Day 103 - 14 Mar 95 - Page 42
1 A. Yes.
2
3 Q. And implied they did not need food and drink for the first
4 48 hours of their life; is that correct?
5 A. No, that is not what was intended. In our case our
6 hatchery is within three or four hours maximum delivery
7 time to any one farm, and food and water is not required
8 for that time.
9
10 Q. So they are not fed and watered in the hatcheries, are
11 they?
12 A. No.
13
14 Q. And they can remain there for several hours, can they not?
15 A. Well, the maximum time would be five or six hours in
16 the hatchery.
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: How long does the yoke sac last?
19 A. The yoke sac lasts up to five days. It has not
20 disappeared until five days.
21
22 MS. STEEL: How do you prevent the chickens from hatching out on
23 other days of the week?
24 A. Well, the eggs are set. The eggs are hatched on a
25 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and we set the eggs so
26 that we can plan for them to hatch on those days.
27
28 Q. How is that done?
29 A. Well, we know the incubation period for the eggs so
30 that we know when to start that incubation period.
31
32 Q. So prior to the incubation period how do you keep the eggs?
33 A. The eggs are kept in a temperature controlled room at
34 16 degrees Centigrade.
35
36 Q. Can you turn to -- it should be in the bundle of papers you
37 have there -- the Responses of Newly Hatched Chicks to
38 Inanition?
39 A. Go ahead. I have read it. I know what you are talking
40 about.
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You had better find it, nevertheless. It
43 looks like this. Have you got a fair copy?
44
45 MS. STEEL: I have but it has some markings on. (Handed)
46 Looking first at the abstract?
47 A. Yes.
48
49 Q. Would you accept that if the chicks were given food and
50 water that they would consume what was given to them?
51 A. They start eating and drinking generally whenever that
52 is offered.
53
54 Q. In the second paragraph about halfway down it says:
55 "Preliminary observations suggest that significant weight
56 loss can occur even after short periods of transport".
57 Would you accept that?
58 A. I do not know whether that is the case because it is
59 not something I have ever measured.
60
