85,000 Hens Die in Barn Collapse

Massive amounts of snow and ice in Bozrah, Connecticut, caused the roof of a barn on a factory egg farm to collapse, killing all 85,000 hens inside. It was a miserable way to die for birds who already had a miserable way to live.

Egg-laying hens on typical factory farms are crammed into battery cages that are not wide enough for them to spread their wings. Birds defecate on one another, and disease is rampant. Many of the hens lose their feathers because of sickness and stress, and their bones—made fragile by calcium deficiency caused by producing egg after egg—often break. Birds die in the cages every day and are left there to rot, forcing other hens to sit on top of their corpses. When the hens’ egg production drops, they are sent to slaughter.

The deaths of the Connecticut hens were tragic—and so were their lives. Bear that in mind the next time you see a carton of “farm fresh” eggs—and consider using egg replacements instead.

Written by Michelle Sherrow