5 ms·

Very much agreed, but still happy to see people trying to take a step in the right direction. They do mention ending the practice of killing male chicks, which

Very much agreed, but still happy to see people trying to take a step in the right direction. They do mention ending the practice of killing male chicks, which is currently universal among egg-producing farms.

ars 10y ago
> They do mention ending the practice of killing male chicks Why? I mean if you want to make sure animals are not in pain, and treated well, no problem. But what's the reason for not killing the male chicks? What do they plan to do with them? Release them back into the wild?
- Sophistifunk 10y ago
  It's either an outlandish demand they can let go of during negotiation in order to appear reasonable, Trump-style, or a genuine demand in order to make the price of eggs increase 10x, because they honestly believe the state should eventually be enforcing veganism.
  - manmal 10y ago
    IDK if that price is well calculated, but here in Austria we can buy 6 organic eggs for which no male chicks died vs 10 organic eggs where they do die. Same price. Doesn't look like x10.
    - ars 10y ago
      What do they do with the males?
      - pcardh0 10y ago
        They live on a farm, somewhere, you really wouldn't want to visit.
        labster 10y ago
        Place your wagers.
- MustardTiger 10y ago
  Only produce female chicks in the first place. The tech is already available, only introduces a small increase in cost, and I believe Germany is mandating its use in a few years already.
  - ars 10y ago
    > The tech is already available There is no such tech. If you think there is post a link to it. At best there is current research (not actually a product yet) to identify the chicks while still in the egg, and I see absolutely no difference between killing them in the egg or out of it. Just kill them painlessly (i.e. extremely quickly) and move on.
    - semi-extrinsic 10y ago
      I believe the GP comment wasn't too far off. This article from last year says the Germans have done promising research and intend to have a working prototype this year, which sexes (technical term) chicks at just three days after inoculation. http://m.thepoultrysite.com/news/34741 http://m.thepoultrysite.com/news/34741 I also understand there is no tech used to identify the sex of chicks at a young enough age. It's a highly specialized skill (chicken sexing) that takes lots of training. I think it's even specialized between different types of poultry.
      - ars 10y ago
        > I believe the GP comment wasn't too far off. "The tech is already available, only introduces a small increase in cost" vs: "have done promising research and intend to have a working prototype this year" I consider that quite far off. They don't even have a prototype to show that it even works, let alone cost information for "a small increase in cost".
    - infectoid 10y ago
      CSIRO in Australia is all over this. Article http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-12/marking-male-embroys-a-solution-to-egg-industry-dilemma/7236322 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-12/marking-male-embroys-a... Short Doco / News Report http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2016/s4427149.htm http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2016/s4427149.htm

ars 10y ago

> They do mention ending the practice of killing male chicks Why? I mean if you want to make sure animals are not in pain, and treated well, no problem. But what's the reason for not killing the male chicks? What do they plan to do with them? Release them back into the wild?

Sophistifunk 10y ago
It's either an outlandish demand they can let go of during negotiation in order to appear reasonable, Trump-style, or a genuine demand in order to make the price of eggs increase 10x, because they honestly believe the state should eventually be enforcing veganism.
- manmal 10y ago
  IDK if that price is well calculated, but here in Austria we can buy 6 organic eggs for which no male chicks died vs 10 organic eggs where they do die. Same price. Doesn't look like x10.
  - ars 10y ago
    What do they do with the males?
    - pcardh0 10y ago
      They live on a farm, somewhere, you really wouldn't want to visit.
      - labster 10y ago
        Place your wagers.
MustardTiger 10y ago
Only produce female chicks in the first place. The tech is already available, only introduces a small increase in cost, and I believe Germany is mandating its use in a few years already.
- ars 10y ago
  > The tech is already available There is no such tech. If you think there is post a link to it. At best there is current research (not actually a product yet) to identify the chicks while still in the egg, and I see absolutely no difference between killing them in the egg or out of it. Just kill them painlessly (i.e. extremely quickly) and move on.
  - semi-extrinsic 10y ago
    I believe the GP comment wasn't too far off. This article from last year says the Germans have done promising research and intend to have a working prototype this year, which sexes (technical term) chicks at just three days after inoculation. http://m.thepoultrysite.com/news/34741 http://m.thepoultrysite.com/news/34741 I also understand there is no tech used to identify the sex of chicks at a young enough age. It's a highly specialized skill (chicken sexing) that takes lots of training. I think it's even specialized between different types of poultry.
    - ars 10y ago
      > I believe the GP comment wasn't too far off. "The tech is already available, only introduces a small increase in cost" vs: "have done promising research and intend to have a working prototype this year" I consider that quite far off. They don't even have a prototype to show that it even works, let alone cost information for "a small increase in cost".
  - infectoid 10y ago
    CSIRO in Australia is all over this. Article http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-12/marking-male-embroys-a-solution-to-egg-industry-dilemma/7236322 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-12/marking-male-embroys-a... Short Doco / News Report http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2016/s4427149.htm http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2016/s4427149.htm