a threat comes from the air or the ground, helping others respond appropriately by seeking cover, crouching down or remaining alert.
Their communication is also shaped by social relationships. Roosters have distinctive crows that help other chickens recognise them and assess their status within the group. When a rooster finds food, he may perform a display known as tidbitting, combining particular calls with repeated movements of the food. Hens pay attention to these signals when assessing potential mates. Roosters can even adjust their calls depending on the circumstances, showing that chicken communication involves more than simple instinctive noise.
The more we learn about chickens, the harder it becomes to dismiss them as unintelligent farm animals. They recognise familiar voices, respond to one another’s needs, distinguish between different threats and navigate complex social relationships. Their calls, movements and interactions reveal individuals with their own ways of expressing themselves and responding to the world around them.
Chickens are not mere commodities, but individuals with complex cognitive, emotional, and social capacities.
not measured in eggs.
In natural conditions, chickens spend much of their day exploring, scratching the ground, searching for food and interacting with other members of their flock. Nesting, dustbathing, perching and stretching their wings are fundamental parts of their lives.
Different labels. Different environments. The same question: what does life look like for the hen?
Battery & Enriched Cages
CONFINED FOR PRODUCTION
In caged systems, hens spend their lives inside confined wire enclosures that restrict their movement and prevent many natural behaviours. They cannot freely roam, forage or dust-bathe, and their ability to stretch and flap their wings is limited. Enriched cages provide additional features, such as perches and nesting areas, but they still deny hens the freedom to move and behave naturally.
Barn Systems
FREEDOM WITHIN FOUR WALLS
Barn systems allow hens to move around inside a building rather than remain in individual cages. Yet freedom to move does not necessarily mean a comfortable life. Large flocks can experience overcrowding, competition for food and nesting sites, and aggressive pecking. Some hens struggle to access resources or find a quiet place to rest.
Free-Range Systems
OUTDOOR ACCESS IS NOT UNLIMITED FREEDOM
Free-range systems provide outdoor access under specified conditions, allowing hens opportunities to explore, forage and experience natural surroundings. However, access does not mean every hen regularly ventures outside. Flock size, shelter, the number and location of exits, and farm management all influence how much outdoor space hens actually use. Their lives are still organised around commercial egg production.
Organic Production
ORGANIC DOES NOT MEAN HARM-FREE
Organic standards set requirements for areas such as feed, housing and outdoor access, depending on the country and certification scheme. These conditions can differ from conventional systems, but the organic label does not remove the fundamental purpose of egg farming. Hens are still bred and kept for their eggs, and their economic value remains tied to their productivity.
It cannot tell the whole story of an individual hen's life.
How the Egg Industry Works
Egg-laying hens are among the most exploited animals in the world. They are born in hatcheries, never knowing their mothers, and spend much of their lives surrounded by thousands of other hens, often in crowded sheds. Bred to produce far more eggs than their bodies naturally would, they can lay 20 to 30 times as many eggs as they would in the wild.
Look a little closer
In the wild, hens lay just 15 to 20 eggs a year, mainly during spring and early summer, when food is plentiful and conditions are better for raising chicks. In the egg industry, however, hens have been selectively bred to produce 300 or more eggs a year. This unnatural level of production takes a serious toll on their bodies, often causing exhaustion, weak bones and fractures. Through selective breeding, genetic analysis and carefully controlled environments, producers maximise egg output. In the UK, welfare codes require six to eight hours of uninterrupted darkness each day, but artificial lighting can still be used to extend laying periods. Hens are also given high-protein feed to support continued egg production.
The constant demand for eggs places enormous strain on hens’ bodies. By around 18 months of age, many are considered ‘spent hens’ because their egg production has declined. Instead of being allowed to live out their natural lives, they are sent to slaughter, despite being so young.
Despite the suffering behind egg production, demand continues to grow. In the UK alone, people consumed more than 13.6 billion eggs in 2024. Meeting this demand requires millions of hens to be kept in production systems designed around the number of eggs they can produce, rather than their natural needs.
An estimated 43 million egg-laying hens are currently kept in the UK. Around 21 per cent are confined in cages, 72 per cent are kept in free-range systems, including four per cent in organic production, and the remaining seven per cent live in barn systems. Although these systems differ in how hens are housed, none changes the underlying reality: hens are bred and kept for their eggs, and their lives are shaped by commercial production from the moment they hatch.
In hatcheries supplying the egg industry, chicks are sorted according to sex. Female chicks are generally raised to become laying hens. Male chicks from conventional egg-laying breeds cannot lay eggs, and their bodies are not suited to the rapid, economical meat production expected by the broiler industry.
Sorting begins at birth
Chicks are sorted by sex shortly after hatching. Females enter the egg production system. Males from laying breeds have no place in it.
