Chick slaughtering
Chick slaughtering is the culling of newly hatched male chickens for which breeders have no use. In an industrial egg-producing facility, about half of the newly hatched chicks will be male and would grow up to be roosters, which do not lay eggs and therefore there is no incentive for the breeder to keep alive. Most of the male chicks are usually killed shortly after birth.
History
Prior to the development of modern meat breeds, most male chickens (cockerels) would usually be slaughtered for meat, whilst females(pullets) would be kept for egg production. However, once farmers bred separate meat and egg breeds, it became apparent that there was no reason to keep males of the egg breed alive. As a result the males of every 'batch' of egg-laying chickens would be killed as soon as possible to reduce losses incurred by the breeder through the feeding and sheltering of them. Special techniques were developed to accurately determine the sex of chicks at as young an age as possible.
The culling of unwanted chicks
In industrial factory farms, Chicks that are not intended for rearing are culled shortly after their sex is determined, usually before they are 72 hours old. Chicks are generally killed through use of a mechanically operated apparatus approved for that purpose in accordance with national legislation.
Methods
Several methods have been used to cull chicks:
- Maceration, using a large high-speed grinder into which the chicks are thrown.
- Gases or gas mixtures, often carbon dioxide is used to induce unconsciousness and then death.
- Cervical dislocation, manually induced dislocation of the spinal column from the skull.
- Burying alive.
- Electrocution, a new method that has been touted as being cheap, reliable, and humane by its developers [1]
Recommended culling practices
The American Veterinary Medical Association recommends cervical dislocation and asphyxiation by carbon dioxide as the best options, but has recently amended their guidelines to include maceration[2].
The 2005-2006 American Vetinary Medical Association Executive Board held its final meeting July 13 in Honolulu, prior to the 2006 session of the House of Delegates and the AVMA Annual Convention. It proposed a policy change, which was recommended by the Animal Welfare Committee on disposal of unwanted chicks, poults, and pipped eggs. The new policy states, in part, "Unwanted chicks, poults, and pipped eggs should be killed by an acceptable humane method, such as use of a commercially designed macerator that results in instantaneous death. Smothering unwanted chicks or poults in bags or containers is not acceptable. Pips, unwanted chicks, or poults should be killed prior to disposal. A pipped egg, or pip, is one where the chick or poult has not been successful in escaping the egg shell during the hatching process.[3]
Controversy
Animal rights activists maintain that the practice of chicken slaughtering is inhumane. Many vegans cite this practice as part of the reason they avoid eating eggs. It is largely unknown by the public that the practice of chicken slaughtering takes place. Chicken culling usually occurs with little or no oversight by the public or official authorities, a fact which breeders have been known to take advantage of, with instances such as the placement of thousands of live chickens into a woodchipper having occurred. [4]