For decades, chick culling, the routine killing of newly hatched male chicks because they cannot lay eggs and are not considered profitable by the egg industry, has been treated as an unavoidable part of egg production. An estimated 7 billion newly hatched male chicks, approximately 200 every second, are killed worldwide each year.
But as technologies and other alternatives become increasingly available, that is beginning to change. In-ovo sexing technology can identify the sex of an embryo before hatching, providing one pathway for eliminating the need to kill male chicks after they are born. The technology is already being used commercially, and countries and companies are beginning to move away from chick culling. Yet despite these advances, billions of newly hatched male chicks continue to be killed each year, raising questions about why the practice persists when alternatives are available.
A new Mercy For Animals investigation provides a firsthand look at chick culling inside a commercial hatchery.
The investigation documents newly hatched male chicks being forcibly separated from female chicks and killed shortly after hatching. Depending on the facility, common methods of chick culling include maceration and gassing. The investigation also documented deformed or unsold female chicks being discarded through the same process.
The findings come as chick culling begins to change elsewhere. Germany and France have banned the practice, while in-ovo sexing technology has reached commercial use in markets, including the United States and Brazil. Canada has also seen the development of technology capable of determining sex as early as day four of incubation.
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