Female Chicks
Raised for egg production. Their lives follow the cycle described throughout this page.
Male Chicks
Traditionally killed shortly after hatching. They cannot lay eggs and are not suited for meat production.
Look a little closer
What Happens to Male Chicks in the Egg Industry?
In commercial egg production, a chick’s fate is often determined before it has even had the chance to experience life. Eggs are placed in large industrial incubators, where chicks develop in trays and hatch after around 21 days. Unlike in nature, where a mother hen helps her chicks through the hatching process, these chicks must break through their shells alone, using a small temporary structure on their beaks known as an egg tooth.
Shortly after hatching, the chicks are placed on conveyor belts and sorted according to their sex and condition. Healthy female chicks are selected to become future egg-laying hens, while male chicks are considered surplus to the industry’s needs. Weak or sickly female chicks are also commonly discarded. This sorting process can take place within hours of birth, leaving the animals with little chance to recover or develop naturally.
The reason male chicks are killed lies in the way commercial chickens have been bred for different purposes. Egg-laying hens are selectively bred to produce large numbers of eggs, while chickens raised for meat are bred to grow rapidly and develop substantial muscle. Males from egg-laying breeds neither produce eggs nor grow as quickly as meat chickens, making them less profitable for commercial meat production. As a result, their lives are often ended within their first day.
Male chicks are killed in several ways, including gas exposure and industrial maceration, a process in which chicks are killed using rapidly moving blades. These practices are found across different forms of commercial egg production, including caged, barn, free-range and organic systems. The living conditions of hens may differ between these systems, but the problem of male chicks being treated as unwanted by-products remains widespread. In the UK, an estimated 40 to 45 million day-old male chicks are killed each year, according to the figures cited by animal welfare sources.
Healthy female chicks, meanwhile, are commonly vaccinated before being transported to growing facilities, where they are raised until they are ready to enter the egg production system. Their journey is only beginning, but for male chicks, it usually ends almost as soon as it starts. Behind every system designed to produce eggs efficiently lies a reality that rarely appears on the packaging: millions of newly hatched animals are killed simply because they were born male.
Bred to lay far more eggs than they naturally would, modern hens face significant physical strain. From weakened bones to reproductive problems, their bodies bear the cost of a system that puts egg production before their well-being.
Selective Breeding
Modern laying hens have been selectively bred to produce exceptionally high numbers of eggs. This intensive reproductive output places demands on their bodies that differ substantially from the lives of chickens in natural conditions.
Bone Health
Producing eggs requires large amounts of calcium. When calcium demands are not adequately balanced with nutrition and the bird's physiology, hens can experience poor bone health, including osteoporosis and an increased risk of fractures.
Beak Trimming
Some laying hens undergo beak trimming, a procedure intended to reduce injuries caused by feather pecking. Depending on the method and circumstances, it can cause pain or lasting sensitivity. The procedure addresses consequences rather than underlying causes.
Injuries, Disease and Mutilations
Hens are naturally active birds that need space to move, explore and express their natural behaviours. In intensive egg production, overcrowding and restricted movement create frustration and stress. These conditions can contribute to feather pecking, where hens pull out one another’s feathers, leaving exposed, sore skin. When wounds or blood appear, pecking can escalate into severe injuries and cannibalism, sometimes resulting in death.
Look a little closer
To reduce these injuries, the egg industry often uses beak trimming, a procedure that removes part of a chick’s beak, usually without anaesthesia. Although infrared technology has replaced hot blades in some systems, the procedure can still cause pain and lasting sensitivity. A hen’s beak is a highly sensitive organ used for eating, drinking, preening, exploring and nesting. Damage can make these everyday activities painful and reduce a bird’s ability to care for herself. Rather than addressing the stress and frustration behind aggressive behaviour, beak trimming changes the bird to fit the conditions in which she is kept.
Physical injuries are also common in intensive systems. Hens confined to cages or crowded sheds have limited opportunities to exercise, while producing hundreds of eggs places enormous demands on their bodies. The calcium needed to form eggshells can compromise bone health, contributing to osteoporosis and fractures. Keel bone fractures are particularly concerning because they can cause prolonged pain and make it difficult for hens to move, reach perches or protect themselves from other birds. Wire flooring can also damage their feet and legs, while contact with dirty, ammonia-rich litter can irritate exposed skin and cause painful sores.
Crowded housing also creates conditions in which infectious diseases and parasites can spread quickly. Respiratory illnesses, including infectious bronchitis, can affect entire flocks, while red mites feed on the birds’ blood, causing irritation, stress and, in severe infestations, anaemia or death. Dirty, damp litter can contribute to skin problems, blisters and ammonia burns. In cage systems, stacked rows of cages can make it harder for workers to reach and inspect every bird, allowing some health problems to go unnoticed.
