A friend of mine graciously takes my extra eggs. My offspring and I can't eat them all. I told her the eggs came from happy chickens. Her husband heard about the happy chickens and asks, "How do you know the chickens are happy?" Does he doubt the emotions of chickens? I told my friend I would write an essay on chicken happiness that she could show to her husband. Here goes.

People know happiness because they have felt it and they have felt unhappiness. We need the comparison to truly understand it. I think a chicken in a commercial egg laying facility is an unhappy chicken. Egg laying facility chickens live in a battery cage that gives them the space equivalent to nine inches by nine inches. They can't walk or stretch their wings. Such close confinement leads to mental distress and cannibalism. The chickens could peck each other to death. Cannibalism is controlled by de-beaking-slicing off the upper beak with a hot blade so they cannot peck; denying them of a natural instinct. The chickens have to stretch their necks to reach the food tray which rubs the feathers off their necks and causes sores. The air in these facilities can become toxic with the ammonia from their droppings damaging the eyes, the respiratory systems and burns the legs of the chickens. The chickens are fed mash which may contain antibiotics, growth hormones and arsenic. OK, I could go on but I won't. That is enough.

My chickens are free range, organic, and I hope happy. They have beaks to peck with and space to run, walk, fly, and stretch their wings. They sleep in their red coop but the door to the six foot run is open 24 hours a day. They can go outside to see the sun, the moon, the snow or the rain at will. They have an unlimited supply of medicine free mash to eat in a container that is hung at the same height as their heads. In the summer they eat the vegetation and bugs in their run. In the winter they get a little treat in the morning: cucumber, parsley, apple, banana, dried meal worms, or lettuce. Their coop is kept fresh with wood shavings. When I am home the chickens are allowed to leave the run and go into the yard as much as they like. They chose to stay in the run or on top of the coop when the snow was deep but now they are getting more exercise. They can take dust baths and follow their other natural instincts. When I collect the eggs, I say, "Thanks for the eggs!" Call me crazy. I think they're happy.