In the global poultry sector chickens are bred and reared specifically for high egg or high meat production, creating different breeds with different characteristics. Male chicks from breeds reared for producing eggs are deemed unsuitable for meat production due to their slow growth rate and low breast meat yield and are therefore culled.

6.4 billion hens are needed to lay eggs for the global market, and this results in over 5 billion one-day old male chicks being culled annually by the commercial egg industry.

This is one of the most controversial issues in the laying hen industry and Compassion is working with food businesses to promote industry solutions to the problem. Coop Switzerland has started to address this welfare issue by developing a new breed of chicken, the ‘Lohman dual’, which can be used to produce both eggs and meat, thus avoiding the need to cull male chicks. They have found that the quality of the meat is comparable to standard chicken and its taste appeals to its customers. Watch our video to learn more about how this achievement won them the Best Retailer Innovation Award 2015.

Where the rearing of male chicks for meat is not practicable, the destruction of eggs containing male embryos - before they become sentient (estimated to be at 15 days) - is preferred over the current practice of destroying the day old chicks.

In September 2014, Unilever decided to address this issue and pledged funding support for technologies that would “eliminate the culling of male chicks in the industry” by working with its suppliers to develop in-ovo gender identification.

Eliminating Male Chick culling in the egg industry