To cage or not to cage chickens: Herbruck's Poultry Ranch, Sunrise Acres Egg Farm weigh in

To cage or not to cage chickens: Herbruck's Poultry Ranch, Sunrise Acres Egg Farm weigh in
by Cami Reister
creister@grpress.com
The Grand Rapids Press
Wednesday June 03, 2009

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2009/06/to_cage_or_not_to_cage_chicken.html

SARANAC -- A good portion of the four million eggs produced daily at Herbruck's Poultry Ranch end up in Egg McMuffins, Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles or some other McDonald's menu item.

So company President Stephen Herbruck took notice when McDonald's USA announced it would partner with animal welfare scientists, egg suppliers and universities in an expansive study of housing alternatives for egg-laying chickens -- including cage-free housing.

Eighty percent of Herbruck's hens are in cages.

"I think it's a good idea," he said of the study. "There's a lot of emotion tied to this and some rather powerful groups that are pushing things.

"It's best to understand the positives and negatives of all the systems."
A pair of egg-laying hens at Sunrise Acres.

The announcement by the Oak Brook, Ill.-based fast-food giant comes at a time when the welfare of egg-laying hens is becoming more of public issue.

Wendy's restaurants said it would begin using cage-free eggs for 2 percent of its egg purchases. Other fast-food restaurants chains, including Burger King and Quizno's, also source a portion of their eggs from cage-free farms.

The decisions are the result, in part, to a factory farming campaign by the Humane Society of the United States. The society calls hens "arguably the most abused animals in all agribusiness," citing limited mobility, beak trimming and their inability to engage in natural behaviors such as nesting, dust bathing and perching.

California voters in November approved a ballot measure sponsored by the society that outlawed battery cages for egg production. The cages typically house multiple birds with about 70 square inches of space for each bird.
EGG PRODUCERS' DILEMMA

Battery cages, a widely used system of housing egg-laying hens, are under attack by animal rights groups and some consumers. Here are pros and cons of the system cited by those on both sides of the issue.

Pros
• The mortality rate of an uncaged chicken is more than two times that of a caged one.
• Cages keep chickens separate from their waste; easier to keep free from diseases and viruses.
• Production costs for cage systems are lower than cage-free.

Cons
• Cramped cages prevent many natural behaviors such as nesting, perching and dust-bathing.
• Caged hens may experience increased aggression.
• Caged hens experience reduced bone strength, impaired foot conditions and higher feather loss.

To read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2009/06/to_cage_or_not_to_cage_chicken.html