Battery+Farming

=Diary of a Battery Farm Hen = =by Mary Sarvaas and Emma Orland =

Month one

 * //Dear diary, //**
 * //My name is Clucky, and I was born on a nice, sunny farm in the country. Today, I was loaded into a giant truck and brought to this massive factory/warehouse type place. Inside, there are thousands of other chickens just like me. I was put into a cage with a few other hens and left here. The other chickens are quite nice, but they keep telling me I would be better off in the country. They say that this is a bad place, but I do not know what they mean. I admit there is little sunlight (the room has electric lights) and it is a bit cramped, but it's better than being slaughtered for someone's dinner. The food looks good anyway, there's tons of it in constant supply, so I won't have to worry about going hungry!  //**

Month two
Now I know what the other hens meant when they told me this place is no good. The first few days went OK, but after a while, my wings and legs began to ache from being squashed up in a metal cage for so long. I long to stretch my wings and go for a good run, but we are never let outside. I have laid many eggs, but they disappear straight away. It was only when one my friends, Daisy, told me that these cages have sloping bases that I realized I would never hatch any chicks. The people who run these places collect all our eggs in one spot after they roll down the cage, and sell them to people to eat. Blisters are forming under my feet from inappropriate flooring, and they are very uncomfortable. We are often given injections. I hate injections, needles being jabbed into me. I notice that all the hens are much bigger than the chickens were back at the farm, even me. I asked Daisy and she told me we are given hormones and antibiotics, to make us grow. I would rather be a small chicken than have to go through so many needles. == ==


There was a big fight at the warehouse today. A lot of the people who take care of us were shouting and arguing. I can't understand human language, so I asked one of the other hens. She told me that someone had gotten salmonella from eating some of our eggs, and that they had gotten angry with the managers of the place. When I as ked her what salmonella was, she said it was harmful bacteria in food which made people really sick. Apparently, our eggs have more chance of developing salmonella because of the very unhygienic conditions (did I mention how much I long for a bath???) Free range eggs are safer. I would love to be a free range hen. They get to run around outside all day. Lately, I have felt so stressed I have begun losing feathers, and now I am very scruffy and unattractive, not sleek as I used to be. I feel so bored and frightened most of the time that my only comfort is food. All I do all day everyday is eat. We are given lots of food, and it tastes very nice. There is never short supply of it. That seems to be the only good thing about this place.


== == ==Month four <span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> == <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I saw a terrible sight today. A while ago, one of the hens in the cage next to me became so desperate for fresh air she tried to escape. She only succeeded in getting her head trapped in the wire cage. We all called for help and she twisted and turned, but no one came to help and she had to stay there, stuck, for a long time. There was nothing we could do. Today she died. She was unable to eat and starved to death. It was horrible. Only a few minutes ago did one of the managers notice her and took her away. I have a small lump growing on my neck. It is only little but it is limiting my movement. I hope it goes away soon, because more and more feathers are falling off me and I don't want anyone else to see it. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

==<span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> ==

==<span style="font-style: normal; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Month five <span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> == <span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> I am very sad today. Daisy tripped and broke both her legs. She was taken away to be slaughtered. Daisy suffered from osteoporosis, which led to her weak bones. The food may be nice, but it is far from nutritional. It is rather fattening, so we can lay as many eggs as possible. I have now witnessed so many deaths in this place. Life spans of chickens like me have been shortened by horrific amounts, because of our conditions. Illness spreads quickly, and there is little veterinary assistance. All the humans care about is eggs, eggs, and eggs. The more we lay, the happier they are. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

==<span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> ==

==<span style="font-style: normal; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Month six <span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> == <span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> The manager of this warehouse got into big BIG trouble today. The factory's waste was carelessly disposed of and it somehow leaked into the waterways. That is very bad for the humans. The environment is under risk from places like this. The lump on my neck has grown even bigger. I am now finding it hard to eat. The other hens say it is a tumor, but they can't do anything about it. Painful ulcers also afflict most of us. How I wish for some soft soft bedding, fresh corn and the sun! There is so little room, I can only ever take a few steps at a time. The air is full of the noises of clucking, and the machinery which brings us food. I am sick of being cooped up in here, sick of being imprisoned in these tiny wire cages. I SO want to go outside!! <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="font-style: normal; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Month seven
<span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> I am not going to live much longer. My tumor has spread so much I can barely take a mouthful. The humans saw me, and now I am in a small, separate cage waiting to be slaughtered. I am very sick and no longer lay good eggs. My life here has been misery. We have been nothing more than slaves to the humans. Just outside, there is a pigeon who spoke to me a little while ago. I told him about my secret diary, and he says he will deliver it to some people called: Ms Bannerman's Year Nine Science Class who can help the battery farm hens. So, if now you are reading this, I beg of you to please do something to help us. Do not support any of the people who treat us in this unfair way. Buy free range eggs. If you do not support these battery farms, they will go out of business, and thousands of hens will not suffer the same fate as me. Oh no! Here comes the human now. The hen in the cage next to me was just taken away. I am next. My life is over. This is the story of my life as a battery farm hen. This is my final plea for help. Save us, save the environment, save people's health. Only YOU have the power to do it.



Signed,

=<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//Clucky the hen// =

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= In memory of Clucky, R.I.P. 12th April 2006 - 21st December 2008. All these conditions are true, they have __not__ been exaggerated! Free range eggs are healthier for you and for the chickens. Do a good deed for the environment and stop battery farming forever. =

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