Day 090 - 16 Feb 95 - Page 20


     
     1        years ago.
     2
     3   Q.   10 years ago?
     4        A.  Yes.
     5
     6   Q.   The shed that Dr. Gregory visited was stocked with roughly
     7        twice as many male birds as female?
     8        A.  Yes.
     9
    10   Q.   Is that the standard practice?
    11        A.  The standard practice, as I said yesterday, is we have
    12        a partition in the house which is probably about one-third
    13        of the way down the house and the females are on the
    14        smaller side, the males on the larger side, again in
    15        proportion to the number of birds in the house.  Then the
    16        females are taken out at 42 days and the males get the
    17        whole space.
    18
    19   Q.   Roughly, what are the proportions of male and females birds
    20        that go in the sheds?
    21        A.  As a general rule, it is two-thirds to one-third.
    22
    23   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  So Dr. Gregory, what he observed was pretty
    24        typical, was it?
    25        A.  That is correct.
    26
    27   Q.   Is there a system for moving the partition up or down the
    28        shed?
    29        A.  No, the partition stays in the same place all the
    30        time.
    31
    32   MS. STEEL:  An average female, you said, goes to slaughter at
    33        the weight of two kilograms; is that right?
    34        A.  That is correct.
    35
    36   Q.   And the average male at three kilograms?
    37        A.  That is correct.
    38
    39   Q.   How much on average do the males weigh at 42 days?
    40        A.  At 42 days they weigh just over two kilos.
    41
    42   Q.   Right.
    43        A.  Probably about 2.2 kilos.
    44
    45   Q.   Are they round about the same weight as the female ones?
    46        A.  No, they are a little bit heavier.
    47
    48   Q.   In their last 10 days then the males put on, what, between
    49         .8 of a kilogram and a kilogram?
    50        A.  I should think it is about .7 of a kilo, .8 of a kilo. 
    51 
    52   Q.   So at 52 days the stocking density is going to be more or 
    53        less the same as at 42 days?
    54        A.  It will be nearly as much, probably not quite as much.
    55
    56   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Shall we take a five-minute break?
    57
    58                       (Short Adjournment)
    59
    60   MS. STEEL:  Towards the end of their lives the chickens in your

Prev Next Index