Commercial hens don’t have the best start in life. Hatched in industrial sized incubators they are quickly carried by conveyor belt to a sexing room. The female chicks have a beak trim then off to a rearing facility for 16 weeks until they mature sufficiently to lay.
Commercial hens can be kept in a variety of welfare conditions which you can read up on. They are expected to lay 300 eggs or more over a year or so, until they are no longer economically viable at which point the lucky ones are rehomed.
All my girls have been in various states of “undress” when they arrived, with a scarcity of feathers and a nervous air to them. They’ve never been handled by humans with love or affection.
Within hours they start to explore their new environment. Within days they recognise that Vic = food appearing, and their individual characteristics are quickly established.
They greet each day with a level of enthusiasm and joy of which I am truly envious.
Please don’t let a bad start in life weigh down your future, it is very easy (and understandable) to take on a “poor me” attitude when life has been tough, but that won’t serve you going forward.
Start where you are, and move forward with hope.
Chicken Nuggets 