Consider This: Chickens are smarter than toddlers

Did you know there are no federal laws protecting chickens? On factory farms, these animals are forced to endure horrific abuses and their misery is kept hidden behind closed doors, keeping the public in the dark about the truth.

Case in point: Our shocking investigative video filmed inside multiple facilities supplying the nation’s largest chicken producer, Tyson Foods, reveals birds being kicked, thrown, punched, run over by forklifts and even suffocated.

Our video was filmed inside “broiler breeder” factories – these are the parent flocks of the billions of birds raised and killed for their meat every year in the U.S.  In both the meat and egg industries, chickens endure some of the worst cruelty in animal agribusiness.

According to Scientific American, “Chickens are smart, and they understand their world, which raises troubling questions about how they are treated on factory farms.” Indeed, these intelligent and socials birds have remarkable personalities. Get to know these amazing individuals:

Studies have found that chickens are smarter than human toddlers. Within just hours of hatching, they’re able to “master skills and develop abilities that a human child can take months and years to accomplish.” So if you’re ever called a “bird brain,” take it as a compliment. Chickens are capable of mathematical reasoning, self-control and planning ahead, transitive inference (if A>B and B>C, then A>C), and basic structural engineering.

Chickens display empathy for one another. Mother hens have been found to show signs of stress when they see their chicks becoming distressed. In factory farming, chickens regularly see other chickens enduring extreme stress, pain and suffering.

Hens will go to great lengths to build a safe nest to lay their eggs. Yet on egg factory farms, most hens are crammed inside tiny wire cages, unable to even stretch their wings or walk, let alone build a nest. In chicken breeding factory farms, like those seen in our investigation video, birds are crammed by the tens of thousands inside dark sheds, denied the chance to feel sunshine and fresh air, or walk in the grass.

Hens turn their eggs several times an hour, clucking to their babies who chirp in response. Sadly, chickens in both the meat and egg industries start their lives in industrial hatcheries and will never see their mothers.

Meet Strawberry. This inquisitive hen was rescued by Animal Place, and she loves to watch nature videos. Watch, then share her video to show your friends how amazing chickens really are.

The best way to protect chickens like Strawberry, and all animals, is to leave them off our plates. With so many healthy and compassionate plant-based options available — from chicken-free Beyond Meat to egg alternatives, it’s easier than ever before. Visit TryVeg.com today to get started.