Hilliker’s Hell for Hens: Another Look Inside the ‘Cage-Free’ Con
Well-intentioned consumers concerned by the abysmal conditions for hens in the egg industry might be tempted to try to appease their conscience by forking over an extra dollar or two for a shiny “cage-free” label like those found on cartons sold by Hilliker’s Ranch Fresh Eggs Inc. But a PETA undercover investigator who was given a tour of the Lakeside, California, operation—a massive egg factory that crams at least 10,000 stressed hens wing to wing in each of three crowded metal sheds—found that cage-free is a far cry from cruelty-free.
More Than ‘Kind of Packed in There’
At Hilliker’s—which owner Frank Hilliker once absurdly called “Chicken Disneyland”—hens were so crowded in one shed that the floor could barely be seen, and a worker could not open a gate without repeatedly hitting them. Each hen was afforded just over 1 square foot of usable floor space—which is the minimum required by state law, about the size of a vinyl record sleeve and little more than what’s typically granted to hens in battery cages.
A worker admitted that the hens “do look kind of packed in there” but ludicrously claimed that they had “plenty of room”—even as hens struggled to move or spread their wings amid their tightly packed flockmates. One desperate bird tried to fly onto an elevated metal shelf before falling back into the sea of hens below.
The worker explained that the factory plans to fill two more sheds on the property with at least 10,000 hens each, rather than using those structures to give birds more space.
After reviewing PETA’s footage, a leading farmed animal welfare expert wrote, “[T]he building is overstocked. There are too many hens in it.”
Just Another Day of Hell for Hens
Severely stressed by constant crowding and
confinement, hens inevitably fought, which the worker called “normal.” While the birds were still chicks, the tips of their sensitive beaks were cut or burned off—a standard mutilation in the egg industry that the worker explained was performed to avoid injuries from the frustrated animals “pecking at each other.”
The jam-packed hens panted in the summer heat of Southern California, and the worker mocked them for still flocking to small patches of sunlight. The sheds reeked of waste, dust filled the air, and the sound of 10,000 chickens was deafeningly loud.
Meaningless Marketing
The egg industry knows that many consumers care about hens and agree that it’s cruel to confine them in tiny wire cages. But “cage-free” egg systems do little to improve hens’ welfare—and in some ways, they cause even more suffering—all while duping conscientious shoppers into paying premium prices.
Feather pecking, fighting, and cannibalism are more common in “cage-free” barns, where stressed hens are packed together by the thousands. Up to 97% of these birds sustain painful broken bones. Hens in “cage-free” industrial egg systems are also more likely to develop respiratory disease, skin lesions, and infections caused when they walk and attempt to bathe in ammonia-laden dust and litter saturated with feces.
Watch the stunned reactions of shoppers seeing footage of a “cage-free” egg factory for the first time.
Hilliker’s also touts itself as being “family owned and operated,” but consumers shouldn’t kid themselves that these buzzwords carry any weight—in today’s world, “family owned” doesn’t mean small. Some of the biggest companies around—including mega chains Walmart and Publix and factory farm giants Cargill and Tyson—are family businesses.
You Can Help Hens
Eggs from Hilliker’s are sold at Albertsons stores around San Diego. On the Albertsons site, the eggs are sold with deceptive descriptions of Hilliker’s nonexistent “expansive pastures” for its fantasy “free-range” hens. Please urge Albertsons to reconsider its relationship with Hilliker’s and to stop selling eggs with the misleading “cage-free” claim.
And remember, the best way to help hens and other animals is to keep their flesh, eggs, and milk out of your diet. Delicious vegan egg options abound, from innovative liquid and hard-boiled versions to easy baking swaps and trusty tofu scrambles.
If you think you have what it takes to conduct undercover investigations, we want to hear from you.