Found this odd/disturbing video on YouTube

[kristenm1975]

I'm sitting at work, wanting some cute videos of baby chicks to keep me occupied until I get my own in a month or so and naturally went to YouTube to get my fix.

This is what I found! Anybody have any clue whether this is actually something that happens in a hatchery or is this just wickedly good CGI?

 

[alagary]

I'm sure that is for the poultry or egg market

 

[Chicken Woman]

I would assume that is in a foriegn country because of the music and the looks of the people. Chickens are not treated very well in the commercial market. The layers are put in cages that they are not even able to turn around in.

 

[tomcio]

It's real. Look up information on commercial poultry farming.

There is a lot of articles on how the separation process is done. A 'sexer' will grab a chicken and after determining gender will either throw it on the male or female conveyor belts. Keep in mind they have to sex 50000 - 100000 chicks per shipment.

There is very good articles on this stuff online.

 

[kristenm1975]

I just found another video that was apparently a Discovery Channel special report and showed much the same thing, with even more detail, showing how the chicks are hatched, rolled down conveyor belts with whole too big for their discarded shells, but the right size for them to drop down through and on to the next conveyor belt.

I see that that first video was not CGI unfortunately, but I think it's probably safe to assume that, as suggested, this is either in a foreign country or is for meat birds or commercial layers. Sad, either way.

I'm a nanny and I can easily use my imagination and envision human infants going down those conveyor belts and being treated like a non-living, feeling creature. It's really difficult to imagine though how people could put feelings of empathy so far aside to use that kind of system.

 

[Poohbear]

If your imagination can envision human babies on the same level as chickens (food), then I seriously question your ability to govern children properly. Are you in therapy?

 

[agnes_day]

i dont know...i think its kind of cute in a way!

 

[Cetawin]

That has got to be for a poultry farm/market because of the debeaking. But they go through that at the hatchery for eggs and pets too.

The wing thing and tossing them into different shoots is to sex them and that happens at all hatcheries.

 

[Western Chick]

Poohbear that wasn't very nice. She obviously wasn't calling human babies food...all in context.

FYI- here's a video with the rest of the footage. Somehow the little guys make it to their destinations in good shape or they wouldn't do it this way. Take it for what it's worth.

By the way...even newborn human babies are pretty resilient, just think what they have to go through just being born!

That's way worse than having to kick your way out of a shell.

 

[tomcio]

Quote:
You know, I find that as disturbing as you do, but it's a simple formula really:

1. Count number of chicken eating people born everyday
2. Count number of chickens born everyday
3. Now ask yourself how much and average person has to spend on said chicken (on this continent average wage hovers around ~$10/hr give or take, dependent on who's reporting)
4. Realize that most people are more interested in having their belly full rather than quality of their food (or it's lives for that matter)

4 >> 3*(2/1) (or full belly for cheap is far greater than empathy for animals)

Sigh, shake head and enjoy the fact that you can do something about it, no matter on how small as scale.