The Dark Truth: Chicken Factory Killing Methods

Chickens are one of the most commonly consumed meats in the United States, with over 9 billion slaughtered for food each year. The process of raising and killing chickens for meat, or broilers, involves intensive farming practices that have been criticised for causing immense suffering to both animals and humans. From the moment they hatch, chickens in factory farms are deprived of natural behaviours and social structures, kept in crowded and unsanitary conditions, and subjected to painful procedures such as beak cutting to prevent pecking due to frustration. The slaughtering process involves stunning, slaughter, and processing, with every part of the bird utilised for human or animal consumption. While regulations aim to ensure food safety, the treatment of chickens in factory farms and the lack of federal laws protecting them from abuse have raised ethical concerns among consumers and animal welfare organisations.

Chickens are stunned, slaughtered, and processed

Chickens are generally stunned before slaughter to ensure some level of humane treatment. These broiler chickens, raised for meat, are typically transferred to holding cages or modular bins, designed for transport to the processing plant. This is done to ensure the birds don't hurt themselves or others, and that they have enough airflow. The chickens are then stunned, slaughtered, and processed.

The slaughtering process involves removing the organs, cleaning the carcasses, and inspecting them for quality. To further reduce bacteria, water and an organic rinse may be applied to each bird. These rinses are closely regulated by the USDA and FDA and have been deemed safe for use in food production.

After the chickens are slaughtered, the carcasses may be sent to a rendering plant, where they are heated and ground up into chicken meal, which is used in commercially available pet food. Every part of the bird is used; for example, chicken feet are considered a delicacy in some countries, and feathers are rendered and used as protein in animal feed.

Before the product is packaged, it is chilled to a lower temperature to ensure freshness and cleanliness. The product then passes through a metal detector to ensure no foreign objects are present. Finally, the product is packaged into boxes with labels displaying the date packaged, the USDA seal of approval, and the establishment number of the plant. Trailers are inspected to ensure they are functioning correctly and are properly cooled and cleaned before shipment.

While the above process is for large-scale chicken factories, small-scale chicken slaughtering is also practised. This involves using a cone and a sharp knife to slaughter the chickens.

Humane handling and transportation

Capture and Transport

When capturing and transporting chickens from farms to processing plants, several measures should be implemented to minimise stress and injury. First, the use of well-designed, properly sized, and adequately ventilated transport containers is essential. These containers should have smooth surfaces to prevent injury and enough space to accommodate the flock without overcrowding.

It is also crucial to maintain appropriate environmental conditions during transport.

Chickens are deprived of natural behaviours

Chickens are social birds that function well in small groups, where each bird can find its spot in the pecking order. However, in factory farms, chickens are often confined to massive, windowless sheds, with tens of thousands of birds in one space. This makes it impossible for them to establish a social structure, and the frustrated birds often resort to relentless and abnormal pecking, causing injury and even death.

In natural environments, chickens engage in various natural behaviours such as walking, pecking, scratching the litter, perching, and foraging. However, in factory farms, chickens spend most of their time lying down due to weak leg muscles and painful leg disorders. The rapid growth of broiler chickens, achieved through genetic manipulation, results in their legs being unable to support their body weight. This also puts a strain on their hearts and lungs, leading to fatigue and a lack of energy for exercise.

To address these issues, some higher-welfare systems provide chickens with more space, natural light, and straw bales to encourage natural behaviours. Free-range and organic chickens have access to fresh air and green spaces, with trees and shrubs for cover and shelter. These systems offer reduced growth rates and opportunities for chickens to exhibit their natural behaviours, improving their leg and heart health and overall quality of life.

In contrast, factory-farmed chickens are subject to intensive confinement, leading to filthy conditions that breed disease. They are fed sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics, contributing to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The average chicken today is four times bigger than in the 1950s due to genetic selection and growth-promoting practices.

Additionally, the lighting in factory farms is kept on almost all day and night to encourage more eating and growth, resulting in chronic sleep deprivation for the chickens. This further adds to the unnatural and stressful conditions that these birds are forced to endure.

Male chicks are killed or ground up alive

Male chicks are considered "useless" by the egg industry because they cannot lay eggs and are not suitable for chicken-meat production. As a result, billions of male chicks are killed shortly after hatching using methods such as maceration, gassing, suffocation, and electrocution. Maceration involves transferring chicks to a machine called a grinder, where they are killed by shredding while still alive and fully conscious. Gassing, another common method, has been described as inhumane as it causes prolonged suffering prior to death.

In recent years, there has been growing opposition to the practice of male chick culling due to animal welfare concerns. Animal rights organizations like PETA and Animal Equality have launched campaigns to raise awareness and pressure producers to end this brutality. They advocate for plant-based egg alternatives and the development of technologies for sex determination of eggs during the early stages of incubation, which would remove the need for culling.

Several countries have taken steps to address this issue. Germany and France jointly banned all chick killing from January 1, 2022, with Italy following suit by approving a similar law to be implemented by the end of 2026. Luxembourg amended its Animal Protection Act to prohibit "eliminating animals for exclusively economic reasons," which includes killing male chicks. These legislative changes set a precedent for other nations to follow and promote higher animal welfare standards.

While the chicken industry continues to face criticism for its inhumane practices, efforts are being made to reduce chick culling. The Ukrainian government, for example, adopted legislation in 2022 to comply with EU regulations requiring the stunning of all animals before slaughter, demonstrating a commitment to improving animal welfare during the slaughter process. Additionally, researchers are exploring alternatives to male chick culling, such as fluorescence spectroscopy for in-ovo sexing, which complies with Germany's legal requirement for early sexing.

Chicken parts are used for animal feed

Chickens are generally slaughtered and processed for meat after they reach the proper size and weight, which usually takes up to seven weeks. After they are stunned, slaughtered, and processed, every single part of the bird is used. Chicken feet, for example, are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, while feathers are rendered and used as protein in animal feed. The carcasses may also be sent to a rendering plant, where they are heated and ground up into chicken meal, which is then used in commercially available pet food.

Chicken feed is formulated with different ingredients depending on whether it is aimed at layers, chicks, or adult chickens. The feed is designed to provide a healthy and well-rounded diet, with the top ingredients in most bagged feeds being corn, soybean meal, and wheat or wheat middlings. Chicken feed may also include cereals such as wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, or rye, as well as the byproducts produced during the milling or brewing of these grains.

Protein is an important component of chicken feed, as it is necessary for the birds' nutrition. While most protein comes from soybean, canola, or sunflower meal, it can also be sourced from animal byproducts such as bone, feather, and fish meal. In some cases, poultry meat and feather by-meal are used in chicken feed. Chicken feed also contains fats or oils, which help chickens absorb vitamins and provide energy. Common sources of fat include rendered pig or beef fat, linseed, soy, sunflower, or palm oil. Vitamins and minerals such as amino acids, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, Lysine, and methionine are also added to the feed.

There are various types of chicken feed available, including pellets, crumbles, and mash. Organic chicken feed is grown with fewer agricultural chemicals, while commercially produced medicated feeds can protect against common chicken diseases. "Scratch" is a type of feed designed to keep chickens from getting bored, but it lacks key nutrients and should only be fed in limited quantities.

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