The Hidden Victims: Male Chicks in the Egg Industry
Every time we crack open a few eggs for breakfast, a few of us pause to think about what happens behind the scenes in the egg industry. One of the most overlooked and brutal practices is the mass culling of male chicks—innocent lives whose only “fault” is the wrong sex for the role the industry demands.
Why male chicks are killed
Hens raised for egg production come from fertilised eggs, so male and female chicks hatch in roughly equal numbers. However, male chicks cannot lay eggs, and the breeds used for egg production are not the same as the fast-growing meat broilers. Because raising them to meat weight is not economically viable, the industry treats male layer chicks as surplus. The result: billions of day-old male chicks are killed annually worldwide.
How it happens
The methods are deeply distressing. Male chicks are often killed on the very day they are born. Methods include suffocation, gassing with carbon dioxide or inert gases, cervical dislocation, electrocution, or being ground alive in mechanical macerators. These practices occur in farms labelled “battery-cage”, “free-range”, “organic” or “enriched” alike—sexing and culling are hidden under the veneer of “egg production”.
Are there alternatives?
Yes—and they matter. Technologies now exist to determine the sex of the chick before hatching (in-ovo sexing), which means the embryo can be sorted before life begins in the hatchery. Some European producers have adopted these practices on a large scale. However, they are far from universal, and many campaigners argue that even with this innovation, the industry still kills laying hens after a short life of egg production.
The cliché “egg is innocent” needs rethinking. The hidden reality of male chick culling reveals that the eggs we buy often involve lives discarded before they even begin. When we know better, we can choose better. By shining a light on this cruel practice, we reclaim our power as consumers—and as guardians of how we treat other sentient beings.
