I am writing in response to the Sept. 23 article “Restaurant mistreats chickens” by Jana Hatcher. Before Hatcher voices an opinion to the public, she should have a little education about her topic. Growing poultry is a very difficult job that requires a lot of attention and responsibility.
Chickens are grown for different reasons. Layers are used to lay table eggs. Broiler breeders are used to hatch out chicks for broilers. Broilers are the birds you eat. Each of these birds is grown differently but carefully.
Hatcher has confused breeders with broilers. A breeder’s beak is trimmed to keep the birds from hurting each other during mating. A broiler’s beak is not trimmed. Trimming a bird’s beak is just like cutting your fingernails; it is painless and is beneficial to the bird.
The broiler is grown for its breast meat. So, a large breast in a short amount of time is desirable. Before these birds are placed into a house, just like your household pet, they are vaccinated to ensure immunity against disease. The house is sanitized and prepared just for the birds to make them as comfortable as possible. They are kept at comfortable temperatures no matter what the weather is like outside.
Does the dog outside in the doghouse and pen have an air conditioner or heater?
When these birds reach their desired weight, they are caught and sent to the processing plant. As Hatcher points out, the birds are caught by their legs. This is to keep the birds from actually breaking their bones. They are caught in the dark with little light so that they are calm.
This does not hurt the chicken. They are caught this way to ensure their health. If they do get hurt it costs the grower money. This is an incentive for careful treatment.
After they are caught and placed into crates, they are loaded onto a truck and taken to the processing plant. Hatcher states, “Chicken cages need to be covered to reduce the airflow directly slamming onto the chickens.”
Let me ask Hatcher a question. If she were in a trunk of a car, on a hot summer day, would she rather have the trunk closed, or open so she could have the direct airflow? If the chicken trucks were covered, the birds would smother.
When they reach the plant, they are unloaded into a calming dark room, where they are carefully hung onto shackles by their feet to keep them from breaking bones.
They then go through a special stunning apparatus, which does not hurt the bird. All they feel is a mild shock. The stunning process renders the bird unconscious and calms the bird. It also regulates the heart rate and blood pressure, and loosens the feather follicles.
Before the bird can “wake up” the throat is cut and the entire bird is bled.
Don’t get me wrong, I love animals, and I am all for their ethical treatment, but within reason. There is no way of killing a chicken without a little pain, but they are not tortured in the process. They are treated carefully and made as comfortable as possible.
Brandy Fletcher is a senior poultry science major.