Hatchery Practices

[birdnutz]

At least they're being used for something good. As for grinding them up,do you suppose this is the chicken byproducts in dog/cat food?
I think it would be horrable to just throw them away in a dumpster to die. They should at least make an attempt to find placement for these chicks.

 

[eggcetra_farms]

There's a book called "Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs" that discusses this topic and more. It's by Karen Davis, Ph.D. (I checked it out at the library). She mentions the male chicks being thrown into trash cans to suffocate, grinded up dead or alive to make pet food, being sold as "Easter Chicks," etc. It's a horribly depressing read, but if you want to know what the poultry industry is really like, it's a good book.

 

[mdbucks]

OK I will weigh in here

What would you do with 1000's probbly add a couple more 00's to that each week. everyone says give them away I checked 4 different hatcheries they "give" away cockerals asst breeds .36 to .60, and I'll bet they dont sell a whole lot of those. How many on this board have ordered cockerals only???? ANYONE?

As far as giving to the poor needy, do any of yo HONESTLY think that if I give 100 chicks to someone that can barely keep food on the table, or most likely WE as taxpayers are putting food on the table for them(food stamps etc....) that they are gonna put up a coop, buy food, prediter proof the area, and in general keep these chicks healthy for 6-8 months till they are big enough to eat, then either butcher them or pay(maybe we could subsidize that too) to have them butchered?

The reason there are so many extra males is everyone wanting eggs gets pullets only.

How many of you that dont eat chicken have same #of hens as roos??

if you really want bad thoughts, think how many roos were unwanted for all the egg factories, if 50/50 ratio that is a lot of nonlaying chicken that have to be dealt with.

REALITY TIME: No one likes it but I bet when you want 25 Buff Orps, RIR, etc.... You are gonna get on line and order Pullets only and those that get straight run will be complaining because No one wants the excess roos, and complain because the one person that does want them is gonna put them in the stew pot.

just check the buy sell trade forum here

free GLW cockerel

you can replace GLW with almost any other breed, but everyone seems to want to SELL or BUY pullets/Hens


Well go ahead tell me how WRONG I am but that is what I think​

 

[sunnychooks]

This is pretty nasty stuff...

Does anyone know if there is a difference between the practices of hatcheries that produce chickens for consumption and those that produce chickens for enthusiats and hobbists?

What is the source (sources) for the assumptions being discussed in this post?

 

[serendipity22]

I have to agree with mdbucks. I, myself, ordered only pullets from a hatchery and still received 5 roosters. They're running around my yard fighting each other and having their way with the hens. I know that their time is running out and I'll either have to put them in the freezer or give them to someone else who will put them in their freezer.

Yet there are those out there that will look down on processing them. But the other option is putting them in a cage for the rest of their life. And what kind of life is that? And for those that want to give the chicks to the low income... Well, unfortunately, they typically don't have the space, time or the money to throw at raising chickens 'properly'.

Believe me... If there are low income families that want chickens, there are enough people out there who would give chickens to them.

To do your part to help with this problem, order straight run (and deal with the roosters when the time comes...)

JMHO...

 

[Agilityscots]

Quote:
Thanks Eggcetera, that's the book I was thinking of...I read it when I was deciding on whether or not to become a veggie (it wasn't terribly difficult...all you have to do is scratch the surface to learn about the horrible practices of factory farming).

And I agree, it IS tough. Nobody wants boys, everyone wants girls. Even though I'm a vegetarian, I have no problems with others raising their chickens for meat; if they've lived a good and happy life, and they were humanely slaughtered, that's more than most Tyson and Perdue chickens could ever dream of.

Amy

 

[PurpleChicken]

mdbucks,

I have to agree with everything you say. If the hatchery I bought my pullets from
offered me 1 free male for every female I ordered I still wouldn't have been able to
do it. Now factor in the thousands of chickens and eggs I've eaten in my lifetime
and you have an unGodly amount of males that were most likely destroyed.

As for donating them to the poor your correct there too. It would be cheaper
for us or the government to buy them factory farm produced chickens than for
them to raise their own, at least in todays society. I do like the idea of certain
charities that purchase chickens for poor families in developing countries but
that really has nothing to do with what we are talking about here.

So, for all uf us wanting to make a change we have to start in our own backyards.
Before I order another pullet for any reason I will do my best to buy an equal
amount of males to raise as meat birds. Yea, I know it's a futile effort and will
make no difference but if we all did it then maybe it would.

I know this sounds very liberal and idealistic but I believe in practicing what I
preach. A true conservative should both respect and "conserve" life.

Don

 

[silkiechicken]

I agree with mdbucks and purplechicken on those points they've made. I fully believe that if you want certain practices to be stopped, it does little good to only protest them. You have to change your own ways. Like when you order birds, only get straight run and deal with the fact you cannot keep 1 rooster per hen unless you want to pen them all up.

Then when it comes to just giving them away, that can only happen so many chicks. How many people are ticked when they get their order of 25 pullets and end up with an extra 15 packing peanuts that they try in vain to find good pet homes for.

Even if they were all raised up for meat, it would become uneconomical on a large scale, especially with the way the market is and how nobody will do it commercially if they can' t make money off it. The standard person wants to see that big wide breasted cornish x on the dinner table. Even if everyone on this board raised their own extra roosters for the table, there are many other people who can't afford to do this and sadly, could not afford to eat if food cost the price it was to raise them humanely. Sure someone can pay $4 a lb for happily raised chicken, but not everyone can.

I myself usually buy pullets and eat the roos. I'd be happy as long as the male chicks were put to good use in their short lives, even though that may not actually happen.

 

[WindyOaksYokes]

Okay, time for my two cents for what it is worth...

I am one of the low income at the moment... my husband is a disabled vet and I am putting myself through college to better myself and career... We have 5 kids, which only 4 live at home... that being said

We started raising to save money... yes it has been rough, but we make it and I know there are others out there just like us!!! We have been lucky and have gotten free wood, etc for a coop.

As for ordering... We ordered st. run and pullets, we have slowly been eating the roos since we had 19 of them... and I have also found that there are other options of giving our roos away... BUT, I still don't like that fact that they are killing them and making them suffer... give the things away... help the less fornate... and yes, low income can find a way to house them if they really want too!!!

Now that everyone out there knows our business I am ashammed... especially being low income... BUT, I had to say something on this topic...

Take care all

 

[silkiechicken]

At least you are making it the best you can and have a yard at least where you can keep your birds. That's great. And going to school to get an education, that is excellent. I applaud you for that investment you are making for yourself and your family.

The majority of low income in this area... about half the kids that went to my HS, lived in housing caped high density apartments. These were the ones I was thinking about. Even if they wanted to raise birds for themselves and grow their own food, they just don't have the space. They are families living in 600-800 square foot apartments. I know someone who is low income and fortunate enough to live a house with a small yard... as time has gone by, more and more of their backyard has become a garden to feed themselves. To make the house payments, there are 4 families living there, one in each bedroom and one in the living room.