Birds of a Feather, Dying together

Essay by katiddCollege, UndergraduateA+, June 2004

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Birds of a Feather, Dying Together

All across America, chickens live in unhealthy environments. The employees of egg farms are not properly caring for the birds. The lack of care is causing illness and death. The lack of proper cleaning of the birds' cages is causing a nauseating odor to infiltrate into the neighborhood. The United States Department of Agriculture must implement stronger penalties for egg farms that ignore the overall safety of the animals by repeatedly violating health codes. Health codes are set in place to protect animals.

Illness, infections, and viruses are common problems on chicken farms where birds live in constant filth and incarceration. These farms are factory farms. Factory farming is an agricultural process that applies the procedures of quick reproduction to farming. The purpose is to exploit production and increase overall revenue. Birds are not birds on these factory farms. Instead, the chickens are profit.

Control of chickens occurs through reproduction, feeding, captivity, and fertility drugs. Fertility drugs force the chickens to lay a larger quantity of eggs at a faster rate.

Buckeye Egg Farm in Ohio has been on the news for several years. This company has had numerous reports against the farm for violating health codes. The residents of the area reported an extreme stench of chicken feces coming from the sheds and an overabundance of flies in the summertime. The feces run into the streams when it rains, thereby polluting water systems. The flies are so numerous that people have a hard time keeping them out of their homes. The news also reported that the schools have to fumigate daily. The flies were crawling into children's noses, ears, and mouths. Living conditions for residents near Buckeye Egg Farm are intolerable. The value of property in the area declined due to the stench.