Mica von Turkovich
If Americans spent as much time around chickens as they do around dogs or cats, they might see them as the charismatic, lovable, and smart creatures they are.
Around 23 billion chickens are living on Earth at any given time, nearly triple the human population—and yet, most people rarely if ever interact with a live one. It's more common for us to see their lifeless forms at the grocery store, dominating restaurant menus, on a sandwich, or in a bowl of soup. This lack of connection to living chickens could be why people are so quick to consume them without a thought to the tortured existence a chicken leads before landing on their plates.
Back when I was eating meat, I found it easier to reconcile eating chicken than beef. As a young girl, I spent a lot of my free time fawning over the calves at the dairy farm down the street from my house, and eventually joined a 4-H group. My experience with these gentle, loving creatures became the catalyst to a life without burgers or steaks. I saw the cows the same way most people see dogs: as big cuddly creatures with unique personalities.
However, chicken parmesan was not off the table. I hadn’t spent much time with chickens. Completely unaware of their unique personalities, I didn’t feel the same affection for them or protectiveness over their lives.
After spending just a few days around these animals, I fell in love.
Although I stopped eating chicken a few years ago, recently I had an experience that vindicated that dietary choice. I visited my grandmother, who had new baby chicks on her property, to help her build a coop for these newcomers, who were becoming too large for the old one.
Or, I should say, one chick in particular was outgrowing the coop.
Chickens' surprising intelligence
At just a few weeks old, a chicken who is now known as Turkey stood out from the rest. She had a classic look—the type of big, white-and-red bird we associate with Old McDonald’s farm. Known in the factory farming industry as broiler chickens, these are the most farmed land animals in the world. They're genetically designed by humans to grow so large, so fast that they can be killed at just 5 weeks old.
Turkey the chicken was about three times the size of her friends. She was growing at an alarming rate, and had a large left foot that made it difficult for her to walk. The factory farming industry doesn't factor in mobility when breeding chickens; they want to cram in as many birds as they can into as little space as possible. Many chickens are given less than one square foot of living space their entire lives.
As I discovered at my grandmother's, though, chickens are curious busybodies when given room to move around. I watched these birds forage for seeds and insects, dust-bathe in the dry sandy soil, and compete for the perch inside the coop. They talked to each other through a variety of different sounds, and I later learned that chickens can even communicate with their babies while the babies are still inside the eggs.
I watched as the young hens stayed close to one another, always aware of where their friends were in the yard. They knew what time of day to expect food, and they wouldn’t let you forget it. It was comical to watch Turkey sit on the feed bowl, completely unaware of her hefty size. After spending just a few days around these animals, I fell in love with their unique personalities and was caught off-guard by their undeniable intelligence.
Had Turkey ended up a factory-farmed chicken instead of living out her life on a small horse farm in Kansas, her existence would have been very different.
The "life" of a factory-farmed chicken
In this dark alternate reality, within hours of hatching, Turkey would have been piled into a bin swimming with dozens of other chickens. Next, she would be needled with a cocktail of vaccines, tossed into a crate, and taken to the dim, grim barn where she would spend the next 5-7 weeks that constitute her "life."
Her life in this barn would be disorienting and traumatic. Sleep would be nearly impossible thanks to the constant artificial light encouraging her to eat at all hours. The barn would quickly become overcrowded, and she would find herself being stepped on and pecked at as the rapidly growing chickens fought for space.
Like humans, chickens feel empathy.
Her skin and eyes would burn from the ammonia wafting off the feces under her feet. She would grow unable to walk due to her enlarged muscles, which her legs would be too weak to support. If she survived the first few weeks, she would be distressed by the sounds, sights, and smells of chickens around her dying from heart attacks and other conditions common to broiler chickens. Thanks to a study conducted by The School of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Bristol, we know that chickens can be affected by the pain of the chickens around them. Like humans, dogs, elephants, and even rats, chickens feel empathy.
The day would come for Turkey's life to end, but her suffering would only be beginning. Still just a baby, she would be forced through a torture chamber known as live-shackle slaughter. This inhumane practice involves being shackled upside down and dunked into a stun bath that doesn't always succeed in rendering the birds unconscious. Her throat would be slit by an automated blade, and she would be submerged in a scalding tank, possibly being boiled alive.
Tell the chicken industry to end these abuses
Thankfully, this is not the life Turkey will live. Tragically, though, it is the reality for approximately 9 billion chickens in the US every year.
If Americans spent as much time around chickens as they do around dogs or cats, I think most would see them as the charismatic, lovable, and smart creatures they are. The relative lack of affinity we have for chickens likely plays a significant role in why we ignore the horrific abuses they suffer in order to satiate our hunger.
The lack of affinity we have for chickens plays a role in why we allow them to suffer.
This year, billions of animals like Turkey—living beings with complex thoughts, feelings, and personalities—will endure the horrific and outdated practices of live-shackle slaughter. But we can put an end to the suffering of chickens on factory farms. We can change the way chickens are raised for food.
Are you ready to be that change? Please join us in leaving chicken off our plates, and sign this petition to end live-shackle slaughter.
