McDonald's finally did something right

[chickened]

Only the ones that are mutilated too badly by the automation machinery that would not look good in a plastic bag. The feet are a big source of soup stock.
Quote:

 

[mom'sfolly]

I don't know, but I suspect that much of the chicken in cans, soups etc is spent layers. I also think a lot of them end up in pet food. Chicken and chicken by-products are big ingredients in pet food.

I don't know for sure on either of these.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Campbell's hasn't used spent hens for quite a while. The two biggest buyers are the USDA's National School Lunch Program and pet food manufacturers.

According to USDA data for last year, 172 million chickens other than broilers were sold for slaughter and 107 million were lost, rendered, or composted. That's a drop in the bucket compared to the 8.5 billion bird per year broiler industry in the U.S.

Processing spent layers is pretty inefficient. The egg producers get a dime or two per bird, if that. There isn't much meat there, carcass condemnation rates are high, transportation and processing costs are high. As markets for such product shrink, sometimes the only option is to just compost them on site.

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

Quote:
Campbell's hasn't used spent hens for quite a while. The two biggest buyers are the USDA's National School Lunch Program and pet food manufacturers.

According to USDA data for last year, 172 million chickens other than broilers were sold for slaughter and 107 million were lost, rendered, or composted. That's a drop in the bucket compared to the 8.5 billion bird per year broiler industry in the U.S.

Processing spent layers is pretty inefficient. The egg producers get a dime or two per bird, if that. There isn't much meat there, carcass condemnation rates are high, transportation and processing costs are high. As markets for such product shrink, sometimes the only option is to just compost them on site.

actually most farmers had to pay to get rid of there hens. our spent hens usually went after 2 years. They were loaded up on trucks and then shipped to a processor in canada where they were made into dog food. I could never comprehend at that time why they had to Pay someone to "buy" there hens. Luckly when my batch went they were a heavy breed so I didn't spend or make any money in the selling. I was able to sell a few to backyard farmers though and made a few bucks.