As we have reported in previous posts, the market for production of day-old chicks is still unsettled. After banning the killing of day-old chicks in Germany, a lot of uncertainty arose about how this will go in the rest of Europe.
Following Germany, Austria and France also took decisions on the issue. These decisions deviate from the total ban declared by Germany. For example, Austria has decided that a hatchery may kill roosters if it can market them as animal feed for exotic animals in Austria. In France, on the other hand, it has been decided that the roosters of brown laying hens must be sexed "in ovo", the roosters of white laying hens may be killed but must also be marketed as feed for exotic animals.
The Netherlands has not yet taken a decision on whether or not to kill roosters. The sector is pushing for a model in which the market does its work, so the buyers of the eggs determine whether the eggs will be sexed "in ovo" (eggs have added value/price) or that the roosters will hatch regularly and may be used for animal feed. Given all the issues currently in the agricultural sector, it is impossible to predict when a decision on this will be made.
Of course, we have not been idle in the meantime; to guarantee the availability of day-old chicks (for the time being), we have set up partnerships with hatcheries abroad. We are therefore currently already buying chicks from Spain and are working on a cooperation with a large French hatchery.
For the time being, we therefore expect to have enough day-old chicks available for our current customers. Should we learn that changes are coming from the government in the Netherlands, we will of course keep you informed.
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