Animals in British Farming»Laying Hens
Are egg laying hens killed before their natural life expectancy?
Yes
Information sourced from The Guardian, The Independent.
Last reviewed
Female laying hens are typically killed at 72 weeks old while males are killed at a few hours old.
At around 72 weeks of age an egg laying hens production begins to decline. At this point she is likely to be sent to slaughter.
Since only females can lay eggs if a male is born they will be slaughtered immediately. The breeds of hen used for eggs differ from the ones used for meat it is not profitable to raise male egg laying hens for their flesh.
