How are battery caged hens made to lay eggs when normally for example a free-range hen....?

Battery hens are kept inside they don't have natural light,their world is one of constant daylight,hence they don't know night from day along with the artificial feed that the are fed on and antibiotics,

This creates an artificial world for them,they don't have the seasons or the weather to contend with and once one lays it is the instinct for the others to follow.

Where as hens running free have all these to contend with and do not have long hours of daylight or a warm atmosphere,their egg laying is then controlled by the seasons.

The reason that Mayonnaise should be checked for bacteria is hens reared in confinement have more chance of picking up salmonella because of their close environment and the bacteria thrives in a warm atmosphere

Battery chickens and most other hens have been selectively bred to produce 1 egg a day (although they do have a rest every now and again). Certain breeds are bred for egg laying such as warrens and others for eggs and meat eg rhode island red and then there are others that hardly lay at all and are bred for meat.

In Asia the jungle fowl (ancestor of the modern chicken) lays up to 12 eggs a year.

In battery farming the sheds are kept dull. This is so the hens are not as active and spend most of their lives laying and eating. A good diet will mean more egg production (usually layer mash). If you were to suddenly give them natural light while still in cages they would start to fight and be more active. They would also miss a few days laying.

I have 35 rescue chickens and they live in my garden. They lay eggs every day. When i first got them they didnt know what to do when i let them out!

It is great to keep your own flock of hens for egg laying but before getting any do your research.

Free range eggs are the only ones I buy, organic when I can. I will not buy eggs from caged hens even if the cages are slightly larger now. If I could I would have a few chickens in the back garden, sadly that's not allowed. If it were allowed that would be the only time I would buy caged hens - to give them a new lease of life. Apparently rescued battery and barn hens quickly adapt to a normal life. m

The simple reason for battery hens laying more eggs than a free range bird,they are kept in constant artificial daylight,whilst a free ranging hen does get the chance of some sleep due to natural darkness.

The basic ingredient of Mayonnaise,is egg and due to the intensive feeding and anti bi-otics in the food of battery hens the have become in some cases immune to them and more susceptible to Salmonella,that is why checks must be made on Mayonnaise

Egg production is controlled by the length of daylight. Battery hens are kept in artificial light for up to twenty two hours per day to force eating and laying.

In the natural world, hens lay only occasionally in the winter months. No wonder that battery hens have such a short productive life.

Battery hens definitely get used to the conditions they live in. Same as a pit bull spending his life on a 6 foot chain guarding the front door of a crack house gets used to it. Same as a man in a prison cell gets used to it.

Bringing the hen out to set free, turning loose the pit bull, letting the man out of prison all require a lot of readjustment and carry unforeseen consequences.

Battery hens lay because they have the biological need to lay. They're used to being there and everything being exactly the same every day. A stranger walking through the end of barn can set half-million hens into a panic of clucking and flapping sending a cloud of feathers throughout the interior.

I see in your details you didn't intend really to ask a question at all, that you intended to offer an argument for a viewpoint.

If you want layers I'd advise against battery hens. My experience has been they're pathetic, broken creatures and aren't good layers. The only reason a person might wish to own one would be as a pet.

There's a fine line between free range & battery hens.

Free range doesn't always mean they're out to run around as they please. This is a misunderstanding that the general public has decided to believe themselves, because it says 'free range'.

Free range can mean anything from the laying hens being allowed to roam daily for 1/2 or so or being allowed to roam only once a week.

The only difference between free range & battery hens is the free range hens don't spend all of their life in cooped up cages. They're allowed out sometimes. The amount of times or length is up to the company but if a hen is allowed out just once a week for 1/2, it is considered free range.

Organic eggs are by far the best to buy because they MUST be organic, free from being fed artificial crap & the hens MUST have access to the outdoors to graze on organic foods. Organic eggs must also certified free from genetic engineering & same for the hens feed.

Free range hens & battery hens can be fed the same things.

Do Unhappy Hens Lay Eggs?

Yes they DO. Egg-laying is a biological/sexual function. The Battery Hen's ovaries are controlled by selective breeding, a high protein diet and an extended lighting program within the sheds.

Even confined, crippled, miserable, de-beaked and de-feathered hens will still lay eggs!

I am fed up with the whole chicken thing! Sorry!

I believe that they should sell the chickens live and if u wont kill it then you cant eat it! That'll solve the problem. People want a clean conscience, but still want to eat the meat. You therefore have 3 options, mass production, Free range or home grown.

Free range costs, and mass produced is not "acceptable" (to who I dont quite know)

So, get a plot at home, grow kill and eat ur own! Problem solved, now get over it!

Like you i dont like any animal being force fed but i like beef, pork, lamb etc and if it wasn't factory produced it would be out of my reach at the supermarket.

Just like the milk i put into my tea and its been shown that plant feel pain should i leave me veggies alone.

so why i agree we aint got no choice