Hello, I’m Helen, And I Was Destined To Live Caged Until Death

I’m Helen, a hen from the egg industry. I’ve spent most of my life in a cage the size of a sheet of paper. Six of us lived in that tiny, dirty cage. On the farm, there was a total of 30,000 caged hens. Over a year and a half, I became an egg-laying machine. That was the only reason for my existence. During that time, three of my cage companions died from exhaustion.  They never received any veterinary care, as there is no individualized attention on those farms. I painfully recall how they suffered in agony. Farmers never came to remove the last companion, Joyce, who died next to me. The rest of us lived for months with her decaying body.

For me, every day was the same. I never saw sunlight, and the farm was artificially lit almost all the time to force us to stay awake and lay more eggs. I never received the slightest sign of affection. I had very little hope of getting out alive from that awful place. I thought I would die like my friends. For me, that was my whole world. I never imagined I would know a place outside of that cage. I believed that a life of suffering was inevitable for my kind. I gradually became weaker because of my poor diet and how often I was laying eggs. On the farm, a rumor began to spread that farmers were going to kill us all. I was terrified, but then, it happened.

At first, I thought that those people with the lights came to kill us. I thought my heart would stop from fear. However, the unthinkable happened: they opened my cage and I took me out of it very carefully. They caressed me; they spoke to me in a friendly tone. I wasn’t quite sure what was happening. Finally, we came out of that awful place and they led me to my new home. As difficult as it may seem, I am now a free hen.

Now I know that the world was not only that factory farm. For the first time, I saw the sunlight and stepped on the grass. I’m very lucky; there was a one in 30,000 chance that they chose me, and they did. Now I live with people who care for me, feed me, and protect me. When I don’t feel good, they provide me with veterinary care. It is a dream come true. I often think of all my colleagues who didn’t have such luck. I know that all are dead now because after two years our egg-production decreases and we are sent to slaughter. Sometimes I feel guilty for having survived; but when I feel this way, there is always a friendly person who hugs me and gives methe strength to go on and enjoy my new life.

  Please, help all the hens that don’t know that there is a world outside of those cruel farms of the egg industry. By replacing the eggs in your diet, you’re saying no to a lot of suffering innocent victims like me are forced to face. I know I can trust that will make the right decision because you are on the side of the animals. You are the hope for the animals. Thank you. Here are some great ways to ditch the eggs in your diet.