Found this odd/disturbing video on YouTube

[Guitartists]

The debeaking was the part that really got me too...... the rest was just a bumpy ride..... but that cauterize machine... ooooh poor babies... you could see them cry out

I know it's a common practice, and necessary for what they are using them for... but geesh....... poor babies.

 

[chickenpiedpiper]

Quote:
I would not assume this was a foriegn market at all. I saw a similiar footage one, and it was a well known hatchery here in the states. They check the wing feather lengths to tell male from female, then toss them down the appropriate shoot. I cant let myself think too much on what happens to all the unwanted males. I get horribly upset. in most states, animal cruelty laws do not cover poultry in production settings. They are purposefully excluded. Its just an awful loophole.

What is up with that awful pointless music anyways! Totally mismatched, and tragic in comparison!

Sheesh

 

[Trollkiller]

Whenever I see a disturbing youtube video I just run it through the Benny Hillifier.

http://james.nerdiphythesoul.com/bennyhillifier/?id=wvlHsTjAhrk

Pro tip: Turn up the sound.

 

[jeanniejayne]

Dear Out-of-the-Brooder -- thanks for the good thought. There is something we can do about it, on one level or another.

I remember being surprised to see, on one of the larger hatchery sites, that they trim the beaks of all the chicks, and thinking this was done only at the larger factory farms. I live in Delaware, which produces somewhere among the top 3 numbers of broilers in the US. I work in public health for the state, and we are supplied with newspaper clippings of interest.

I really began to think about changing my buying habits as a result of an article I read about it being potentially dangerous to drive behind a live poultry truck -- even with the windows rolled up. The resistant bacteria blown off these trucks that sticks to door handles is enough to make you sick. Driving close behind with the windows open is of course even more risky. And when I think how we have to sanitize our cutting boards, etc. after preparing fresh chicken for the table, I have to wonder what we are doing to ourselves.

It is so much less expensive to purchase the commercial chicken that one has to really think about it, though. I am fortunate that we live in the country on 1.5 acres, and it is possible ( albeit with a huge commitment) that we could raise and process the birds we eat, or a great percentage of them. It is worth considering.

JeannieJayne

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Music is an interesting thing when coupled with video!

I remember when I was 14 I went to a church youth conference where they showed a 2 min. snippit of "The Man From Snowy River"... some part where he's riding the hore that is trying to buck him or something similar.

Well, the first time through it was played with comical circus type music and you'd swear that the scene was a comedy about some guy having oodles of fun on a horse. They then played the exact same thing with a very melancholy sad soundtrack and you'd swear the video was about a tragic expression of the horses rage upon the rider and the stowic man's anguish that the horse would not obey.

Really hit the point home... that the type of music you listen to can really effect the mood and temperment of a situation.

That said, I'm on a laptop and don't have sound turned on, so the video looked like a simple documentary to me... and while I wasn't really bothered by anything (actually found it interesting) I did flinch a bit at the de-beaking.

 

[Buster]

The feather sexing shown in the video can only be done on certain breeds like meat birds. Most of the chicks that you get from the hatcheries are vent sexed. I watched a show on that once and it's not like the one you watched on the utube links. FWIW.

 

[coffeemama]

Quote:
I would not assume this was a foriegn market at all. I saw a similiar footage one, and it was a well known hatchery here in the states.

I also wonder why everyone assumes this is in a foriegn country-I'll bet it's not. If you are basing it on the workers, then you must not have been to a mass factory of any sort lately-there are all nationalities that work in them.


Quote:
I'm shocked Rob....really!

 

[kristenm1975]

Poohbear, perhaps you missed the point. While I do occasionally have the urge to gobble up the sweet little ones I care for, I generally limit my "consumption" to kisses on the forehead, raspberries on the chubby little knees, and the best care 15 years of experience can provide.

And yes, western chick, its incredible what a human newborn withstands on the way into this big old world. Lots of years caring for infants and toddlers has certainly shown me how durable they are. I've also seen strong healthy babies waste away to fragile shells of their former selves thanks to some mystery illness that eluded even the local ER staff. Thank God, these babies made it and are beautiful, strong children heading into elementary school now, but the picture remains in my mind. Durable, yes, but frighteningly fragile sometimes too. It can change in an instant.

Tomcio, point well taken. People need cheap food, and as long as there is a demand, appetite will trump empathy. This is just one more reason why I'm starting to really question the price of the chicken I buy in chain grocery stores. Yes, it's $10 instead of $15, but my conscience pays the price.

Perhaps true empathy for me would be no longer eating meat of any kind, or maybe it would be me raising my own chickens to eat, but I find I am not strong enough to do the latter. I can't fathom killing the creatures I've spent so much effort in nourishing and protecting. I enjoy having them as pets, and I appreciate so much the nourishment they give me in return.

 

[FrChuckW]

Yes that is actual footage shot in a hatchery. No, that is not in a foreign country but here in North America. You can thank Henry Ford for the invention of the conveyor belt for mass production, lowering of costs.

Yes it appears cruel, but they are not hurt in the process, if they were the ASPCA would have shut them down long ago. Considering the fact that most of those chicks are designated for either egg production or meat production and raised on farms or other types of production facilities the chicks are hatched in large quantities.

It does not mean that all hatcheries operate that way, so you shouldn't assume that they do. Most of the hatcheries take great care and pride in the chicks they produce and sell to the public for their flocks. The bad hatcheries don't stay in business long.

If you watch the PBS DVD/Video called "The Natural History of the Chicken" They not only show basically the same footage of the chicks on a conveyor belt, but they also show an egg production facility with the hens in cages 8 rows high.

 

[Picky Chicky]

Quote:
At the expense of sounding geeky... I immediately added this to my NetFlix queue. Mainly to become more informed. While the stories are so sad, it's like a train wreck - I can't help but look. I'll be depressed for a day after watching it I'm sure.