�Behavior of Rescued Factory-Farmed Chickens in a
Sanctuary Setting�
Video Produced by United Poultry Concerns 2004
12 min. including Introduction * VHS and DVD format * $10 incl. shipping
Machipongo, Va. � Some people think that birds bred for
factory farms have lost their natural instincts and are content to live in
crowded, unstimulating cages and buildings. �Behavior of Rescued
Factory-Farmed Chickens in a Sanctuary Setting� shows chickens, turkeys
and ducks at United Poultry Concerns� sanctuary racing out of their house
in the morning, pouncing on lettuce, foraging, dustbathing, and perching
up high at night.
All of the birds in the video came from intensive
confinement conditions. While most birds come to our sanctuary exhausted,
dirty, and virtually featherless, those who survive undergo remarkable
changes under the stimulus of an environment that activates their natural
instincts. Contrary to the idea that chickens spend much of their time
fighting and picking on each other, the birds at our sanctuary are too
busy with their daily occupations, including normal socialization, to
waste time that way.
Each video scene has been selected to show a specific
behavior such as dustbathing and grass eating. Each scene is labeled for
clarity. For example, one scene shows a hen pecking at the face of another
hen in an effort to groom (preen) the other hen�s face. As a result of
being beak-trimmed, the hen tries vigorously to pick off tiny particles
that for a hen with an intact beak would be done with the utmost delicacy
and precision. For those unfamiliar with the range of chicken behaviors,
this could be misinterpreted as an act of aggression when in fact it is
normal social grooming behavior frustrated by an impaired beak.
The video also shows a young broiler hen named Sugar as
she picks and eats grass and performs normal scratching behavior in order
to show that, given the opportunity, she and other �broiler� chickens who
have come to our sanctuary perform natural behaviors within the parameters
of their physical genetics.
UPC President Karen Davis, PhD, is available for
presentations of this video to college students, faculty, industry, animal
protection organizations, and anyone interested in understanding and
improving the welfare of chickens. Contact Karen Davis by phone or email
at 757-678-7875 or [email protected].
United Poultry Concerns PO Box 150 Machipongo, VA 23405
Phone: 757-678-7875 Fax: 757-678-5070 www.upc-online.org
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that
promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl.
www.upc-online.org
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