Egg production can also cause serious reproductive complications. Egg peritonitis develops when infection and inflammation affect the abdominal cavity, sometimes following bacterial infection or problems with egg laying. Hens can also suffer from prolapse, when tissue from the reproductive tract protrudes from the body. This can become a painful, bleeding wound, especially when other hens peck at the exposed tissue. These conditions can cause considerable suffering and, in severe cases, prove fatal.
Disease prevention in intensive farming has also raised concerns about antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance. UK rules introduced in May 2024 restricted preventive antibiotics to exceptional circumstances involving a very high risk of infection. However, the wider challenge remains: when large numbers of animals are kept close together, controlling disease becomes more difficult. These injuries, illnesses and interventions are not isolated problems. They reveal the physical toll of a production system that places heavy demands on hens while restricting their ability to move freely and express their natural behaviours.
When egg production declines, the industry moves on. Bred to produce large numbers of eggs, most reach their peak laying capacity between one and two years of age. By around 18 months, or 72 weeks, many are classed as ‘spent’ and face an uncertain future, despite having years of life ahead of them.
Production Declines
As hens grow older, their rate of egg production typically declines. When maintaining the flock is no longer economically viable, they are removed from production and prepared for slaughter, regardless of their remaining natural lifespan.
Catching & Transport
Hens must be caught, gathered and loaded onto transport vehicles before being taken to a slaughterhouse. The handling process, combined with unfamiliar surroundings and close confinement, can cause considerable fear and stress. Their fragile bones also make them vulnerable to painful injuries, including fractures, particularly after years of intensive egg production.
Slaughter
At the slaughterhouse, hens are subjected to procedures intended to render them unconscious before their deaths. However, stunning methods do not always work as intended. When a bird is inadequately stunned, she can remain conscious during subsequent stages of the slaughter process, exposing her to further distress and suffering.
A Cycle Repeated
Once the flock has been removed, the housing is prepared for a new group of hens. The replacements enter the same production system, bred to lay far more eggs than their wild ancestors would naturally produce. Their lives follow a familiar pattern: intensive egg production, declining productivity and eventual removal. For each new flock, the cycle begins again.
The Killing of Hens and Male Chicks
Each year, an estimated 6.5–7 billion male chicks are killed worldwide by the egg industry, often within hours of hatching. Meanwhile, laying hens are typically sent for slaughter when their egg production declines.
Look a little closer
How are male chicks killed?
Every year, approximately 6.5 billion newly hatched male chicks are killed worldwide because they cannot lay eggs and, unlike chickens bred for meat, do not grow quickly enough to be commercially profitable. In the UK alone, an estimated 40–45 million male chicks are killed each year. Their lives can end within hours of hatching, simply because they have no commercial value to the egg industry.
Gas killing is the method used in UK laying-hen hatcheries. Male chicks are exposed to an atmosphere containing argon, an inert gas that displaces oxygen and causes them to lose consciousness before death. However, this process does not necessarily cause immediate unconsciousness, and its effectiveness depends on the gas concentration and conditions used. Mechanical killing, known as maceration, is also legally permitted in the UK. It involves passing chicks through rapidly rotating blades that kill them mechanically.
How egg-laying hens are killed
In the egg industry, a hen’s life typically ends when her egg production declines and she is no longer considered commercially profitable. Like chickens raised for meat, these hens are transported to slaughterhouses, where thousands of birds can be killed every hour in high-speed industrial operations.
In 2024, approximately 25 million spent hens were slaughtered in the UK. Around 99.6% were killed following gas stunning, while the remaining 0.4% underwent slaughter without prior stunning. This equates to approximately 100,000 hens slaughtered while fully conscious.
Gas stunning involves exposing birds to a controlled atmosphere containing carbon dioxide (CO₂) or other gas mixtures. Although the procedure is intended to render them unconscious before slaughter, exposure to high concentrations of CO₂ can cause severe respiratory distress. Research has documented reactions including gasping, vigorous head movements, vocalisations and attempts to escape, raising serious concerns about the suffering experienced before consciousness is lost.
Under non-stun slaughter methods, including some Halal slaughter practices, hens have their throats cut without being rendered unconscious beforehand. They can therefore experience pain and distress while conscious.
Global figures reveal the scale of egg production, the number of hens involved, and the billions of male chicks killed each year as a by-product of the industry.
Eggs produced worldwide each year to meet global demand.
According to the FAO, global egg production reached 100 million tonnes in 2024, including approximately 94 million tonnes of hen eggs. Meanwhile, billions of male chicks are killed annually because they cannot lay eggs, highlighting a major animal-welfare issue within the industry.
Being out of a cage does not automatically mean free.
