She deserves to breathe fresh air, but she’ll never even feel sunlight on her feathers. She’s curious about the world, but she’ll spend her whole life confined to a tiny space in a dark warehouse. She’s a living, feeling being. So why is she treated like a machine?

Since hens naturally lay eggs, there’s a common misconception that eggs are cruelty-free. But there’s nothing “natural” about the egg industry. Sadly, it’s an industry rife with some of the worst cruelty that happens on factory farms today.

For hens born into the egg industry, the heartbreaking treatment begins as soon as they hatch. Newborn chicks are dropped onto a conveyor belt to be sorted, and male chicks, viewed as “surplus,” will be killed at birth. The egg industry kills 6.5 billion male chicks every single year. Some will be suffocated. Most will be tossed into a macerator—an industrial grinder—and shredded to death.

Despite avoiding the grinder, female chicks also face a horrific fate. At a young age, their sensitive beaks will be sliced with a hot blade. “Beak trimming” is designed to prevent them from pecking one another, a result of the crowded and unnatural conditions they’re forced to live in.

As a result of selective breeding, even an egg-laying hen’s own body is a source of pain. Her own bones provide the calcium needed to form each eggshell. Since modern layer hens are bred to lay unnaturally large numbers of eggs, many suffer osteoporosis from the demands of near-constant egg production. As their bones become more and more fragile, hens can experience painful fractures, paralysis, and even death.

Egg-laying hens are not machines. They’re intelligent, curious animals who deserve better. And we can make a difference for them.

Want to help create a kinder world for egg-laying hens? Add your name below to learn about a few powerful ways to get started. (Psst… you’ll also receive a free cookbook full of delicious, egg-free recipes!)