I was wondering if anyone knew anything about culling chicks with something like a macerator? My small egg business is expanding and I heard that macerating is an easy, quick option. Would anyone know where I should begin my search in finding one? Or, is there a better option?
Chick culling
- Thread starter MaryJean
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chrismahon
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Putting live chicks through a macerator is illegal in the UK MaryJean, on welfare grounds and has been for years. They used to feed the result back to the chickens hence the massive Salmonella health scare in the 1980's. Chicks are now gassed with CO2, which is effectively suffocation and not that humane either in my opinion. The poor little bodies are then incinerated.
dinosaw
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I thought macerating was still legal here Chris?. I've always thought it was such a pity that male chicks have no future beyond day old, I remember watching a video on Spiegel online about farmers who bought the day olds raised them to around 6 months on a free range basis and then sold them as a niche poultry product for people who liked a darker meat. However I recently read this article, which suggests that despite there being a will to prevent culling of day old chicks in Germany the consumer there has very little interest in alternatives to broiler white meat.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/lohmann-dual-breed-of-super-chicken-could-cut-down-on-chick-culling-a-927902.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/lohmann-dual-breed-of-super-chicken-could-cut-down-on-chick-culling-a-927902.html
Hi Maryjean and welcome to the Forum.
How many male chicks do you need to cull? I don't know what the cutoff point would be, where it would be best to obtain specialist equipment for the job, though I can see there would be a stage in the expansion of your business where this would be an issue. Presumably you are hatching sexlinked chicks?
I'm not sure whether anyone on here will be able to give you the advice you need because this is basically a hobby forum. We tend to agonise over how to rehome our few surplus cockerels, or else how to cull them once the neighbours start to complain! Or we buy POL pullets and leave the responsibility for dealing with the boys to the breeder. But we do understand the need to deal with male chicks/cockerels, it's just how to do this as humanely as possible which concerns us as I'm sure is the case with you also.
Sorry not to be more help, but I would be interested to know how you get on with this problem, in due course.
How many male chicks do you need to cull? I don't know what the cutoff point would be, where it would be best to obtain specialist equipment for the job, though I can see there would be a stage in the expansion of your business where this would be an issue. Presumably you are hatching sexlinked chicks?
I'm not sure whether anyone on here will be able to give you the advice you need because this is basically a hobby forum. We tend to agonise over how to rehome our few surplus cockerels, or else how to cull them once the neighbours start to complain! Or we buy POL pullets and leave the responsibility for dealing with the boys to the breeder. But we do understand the need to deal with male chicks/cockerels, it's just how to do this as humanely as possible which concerns us as I'm sure is the case with you also.
Sorry not to be more help, but I would be interested to know how you get on with this problem, in due course.
