Male Chicks Macerated for Our Eggs — But We CAN Take Action!
September 8, 2009
Male Chicks Macerated for Our Eggs — But We CAN Take Action!
Do your eggs come from a certified humane producer? Please read this article anyway because it may apply to you, too.
This post is not about plastic. And the information I’m going to share is gruesome, alarming, and heartbreaking. I’ve been sitting with this knowledge all weekend but didn’t want to write a post until I had more information and ideas for action that we can take. Please read on if you care about the welfare of farm animals, and especially if you enjoy eating eggs.
A Shocking Revelation
Last Thursday, Michael forwarded me an article and video about a practice that seems so cruel it takes my breath away. The article, “” describes a video posted on YouTube by the group Mercy for Animals revealing some pretty inhumane conditions at a facility that hatches chicks for egg producers. The video, , shows chicks being roughly handled as they go down a conveyor belt as humans separate out the males from females, tossing the males down a chute where they fall into a machine called a macerator and are ground alive.
Apparently, this is a very common practice. The males are undesirable because a) they can’t lay eggs and b) the males of the species raised for eggs are not good meat producers. And apparently, this practice is considered humane by several regulatory agencies.
I was shocked, appalled, and sickened by what I saw. But I also thought I couldn’t be contributing to this problem because I get my eggs from the farmers market, from , a certified humane egg producer. But just to be sure, I made some inquiries. I called and emailed both Glaum Egg Ranch and also , the organization that certifies farms as humane. I wanted to know what standards existed about this practice, and I wanted to learn how Glaum treats its male chicks.
Certified Humane Does Not Apply to Hatcheries What I learned is that Glaum doesn’t engage in this practice because it doesn’t hatch its own eggs. In fact, few egg producers do. They buy their eggs from pullet producers which buy their eggs from hatcheries. Which means that humane egg producers may be inadvertently supporting this practice through the chicks they buy!Since this news was revealed, Glaum has been doing its own investigating. They are as concerned about this practice as we are. I’m concerned that my certified humane eggs may have originated from chicks hatched at one of these inhumane facilities. And does not have a standard for certifying hatcheries because it simply does not have the resources to do so.
I had a really great conversation this morning with Adele Douglass, Executive Director of Humane Animal Care, who explained to me a little history of the organization and how it came about. Adele had worked for many years in congress and for several organizations lobbying for the welfare of animals. Eventually, she got involved in rewriting agricultural guidelines, so she’s seen how slow the wheels of government turn. As a consumer, she felt overwhelmed and powerless by the mailings she would get from organizations like PETA, that simply offered no other alternative to consumers than complete veganism. She wanted to find a market solution, and that’s why she and several friends created the Certified Humane labelling program, investing all the money they had in something they believed in.
Humane Farm Animal Care is primarily concerned with the treatment of animals being raised for food and for eggs. You can read the details of the standards on their web site. And the organization actually audits every single farm that requests certification. Regarding hatcheries, here is what Adele wrote me:
We did not write hatchery standards because we did not have any control of the hatcheries. The farmers, as I said, purchase the birds from pullet growers. We do not have the resources to inspect all the pullet growers and then trace back and inspect all of the hatcheries in the US, considering the small number of farmers that are on our program. Every standard must be inspected and audited for. There is no point in writing standards unless you have the capacity to inspect, annually, each and every standard.
That said, the organization absolutely DOES NOT advocate the practice of live male chick maceration and would like to see it stopped.
We Can Take Action!
Besides eschewing eggs, there are other steps we can take to see that this practice is ended as soon as possible. Adele Douglass also told me that research is being done into a procedure for sexing male embryos so that the chicks do not have to actually be hatched and killed. She suggests we write to the Secretary of Agriculture to express our concerns about the treatment of male chicks and ask that funds be allocated for research into alternative methods for sexing males to avoid inhumane treatment.
Write to:
Honorable Tom Vilsack U.S. Department of Agriculture Room 200-A The Whittenberg Building Washington, DC 20250
Dear Mr. Secretary:
I am appalled by the practice of live male chick maceration that is routinely practiced in hatcheries. There is promising research on sexing embryos which would eliminate the current methods of male chick euthanasia. The USDA can help end this inhumane practice by putting funds toward research into sexing embryos. I would like to see this procedure developed as soon as possible to end the suffering and waste created by the painful destruction of so many live birds.
