The life of a chicken growing up in an egg factory or a cow growing up in an overcrowded, industrial meatpacking plant is uncomfortable enough, but the noise must be unbearable. At least, to minimize the discomfort a bit, each animal should be fitted with earplugs. These would not block out all sound; they'd still hear perfectly well; but the intensity would be a little less and they'd be able to hear themselves think (assuming they do think) and sleep better at night.

Thank you.
-- phundug, Mar 07 2013

// cow growing up in an overcrowded, industrial meatpacking plant //

Cows grow up in fields or, at worst, stockpens, where the only sounds are those made by other cows and the occasional tractor bringing food or removing the end result of food. By the time a beef cow gets to the meat packing plants, the ears are on the way to a tannery to become dog treats.
-- Alterother, Mar 07 2013


Face it: if this was actually implemented, agribusiness would just remove the chickens' ear drums. Problem solved, no messing with ear plugs.

(I'm not advocating that, understand, but if you think agribusiness cares one whit about chickens' well-being, just go visit a chicken factory.)
-- DrCurry, Mar 08 2013


A hen house?
-- rcarty, Mar 08 2013


//Cows grow up in fields or, at worst, stockpens// Allegedly, 75% of cattle in the US never see grass.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 08 2013


//agribusiness would just remove the chickens' ear drums//

Maybe this could be a charity, then. Late night TV: "Just one dollar can buy earplugs for 5 suffering chickens."
-- phundug, Mar 08 2013


From the title, I thought this would be an idea for selectively breeding animals to be small, fluffy and sufficiently non-wriggly such that they could be used as earplugs.
-- hippo, Mar 08 2013


Pygmie lemmings.

// Allegedly, 75% of cattle in the US never see grass //

If you mean _beef_ cattle, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that was true. A stock pen (or a feed pen, or a feed yard, etc.) is a fenced-in 1/4 acre with a bare dirt floor and about 100 steers in it. Food is delivered several times a day and the feces is removed at more or less the same frequency.

On the other hand, 100% of dairy cattle in the US (and elsewhere) see grass on a daily basis, 'cos wivvout grass there ain't no milk, innit?
-- Alterother, Mar 08 2013


I dunno. I was told that most dairy cows are factory farmed in the US, but not by a reliable source. The best information I could find (without expending more than three minutes) on the Web says: "The truth is that the majority of the dairy products in this country come from cows that are raised in a factory farming environment, where they rarely see the light of day" but I have no way to guage the neutrality of that statement.

Another piece on the Web says "The vast majority of dairy cows in the U.S., around 75 percent, will never graze in pasture and most won't spend any time outside. And most cows that are outside aren't nibbling on greener pastures, but are instead confined in barren dirt lots,"
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 08 2013


If they were someone would write on the depletion of America's grasslands.
-- rcarty, Mar 08 2013



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