Hatchery Welfare: The First Hours of a Chicken's Life

Commercial hatcheries process billions of chicks and ducklings each year. Welfare issues including male chick culling, transport conditions, and handling practices occur before animals even reach a farm.

Key Facts

Around 7 billion male layer chicks are killed at hatch globally each year
Methods include maceration (grinding) and gassing — both are welfare-contentious
In-ovo sexing technology can identify and eliminate male eggs before hatching
Hatchery transport of chicks involves significant temperature and handling stress
The EU is developing mandatory in-ovo sexing standards to replace chick culling

Welfare Considerations

Hatchery welfare begins before birth: incubation conditions affect chick development and post-hatch stress responses. At hatch, layer hatcheries kill male chicks as commercially worthless using maceration or CO2 — both cause some degree of distress. In-ovo sexing detects sex before neural development, allowing male eggs to be removed without post-hatch killing. Adoption of this technology is accelerating in Europe. Chick transport over long distances without food or water for up to 72 hours is also a significant welfare gap.

What You Can Do

Support brands and retailers committed to adopting in-ovo sexing technology
Advocate for mandatory in-ovo sexing adoption timelines in national legislation
Reduce egg consumption to lower demand from hatchery-dependent production
Choose locally hatched chicks from farms using higher-welfare hatchery standards
Support research into humane chick culling alternatives