Sincerely,
Beth Terry
Baby Chickens And
Ducks in
Essex, Missouri
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Essex Missouri,
including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more.
Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different
egg layers in smaller amounts and buy as an assortment. Essex
Missouri also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Essex Missouri, bantams for sale, ducks for sale, geese for sale,
turkeys for sale, guinea for sale, peafowl for sale, pheasant for sale,
chukar partridge for sale, bobwhite for sale, many different breeds of
baby chicks for sale in Essex MO.
Baby Chickens Diet in
Essex, Missouri
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Essex Missouri
catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await
the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and
different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to
their site and request one if you are interested.
Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs
that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2
pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros
and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
Essex Missouri * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large
variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best
selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens
available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of
both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money
and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose
all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on
chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the
breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in Essex
Missouri * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell
out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you
are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall
before their orders sell out.
Baby Chickens By Mail in
Essex, Missouri
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries
will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is
necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put
in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce
enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to
buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you
choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship
and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in
Essex Missouri is easy and has always been a very pleasant
experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks
but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all
those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait
was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Essex,
Missouri Baby chicks are really
charming and
hard to resist,
yet it's ideal to plan for their
arrival before you get them. Prepare first
by compiling not only the
correct materials, however
likewise the proper
knowledge to take care of
them. Raising baby chicks is relatively
easy, you simply should supply them with the following: A
clean as well as warm and comfortable
environment Plenty of food and also water Focus as well as
love Habitat Your habitat could be a straightforward box, fish tank,
feline service provider, or guinea
pig cage. Line it with old towels and also
coverings (without any loose
strings!) to start, and after a few weeks utilize straw over newspaper.
Keep in mind: Avoid utilizing only
newspaper or other sandal
surfaces-- or your chicks legs could grow
malformed. You also need
something to serve up food as well as
water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water
recipe from the feed store, or a pickle jar
lid for food and a pet dog bird water dispenser from an animal shop. Likewise, as the chicks grow older you could present a perch
right into the environment to obtain them
trained on perching. Warmth To
maintain your chicks warm you need to
supply them with a warmth source.
This could be as simple as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from an equipment shop, or an infrared reptile heat
light bulb also work very
well (my
recommendation). Chicks require this
heat 24/7 until their downy fluff is
replaced with feathers (which could occupy to two months). The recently
hatched require a temperature
in between 90 as well as 100 degrees,
as well as weekly this can
be minimized by
about 5 degrees approximately. The heat source must get on simply one side of the cage
to enable chicks a range of
temperature levels. The chicks are your finest
thermometer- if they are hiding in the
other corner of your warmth
lamp, you need to
lower the temperature. If
they are surrounding each other under the
warmth (not simply curling up),
you need to include some warmth.
House cleaning
Tidiness is essential and it maintains your chicks healthy and
balanced. Make sure to change
the bed linens
commonly and also
always offer tidy
food as well as water Food and also water.
Chicks expand very quickly
which requires plenty of clean
food and also water. Offer
sufficient whatsoever times and inspect
usually to
stop parched and
hungry chicks. Chick food is various compared
to adult chicken food, and also it is available in both medicated and
also non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
initial 2 months, then
switch to a grower food (~ 17 %
healthy protein) for an additional 2 months,
and after that to a somewhat
lower protein feed or a level feed
(if you have levels). Soil Some chicks prefer to get a running start on taking
dirt bathrooms, while others won't use up that activity up until they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
room, present a tray of sand or
dust for them to shower in.
Attention and also love There are a couple of benefits to spending time with your chicks. Firstly, they will probably bond with you and also
not escape as grownups. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily and
watch their actions, you can
catch illness or other problems previously. Keep an
eye out for wheezing, limping, or
other unhealthy
indicators. Make sure to
also take a look at
their poop, as looseness of the bowels can bring about matted plumes and also stopped up cloaca.
Lastly, it is essential to watch out for social problems, such as the
smallest chick getting teased. Vacant nest syndrome So your
chicks are currently totally feathered
and its time for them to leave the
safety of your house
and also move outside right into a cage. Have a look at our
section on chicken coops to get more information
concerning cages and
proper cage environments.
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