Day 090 - 16 Feb 95 - Page 14


     
     1   Q.   You mean May of last year then?
     2        A.  I am sorry, May, yes, of last year.
     3
     4   Q.   It is an easy slip to make at this time of year, but you do
     5        mean May 1994?
     6        A.  That is correct, yes.
     7
     8   MS. STEEL:   What has improved in the hatchability standard?
     9        A.  The improvement is quite small, about one per cent, but
    10        that is an improvement.
    11
    12   Q.   So that is just the number that are hatched; is that right?
    13        A.  That is correct.
    14
    15   Q.   Has there been any change at all in the length of time it
    16        takes to hatch the chicks?
    17        A.  No, there has not.
    18
    19   Q.   The chamber that is used to gas the chicks, the unwanted
    20        chicks, you said it is a 50 gallon drum, is that about the
    21        size of a normal dustbin?
    22        A.  Yes, it is the size, say, of a water tub.
    23
    24   Q.   A water butt?
    25        A.  A water butt, yes.
    26
    27   Q.   How many chicks would be put in each time?
    28        A.  The number of chicks that would go in at a time would
    29        be about 100.
    30
    31   Q.   So how full does the container get?  Is it half full or
    32        something like that?
    33        A.  No, it is nothing like half full.  The important thing
    34        is to do the chicks in small batches so that you are
    35        correctly exposing them to the gas rather than to allow
    36        them to suffocate in amongst each other.  So, if you do
    37        them in batches of 100, then this will ensure they all get
    38        correct exposure to the gas.
    39
    40   Q.   Do you have more than one of these ---
    41        A.  No, we do not.
    42
    43   Q.   -- drums?  There is just the one?
    44        A.  Yes.
    45
    46   Q.   Because you said yesterday it takes no more than a minute
    47        to check through 200 chicks?
    48        A.  That is correct.
    49
    50   Q.   So sometimes it is 200 chicks done at once? 
    51        A.  We tend to do them in batches of 100.  That would be 
    52        the normal procedure. 
    53
    54   Q.   But sometimes they are done in batches of 200?
    55        A.  No, I did not say that.
    56
    57   Q.   How long does it take for this process to be carried out?
    58        A.  It is very, very quick.  The gasing itself takes 30 to
    59        45 seconds, I would guess.
    60

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