Approximately over 70 percent of all chickens raised for meat and eggs globally are raised in intensive farming conditions or systems. This also includes the majority of chickens within the US, UK, and across Europe, also including a rapidly increasing number in developing countries.
Unfortunately, intensively farmed chicken flocks are bred to reach their prime weight for slaughtering  in around six weeks. This is considerably less than half of the time it would take traditionally with free range or backyard chickens. Their short lives are often also spent in over crowded sheds with minimal to no access to the outdoors.


Inside the chicken shed


Many chickens are kept in large sheds, also known as broiler sheds. These broiler sheds are incredibly bare except for food and water with no available natural light. There is chicken litter on the floor to absorb droppings, however this little is typically not cleaned until the flock is ready for slaughter. The danger of these living conditions is if the chickens come in contact with the litter it can often cause painful burns on the their legs and feet, called hock burns.


The air inside the shed can also become incredibly polluted with the ammonia from the chicken droppings. This can cause serious damage the chickens’ eyes and lungs. Chickens confined in these types of sheds are unable to adjust within their environment to avoid cold, heat, or even other chickens as they would normally do in natural living conditions.


It can become incredibly hot inside these sheds, especially within warmer months. If the sheds ventilation systems fail, hundreds or even thousands of chickens can die within hours.


Fast growth
Typical broiler breeds have mainly been used for particularly and exceptionally fast growth. As a result of incredibly fast growth, broiler chickens spend the majority of their life span lying down while many suffer from lameness. Extreme rapid growth also applies additional strain on the chickens organs such as lungs and heart.


Overcrowding


A single broiler shed acts as a permanent home to tens of thousands of chickens at one time. Each chicken receives an amount of space that is slightly smaller than a single sheet of A4 paper. Understandably birds in overcrowded sheds lack the much needed exercise that they require, and are often disturbed or stepped on by other birds while they are resting. They also have less space to move around as they grow bigger, and often find it difficult to reach their water and food if they become lame. The chickens are unable to forage as they would naturally.


Feed restriction of breeders


Some chickens are selected to live until they reach sexual maturity in order for them to breed. Their food intake is usually severely limited otherwise their fast growth would inadvertently  damage their health. As a result of this, these breeding chickens can become stressed, frustrated and hungry.


Catching and transportation


Before being transported for slaughter, broiler chickens are deprived of food for many hours. Catching, crating, and transporting the chickens is stressful, and can commonly result in bruising and other serious injuries. Over 30 million chickens die during transport each year in the US alone.


New age of cloning


Cloning always brings up the common question; ‘what allows us the right to tamper with nature?’ Cloning is not entirely science, it is extremely expensive and is not an entirely reliable practice. Current statistics estimate that just 1 out of 90 clones will survive the cloning procedure. As we continue to clone animals such as chickens, we must remember that we prevent the important and fundamental aspect of genetic diversity.