What's the dark truth?

[Living_Legend]

How do hatcheries take care of the extra chicks? Like on Facebook I see Crakle Hatchery selling chicks at a discount of 50 cents. At this time of year they are definitely not selling all the chicks they hatch.

How do they take care of them, meaning which I believe, how do they put them down?

 

[Rooster G]

Some drop them into a grinder and make feed out of them.

 

[Living_Legend]

Oh man!

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Some places gas them, suffocate them in plastic bags, grind them up alive, or sells them. Mypetchicken sells all of their extra chicks to people who raise them up for meat.

 

[PirateGirl]

I always assumed they became things like dog food in the form of "chicken biproduct meal" but if/how that really happens I don't know. Maybe someone from a hatchery will chime in.

 

[Colly1470]

The grinding is actually more humane than it sounds. It isn't pretty, obviously, but it would be an instant death for something so small, since the parts move so fast.

 

[Colly1470]

I don't work in a hatchery, but I've seen videos of them....it looks like it's a faster death than CD, honestly, since the machine moves faster than human hands do. It's gross, but at least it's really quick.

 

[Wee Timmy]

Don’t quote me on this, but I’m pretty sure that In commercial hatcheries the male chicks are euthanized, and in other hatcheries (Ideal, Cackle, etc.) they use all the extra chicks as “packing peanuts” or filler for small orders.

 

[Colly1470]

Ideal does use them as packing peanuts (they offer the option to skip that, of course).

 

[townchicks]

I believe that there is also a market for frozen chicks to snake owners and zoos. Sad fact of life, most chickens are born to be eaten, one way or another. Not my girls though.