Terms such as cage-free, barn, free-range and organic describe different production systems. They can indicate meaningful differences in housing, but none of these labels, on their own, tells us everything about an animal’s life.
Cage-Free
Hens are not kept in individual cages, but they can still live in large indoor flocks.
Improvements
✓ No individual cages
✓ More mobility than caged systems
Limitations
✕ Large indoor flocks
✕ No guaranteed outdoor access
Barn
Hens can move around inside a building with access to litter and sometimes perches and nest boxes.
Improvements
✓ Freedom to move inside
✓ Access to litter and perches
Limitations
✕ Crowding in large flocks
✕ Competition for resources
Free-Range
Provides outdoor access under specified conditions, though access and space vary.
Improvements
✓ Outdoor access provided
✓ More natural environment
Limitations
✕ Access quality varies
✕ Not every hen benefits equally
Organic
Follows additional production standards for feed, housing and outdoor access.
Improvements
✓ Stricter standards
✓ Certified feed and housing
Limitations
✕ Standards vary by scheme
✕ Still a production system
The Organic and ‘Free-Range’ Myths
Pictures of hens roaming green fields and labels such as ‘organic’ and ‘free-range’ can create the impression that these animals enjoy a natural, peaceful life. The reality is more complicated. Although these farming systems impose certain requirements on housing, feed and outdoor access, they do not guarantee that hens spend their lives freely roaming in open fields. Large flocks, crowded indoor spaces and multi-tier aviary systems remain part of commercial egg production, including on some organic farms.
Look a little closer
The differences between farming systems matter, but so do their limitations. Organic standards generally require organically produced feed and outdoor access, while some certification schemes set stricter limits on flock sizes and provide more outdoor space. However, hens can still undergo painful procedures, including beak trimming under standards that permit it. Selective breeding for high egg production also places considerable demands on their bodies, increasing the risk of health problems such as weakened bones and reproductive disorders.
Outdoor access does not necessarily protect hens from all forms of suffering. Birds living in large groups can experience aggression, feather pecking and injuries, while their opportunities to express natural behaviours depend on the space and conditions available to them. Organic and free-range labels therefore describe particular farming standards, not a guarantee that every animal enjoys good welfare throughout its life.
Ultimately, the same commercial cycle continues. Male chicks are routinely killed because they cannot lay eggs and are generally considered unsuitable for conventional meat production. Female hens are bred to produce large numbers of eggs and are typically sent for slaughter when their productivity declines, long before they reach their natural lifespan. Whether eggs are labelled organic, free-range or barn-raised, the system still treats hens as commercial producers whose lives are determined by their economic value.
You can enjoy the foods you love without making egg production part of the recipe.
Eggs are often considered one of the more ethical animal-derived foods, but the reality of egg production tells a different story. Behind every carton lies an industry in which millions of hens are bred for intensive egg production, while male chicks are killed simply because they cannot lay eggs and are generally unsuitable for commercial meat production.
Whether kept in cages, barns or free-range systems, hens are subjected to a production cycle that prioritises the number of eggs they lay over their natural needs. Selective breeding pushes their bodies to produce far more eggs than their wild ancestors would naturally lay, contributing to reproductive strain, weakened bones and other health problems. Even when hens have outdoor access, their lives remain shaped by the demands of commercial farming.
Every egg consumed supports a system in which male chicks can be killed shortly after hatching and female hens are sent for slaughter when their egg production declines. Labels such as ‘organic’ and ‘free-range’ can indicate differences in farming conditions, but they do not eliminate these underlying practices. For those who want to avoid contributing to the suffering of hens and their chicks, choosing plant-based alternatives to eggs offers a practical way to reduce their involvement in this cycle.
Understanding the egg industry is one step towards making more compassionate choices. The next step is discovering how to put those choices into practice.
Explore scientific research and expert reports on egg production, laying hen welfare and plant-based alternatives to make informed, compassionate choices.
Organisations & Data
Scientific Reviews
- Review of rearing-related factors affecting the welfare of laying hens
- How are they really doing?
- Health and welfare in organic livestock production systems
- Ban of Day-Old Chick Culling: Ethical Concerns and Challenges for Policy, Industry, and Research
- Review of the Welfare of Laying Hens in Cage and Cage-Free Housing Systems
- Comparison of the Welfare of Layer Hens in 4 Housing Systems in the UK
- Skeletal disorders in laying hens
- Welfare of end-of-lay hens transported for slaughter
- The Problem of Broken Bones During the Handling of Laying Hens
Further Reading
Why Go Vegan?
Explore the ethical, environmental, and health reasons for choosing a vegan lifestyle.
How to Go Vegan?
A practical, step-by-step guide to making the transition to a healthy vegan diet.
How to Stay Vegan?
Practical strategies and tips to make vegan living enjoyable, balanced, and sustainable long-term.
