egg industry | chickens

Life of a Hen

Photo credits: Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals

Industrialized egg production represents one of the most intensive forms of animal agriculture in the world. It is also a slaughter industry. Few, if any species of farmed animals, endure as much hardship, and for as long, as hens forced into egg production. They are truly among the most exploited.

The Hatchery

The birds used as breeding stock will have their eggs taken away and placed into climate and temperature controlled incubators. After approximately 21 days, the chicks will hatch. Baby chicks are known as precocial which means they are born with their eyes open, are fairly mobile and relatively mature.

Egg incubators at a hatchery | Photo credit: Archives

Sexing

Conveyor systems will carry newly hatched chicks into a sexing room. This is the part of the hatchery where workers will quickly determine the gender of each chick. Females will be sent for beak trimming, vaccination and a rearing facility while the male chicks are disposed of. This is because male chicks don’t lay eggs and are of no value to the industry. And since they have not been bred nor genetically altered to be ideal for meat consumption, they can’t be diverted to broiler facilities (“broilers” is an industry term for meat birds). Thus, they are killed soon after hatching.

Sexing of chicks at a hatchery | Photo credit: Archives

The male chicks are disposed of in one of several ways: they are shredded alive in a macerator; gassed; ground alive in an auger; or sometimes thrown into plastic containers and suffocated. Sometimes the remains of these chicks are used to make low-grade animal feed and filler. The methods of disposal will vary depending on country and region.