So, on my way to class this morning I was driving down highway 380 to Denton and was surprised to see feathers blowing down the road. It was about 8:30 am and there was the normal commuter traffic, work trucks, semis, etc. so I was a little confused. It wasn't until I switched lanes and stopped at the next light that I figured out where the feathers were coming from...the semi that had been a few cars ahead of me. This guy was carrying a truck load of live chickens!
I pulled up to next to him, completely horrified by the chickens pressed up against the wire of the truck staring at me. These poor little guys were completely cram-packed and stuffed into metal shelving units on wheels in the truck. Some of their faces were pressed up against the wire, and their little legs falling through the gaps below them.
The truck (though I didn't get a picture of it) read 'Mayhard Egg Farms'. From what I've heard, these are actually fairly decent conditions, comparatively speaking at least. I've driven past Mayhard Egg Farms, and this truck was not driving toward it, he was driving the chickens to the slaughterhouse.
According to the Science channel, chickens are at appropriate age for slaughter between 12 and 18 months of age. That seems like such a waste and very distasteful.
If you're going to eat chickens or their eggs, please consider buying only farm raised, free range chickens, not those that are mass bred solely for their eggs then whisked away to slaughter.
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