NATURE In nature, a mother hen peeps to her chicks while they are still in the eggs, and the chicks peep back to her. When hatched, chicks stay close to their mother and find warmth, comfort, and protection under her wings. HATCHERIES In hatcheries, mother hens are replaced with massive machines, fast-moving conveyor belts, harsh handling, and frightening noises. Young chicks are sorted, discarded, and treated as mere cogs in a machine. NATURE In nature, chicks are inquisitive and like to explore their surroundings. Chickens are intelligent birds who learn by observation, have a sense of time, can count, have good memories, and can anticipate future events. HATCHERIES In hatcheries, chicks have no opportunity to explore their world. From the moment they hatch, they are tossed from machine to machine, dropped onto conveyor belts, roughly handled, and destined for a life of deprivation. NATURE Newly hatched chicks have well-developed nervous systems and are sensitive and fragile. In nature, chicks are protected by their devoted mothers who have been known to put their own lives at risk for their babies. HATCHERIES In hatcheries, each worker is expected to process over 1,700 chicks an hour by callously grabbing and throwing them. The animals are treated as inanimate objects rather than the sensitive and intelligent animals they are.