Dual-purpose chicken

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A dual-purpose chicken describes a form of dual-purpose breed for the application of chicken breeding. In general, a dual-purpose chicken is therefore a breed or cross of the domestic chicken that can be kept for both laying eggs and for slaughtering. There is no precise definition of eggs laid per year, final weight or rate of growth.

history

Traditional chicken breeding basically refers to a combination of meat and egg production. In the pre-industrial age, it usually affected small-scale livestock farming with local chicken breeds without specific breeding programs. In the context of industrialization, large breeding facilities and a corresponding separation of laying and fattening breeds came about. Ultimately, this resulted in the current situation, with hybrid chickens being kept in gigantic halls for either meat or egg production.

Current development of the dual use concept

The background of the dual use concept lies in the problems of the existing conventional chicken breeding. There is no market for male chicks because they cannot lay eggs and, as broilers, grow too slowly and have high nutritional requirements. Therefore, the chicks are killed within a few hours of hatching. Two-purpose chicken breeding is an alternative to this conventional hybrid chicken breeding. In breeding, selection is not based on laying or slaughter performance, but on a balanced ratio that enables the female chicks to be used as laying hens and the male chicks for fattening.

When male laying hybrids are used as house chicks, there is definitely potential for marketing due to the better meat taste.

The use of dual-purpose chickens is intended to reduce the problem of male “ day-old chicks ” in the poultry industry, since male chicks are not killed immediately after hatching, as is usual, but are used for meat consumption.

Market development

Germany

  • The Bruderhahn initiative charges a surcharge of four cents per egg in order to finance the longer fattening period of at least 16 weeks compared to broilers.
  • Under the brand Alnatura and in the stores of the Basic-AG only eggs from dual-purpose chickens are offered.
  • In addition to various other organic initiatives with its own label, Rewe and its discounter Penny have been the first in the conventional area to offer eggs from the hybrid chicken Lohmann Sandy since February 2017 , with the roosters being raised and fattened until they are ready for slaughter.
  • Also Aldi , Edeka and Real offer eggs right from dual-purpose chickens.

Austria

  • The organic industry in Austria decided in 2016 not to kill any more male chicks. In order to support the unprofitable fattening of the roosters, consumers pay a few cents more for organic eggs.

Switzerland

  • In Switzerland, Coop started a trial with dual-purpose chickens in 2014. So far, around ten companies across Switzerland are participating.
  • Since January 1, 2016 , the corresponding male chicks for the number of Bio Suisse eggs produced under the label “henne & hahn” have not been killed after hatching. Since February 2018, the eggs have also been available from Aldi in Switzerland.
  • In Switzerland, Demeter decided in July 2017 to only market eggs from the “Hahn im Glück” project from 2019 onwards. This makes Demeter the first organic label in Switzerland to include the dual-purpose chicken in the guidelines.

Typical dual-purpose chickens

Lower Rhine (blue pearl)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ What is a dual-purpose chicken , accessed December 13, 2012
  2. ^ Henning Biedermann. The new dual-purpose chicken ( memento from December 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Website. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  3. ↑ Hessischer Rundfunk: dual-purpose chicken: animals for meat and eggs. ( Memento from April 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ^ Christian Hetzenecker. LesBleues dual-purpose chicken. (December 13, 2012)
  5. ↑ M Koenig, G Hahn, K Damme and M Schmutz: Use of male laying hybrids as house chicks  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 422 kB).@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bioland.de  
  6. ↑ Killing of chicks. Brothers, to the sun, to the saucepan. taz of November 20, 2013.
  7. ↑ Alnatura eggs. In: alnatura.de. Retrieved December 17, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Egg sale: Penny and Rewe are taking a stand against the killing of chicks. www. noz .de, January 27, 2017
  9. ↑ Bruderhahn vs. Chick shredding. In: daserste.de . Retrieved December 17, 2018 .
  10. ↑ a b c Sorted out and thrown away - Only a few niche providers are stopping chick killing In: srf.ch , March 29, 2018, accessed on March 29, 2018.
  11. ↑ Pilot projects to promote animal welfare. In: taten-statt-worte.ch. Retrieved April 16, 2019 .
  12. ↑ "henne & hahn": Brother chick program for more animal welfare from now on at ALDI SUISSE In: aldi-suisse.ch, January 31, 2018, accessed on March 29, 2018.
  13. ↑ As of 2019, Demeter Switzerland will only offer "Hahn im Glück". In: demeter.ch, July 4, 2017, accessed on March 29, 2018.
  14. ↑ Description of the breeding of Kollbecksmoorhühnern by the Initiative for the Conservation of Old Poultry Breeds , accessed on February 7, 2017