They are sociable and amazingly intelligent, our chickens. Mother hens “cluck” with their chicks, even when they are still in the egg. Large laying companies do not take these needs into account.
What an idyll it was! The hen house smelled of fresh straw and the farmer’s wife picked up the eggs one by one. Only a handful of the precious round was placed on the breakfast table. “At the time, a farm could take care of itself, so it was self-sufficient and paid attention to closed creative cycles,” recalls the Carinthian organic farming expert Wilfried Oschischnig from his own childhood. But the happiness of chickens from then is only available from our organic farmers.
Laying hen companies with thousands of animals (also the predominant form of farming in Austria) cannot and do not want to maintain this niche model. But that has many disadvantages for the poultry that lives there.
Applying pressure leads to fractures in poultry
Because according to a study by “Four Paws” the hens are bred there to lay high yields (hundreds of eggs per year) that they need huge amounts of calcium for that. They in turn have to mobilize this from the bones. Fatal consequence: especially the fragile sternum often break.
“In our studies, up to 100 percent of the poultry were affected, and these fractures are very painful for the creatures. The deficiency can lead to osteoporosis and fragile eggs with thin shells,” said Veronika Weissenböck, campaign manager for Four Legs, shocked . According to the expert, much, but not everything, can be compensated with additives such as shell limestone.
Feed prices put breeders in existential trouble
In general, domestic egg producers are currently struggling to survive as the prices for eating the chickens explode due to the war in the supplier country Ukraine. “Our farmers can hardly handle this anymore,” warns the powerful agricultural duo Paul Nemecek (leader of the Lower Austrian Farmers’ Union) and Alex Bernhuber (turquoise EU mandate). Both are calling for further aid packages. Consumer solidarity is now also the order of the day. This is where the well thought-out AMA egg database (see image above) comes into play, with which the origin can be traced back to the stable.
The importance of the mandatory labeling of each individual hen’s egg is shown by the fact that caged agricultural products can still be imported. These are banned in retail, but not wholesale markets.
Consumers want absolute transparency
Recently, “Four Paws” called for a labeling requirement for eggs in processed foods such as cakes, biscuits, etc. Activist Elisabeth Penz: “There is a lot of chicken suffering hidden here. Four-fifths of the 1000 respondents would like transparency in this food sector. And not only before Easter…”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
