Economic Benefits of Rearing Male chicks Evaluation of standards
Caspar von der Crone

Abstract
The killing of male chicks is considered very emotionally. That is why the economy in many countries of the EU and beyond has been looking for solutions for a long time. Embryonic early detection is an important approach, but it involves considerable effort and costs. The results to date are not yet effective. On the one hand there is criticism from the animal protection organizations, on the other hand the effort for a commercial selection is considerable and cost-intensive. Ecological production, however, offers alternatives. The market is structured differently. Consumers have specific expectations, both in terms of animal welfare standards, the origin of organic products and the price. From an ideological point of view, the buyer class is quite willing to pay more for organically produced products. The so-called dual-use chickens are an option to meet the expectations of non-governmental organizations (NGO´s) and consumers with regard to animal welfare. The type of husbandry is also cost-intensive due to a lower laying performance and compared to conventional broiler fattening with a poorer feed conversion. Organic producers are therefore increasingly relying on the rearing of male chicks. There are no legal criteria for rearing so far. The interest group Bio-Initiative (IG Bio) has therefore defined binding standards on the basis of ecological principles. This means, for example: specifications for barn equipment, stocking density, perches, usable areas, water, feed and discharge. The production costs for this are also higher, but due to the emotional approaches better sales opportunities are possible in the food trade and especially in the convenience sector. The Bio-Initiative has obligated the participating farms not to kill any more male chicks, but to feed them 100% to the rearing. The recycling also makes an important contribution to the protection of animals.

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