"Feather loss - Hens suffer from feather loss and red sore patches of skin from having to continually stretch their neck through the bars of the cage to reach the food at the front. After one year the hens will develop inflamed and raw chests without any feathers. This also affects the tail and neck area and sadly by the end of their short lives the majority of battery hens have lost the majority of their feathers." Source: http://www.aact.org.au/battery_hens.htm
Reminds me of a knitting hen in that Nick Parks movie, Chicken Run. Wonder if one inspired the other! Very sweet thing to do for the little hens, but it must be a bear to keep them clean
