SHELL TO HELL

In the heart of the egg industries lies a grim tale of cruelty towards hens and their offspring. From commercial hatcheries to
mass killings, the ruthless treatment unfolds at every stage. Let’s discuss every steps below:

1. Incubation and Hatching:

In the commercial egg industries, eggs are typically removed from the hens’ nest and placed in large incubators where chicks
develop inside the eggs. Unfortunately, these chicks never get the chance to meet their mothers. The conditions in commercial
hatcheries can be less than ideal, leading to various issues such as deformities and serious health problems among the newly
hatched ones like chicks born with an protruding organs.

2. Sexing:
Sexing is the process of determining the gender of newly hatched chicks. Here workers employ a cruel method where they
painfully squeeze the sensitive genitals and determine gender. Afterwards, Male chicks are deemed useless for egg production
and are subjected to inhumane treatment.

3. Grading and Rejecting:

Chicks are graded based on various factors such as the timing of their hatching, deformities, or general weakness. Similarly, Male
chicks are particularly considered useless as they cannot lay eggs. The rejection of chicks leads to mass killings.

4. De-Beaking:
Due to the crowded and cramped conditions in commercial facilities, chickens may exhibit aggressive behavior, pecking at each
other. Instead of addressing the root cause by providing more space, the industry resorts to a painful practice known as de-
beaking. This involves cutting or melting off a portion of the beak, leaving the chicks in a state of shock and pain.

5. Mass Killing:
Male chicks especially, being non-productive for egg-laying, face various mass killing methods with acute lack proper pain
management. Some common, merciless and brutal practices include:

 Grinding: A shockingly common method involves tossing live chicks, along with eggshells and deceased birds, into
grinders, reducing them to a gruesome paste. This heartless approach reflects the industry's callous disregard for the lives
of these innocent animals.

 Drowning: Chicks face a slow and agonizing death as they are submerged in water-filled drums. According to an
employee, it can take up to 30 minutes for these helpless creatures to succumb to this cruel fate.

 Burning: In a horrifying display of brutality, chicks are subjected to slow burns. Partially burnt birds often endure days of
excruciating agony before death.
 Crushing and Suffocating: Helpless chicks are crammed into containers, leading to a horrific cycle of suffocation.
Similarly, Careless workers crush them in containers, further emphasizing the inhumane treatment these animals endure.

 Fish Food: Chicks that survive traumatic transport are callously dumped into ponds alongside their deceased
companions, serving as live bait for fish. This grim practice showcases the industry's complete disregard for the welfare of
these defenseless animals.

6. Forced Moulting:
Forced molting, a widespread practice globally for female hens, is a cruel and unregulated practice,
subjecting hens to a 7 to 14-days fasting to accelerate their egg-laying cycle. This unnatural process causes weight and feather
loss, leading to stress-induced illnesses and aggressive behaviors. Confined in cages, hens suffer from infections, skin issues, and
leg deformities. The rapid feather loss as an outcome leaves them vulnerable to temperature changes, bacteria, dust, and
ammonia burns.

Hunger keeps hens anxious, pecking at empty feeders, and searching for nonexistent food. In cramped cages, they can't rest
properly, enduring painful and uncomfortable hours. While workers handle the birds brutally, showing no compassion for
injured or stuck hens. Injured and sick hens are abandoned to agonize and die alone among thousands.

The aftermath includes decomposing bodies in pits near farms, contaminating soil, air, and posing infection risks. After
completing their second egg cycle, hens are discarded after just three years, despite a potential eight-year lifespan. Up to 1/3 of
hens undergoing forced molting die, contributing to millions raised in cages, intensifying the cruelty of this practice. Many
consumers are unaware that the eggs they consume support the most animal suffering in industrial agriculture.
7. Behind the Labels
More than 2 million chickens are slaughtered every hour for human consumption across the globe, with most of them being just
seven weeks old. Unfortunately, the narrative of chicken meat production and slaughterhouses is one marked by profound
suffering. These sentient beings undergo rapid and unnatural growth, manipulated by an industry singularly focused on
productivity and profitability. Consequently, these birds spend their brief seven weeks enduring the consequences of inhabiting
a body that deviates from nature's design.

At the conclusion of this short period, there is no merciful conclusion awaiting them. They are packed into crates and
transported to the abattoir. Here, they face slaughter through one of two methods.

 Electrifying: Terrified birds are shackled by their legs on an industrial conveyor belt, where their heads are pulled through
electrified water to render them unconscious. Subsequently, the conveyor belt guides them past an automated machine
that cuts their throats.

 Gassing: Alternatively, birds may undergo gassing. Crates containing them are moved into a chamber filled with carbon
dioxide, with the birds taking up to 5 minutes to become unconscious, depending on the system. Once gassed, the birds are
then shackled by their legs on an industrial line to have their throats cut.

The pain and suffering inflicted upon individual birds in the chicken meat industry are incalculable, deliberately kept hidden from
public view. This lack of transparency persists because the labels on chicken meat or bags of chicken nuggets do not disclose
pain and suffering as key ingredients. Fortunately, there exists a compassionate alternative for consumers to consider “
Vegeterian Diet”.