Day 019 - 27 Jul 94 - Page 11

     
     1        A.  They are cropped when they open the incubator and take
              the hatched chicks out.  The actual hatching occurs over a
     2        longer period within the incubator.
 
     3   MS. STEEL:   How long might a chick be in the incubator before
              it is cropped?
     4        A.  That is a good question.  It is usually recognised in
              the industry, it is about one and a half days; it can go
     5        up to two.
 
     6   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The holding time is between hatching and
              going -----
     7        A.  Dispatch.
 
     8   MS. STEEL:   Anyway you said, I think you said, that you are
              not sure what the mortality rate is at the hatchery?
     9        A.  It is a difficult thing to estimate because there are
              complications about how you define it.  If you define it
    10        clearly for me I will do my best as to how you measure
              it.  Do you mean during the holding period only, so it is
         the birds which are cropped which are dead at the time
              they leave the hatchery gait?
    12
         Q.   You could tell us that one for starters.
    13        A.  I do not know the answer for Sun Valley.  That is
              certain.  Quite often, you see, in that situation, when
    14        they are grading the chicks, they take out birds which are
              weak, would which, which may otherwise die during that
    15        period, and those birds are then destroyed.  So there is a
              grading system in there where the under-sized birds which
    16        are not able to stand are taken out and destroyed.  Do we
              include those?  I would not like to give a figure because
    17        it depends a lot on the practice of the unit.
 
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Are there three things then?  A chick may be
              culled because it does not meet the standards in one way
    19        or another; it may die anyway; then I suppose some die in
              transport, for instance, to Sun Valley?
    20        A.  They could do, yes.
 
    Q.   If any die in transport to Sun Valley are they part of Sun
              Valley's mortality rate, or should they be scored as if
    22        they died outside Sun Valley's mortality rate?
              A.  Can I suggest we address this question to
    23        Dr. Pattison?  He could probably give you a very reliable
              figure.
    24
         Q.   Can you say yourself?
    25        A.  I cannot.
  
    26   MS. STEEL:   When you are talking about the chickens being 
              destroyed, how are they destroyed, the ones that are too 
    27        small?
              A.  It varies between hatchery.  If we are talking about
    28        Sun Valley, the unhatched chicks are destroyed through
              macerators, a pair of rotating rollers.
    29
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  They put the eggs through those?
    30        A.  They put the unhatched chicks through those.  If you
              have a chick that is inside the shell and the shell waist