DNA machine can put an end to the grinding of live chickens – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio

– This is incredible! Hatchery manager Nash Mapfumba eagerly watches the eggs being sent through the new machine. – Imagine that we can find out so early whether there is a hen or a rooster inside the egg, he says. Hatchery manager Nash Mapfumba is impressed by the new technology. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news Rugeriet Steinsland & co. på Jæren is the first in the Nordics to install the machine. With the help of DNA analysis, it can find out whether there is a rooster or a hen inside the egg. Through a hormone analysis of fluid from the egg, they can determine whether the embryo is male or female. This allows them to remove the male eggs before hatching. Each chick is sexed after hatching. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news Successful hatching More than 3 million newly hatched male chicks are killed annually in Norway. The reason is that this is a breed that has been bred for the hens to lay eggs. The roosters have little meat on their bodies, and they are not suitable as food. Therefore, it is more profitable to kill the roosters than to feed them. So this is what the new machine will put an end to. Recently, the hatchery sent thousands of eggs through the new machine for the first time. – It was a success. 99.4 per cent of the newly hatched chicks were hens, says managing director Tone Steinsland. The hatchery has worked for several years to create a system that makes it possible to sort eggs by sex. Almost only hens after sorting. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news Satisfied animal guardians Animal guardians pay tribute to the new technology. They have long criticized the practice of grinding male chickens. – It is unethical to breed chickens that are ground to death on their first day of life, says communications manager Live Kleveland in the Animal Protection Alliance. Live male chickens are today ground to death. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news The organization has collected 25,000 signatures from people protesting the grinding. In Germany and France this is prohibited. Several opposition parties in the Storting have criticized the killing of chickens in Norway. Now the news from the hatchery at Jæren is well received by the Animal Protection Alliance. Live Kleveland has long criticized the production of live chickens. Photo: Ihne Pedersen / news – This was high time. The technology has been here for a long time and we are happy that the hatchery has invested in the equipment, says Kleveland. She hopes that the rest of the industry will now follow suit. Eggs become animal feed Steinsland & co. is part-owned by Nortura and accounts for over 60 percent of the laying of broiler hens in Norway. – We have always said that we will do this when the technology is in place. Now it is finally commercially possible to do so, says Tone Steinsland. The new machine has been supplied by the Dutch company Respeggt Group. Tone Steinsland is happy that the eggs can be used as food for pets. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news The hatching eggs that are now being sorted out cannot be used as human food. But the hatchery at Jæren does not want to throw away millions of eggs. Therefore, they plan to deliver this for use in animal feed. – We are working to reach an agreement with the company Norwegian Animal Feed in Sirevåg. They can use the protein-rich eggs in dog and cat food. Each egg is DNA analyzed to determine the sex. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news



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