A Possible Reprieve for the Male Chicks of the Egg Industry
A little known fact about the egg industry is the number of male chicks who are killed in the process of producing eggs. How does that happen? Almost all hens in commercial operations are purchased from hatcheries that dispose of male chicks shortly after hatching since they only need the birds who will lay eggs – the females. The hatcheries need to wait for the eggs to hatch to “sex” the birds and identify males and females. Females get sent to egg industry vendors and males get destroyed. Methods of disposal include suffocation, gassing and grinding alive. These male chicks are not used as “meat” birds because their bodies are not as profitable as conventional broiler chickens (birds bred for and used as “meat” birds) and therefore have very little use and value to the agricultural industry. The killing of male chicks is an unfortunate side effect of egg production. You may notice that there is a column on our Egg Guide that asks vendors “Fate of Male Chicks?” with all of