Backyard chickens kept as pets or for eggs face predation, disease, and behavioral deprivation that welfare guidelines often fail to address.
Backyard chickens often suffer from inadequate predator protection, resulting in traumatic deaths. Those lacking foraging opportunities or dust bathing areas develop frustrated, stereotypic behaviors. Hybrid laying breeds suffer from reproductive disorders including egg peritonitis and ovarian cancer. Without understanding of chicken social dynamics, keepers may inadvertently allow bullying.