Day 091 - 17 Feb 95 - Page 30


     
     1
     2   Q.   You said yesterday that 2.5 per cent of the 6.6 mortality
     3        rate figures were in the last 10 days of the male broiler
     4        chickens' lives?
     5        A.  That is correct.
     6
     7   Q.   If the chickens were kept on for longer, for another week
     8        or two weeks, that mortality rate would continue at that
     9        rate or get higher, would it not?
    10        A.  The mortality rate does tend to increase, yes.
    11
    12   Q.   So that would be a reason for slaughtering them at seven
    13        weeks?
    14        A.  Yes, it would be a reason.
    15
    16   Q.   How long do chickens naturally live?
    17        A.  Well, when we used to keep chickens at home when I was
    18        a small boy, I supposed they lived three or four years.
    19
    20   Q.   They can live up to five to 10 years, can they not?
    21        A.  Oh, they can do, yes.
    22
    23   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Have you let broilers go on indefinitely to
    24        see, as part of general research, what life they would
    25        have?
    26        A.  No, it is not something that we would do.
    27
    28   MS. STEEL:   The broilers in the broiler sheds are fed more than
    29        they need to live healthily, are they not?
    30        A.  They are certainly fed more than they need to be fed to
    31        stay alive, yes.
    32
    33   Q.   To be healthy, though, as well, not just to stave off
    34        starvation.  They are fed more than they need to be
    35        healthy?
    36        A.  Well, I have seen plenty of healthy sheds of broilers
    37        that have been eating the standard amount, so I do not
    38        really quite agree with what you are saying.
    39
    40   Q.   What I am saying is that they could be quite healthy,
    41        perfectly healthy, on considerably less amounts of food?
    42        A.  They could.
    43
    44   Q.   You, in common with the whole broiler industry, feed them
    45        more than what they need to be healthy so that they put on
    46        weight faster and then they can be slaughtered at an
    47        earlier age?
    48        A.  Yes, you can make that conclusion.
    49
    50   Q.   What age are the broiler breeders killed at? 
    51        A.  They are killed at just over a year-old. 
    52 
    53   Q.   They would be used for meat?
    54        A.  They are sold for meat, yes.
    55
    56   Q.   Which antibiotics are added to the start of ration at the
    57        hatchery?
    58        A.  Well, we do not put any antibiotics at the hatchery,
    59        but when the birds are delivered to the farm, the
    60        antibiotics are included in the feed, and we would use --

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