cockerels Harry and William
Harry and William - two surprise eggs in the incubator
It has become fashionable to become a modern-day mother hen in your own home to hatch eggs using an incubator. It is then also the human mother hen who decides what happens to the hens and cockerels that hatch from these surprise eggs.
The glut of chickens on the Gut Aiderbichl farms is enormous. It is mainly cockerels that are given to us as gifts. The owners are desperate because the neighbours feel disturbed by the chickens and hand over the roosters to us with apologetic words.
Chickens from the incubator - the process is child's play (they say)
You buy an incubator, set it up and off you go … A distinction is made between surface incubators and motorised incubators. In a surface incubator, the eggs are stored next to each other and there are heating wires in the lid and on the base that generate the required incubation temperature. Humidity is created by filling a container with water. Surface incubators require human assistance: the eggs must be ventilated and checked several times a day.
With motorised incubators, humans no longer have to do any work – the machine takes care of temperature control, ventilation and humidification.
Harry and William hatched in an incubator
Harry and William hatched from eggs in an incubator six months ago. The two cockerels were brought to a farmer’s wife because “they don’t bother anyone on the farm anyway”. So Harry and William, both green layers, now lived on a beautiful farm in Salzburger Land. They lived and clucked with the chickens and it would have been too nice if they hadn’t also crowed. The neighbours started to get upset.
It is a misconception that the rooster only crows in the morning
When the cockerel crows in the morning, it is following its instinct, which is controlled by its internal clock. The crest on its head swells and it marks its territory with its call. The rooster also wants to express that he is the boss of the henhouse and would defend it at any time.
In earlier times, crowing in the morning was also the wake-up call for farmers, their farmhands and maids to start work.
Suppression of crowing by means of a crow-proof cock collar
So, perhaps crowing in the morning would still be OK for some city and country dwellers, but the rooster actually allows itself to crow during the day. To suppress the crowing, there are now collars that virtually stop the rooster crowing. This is a crow-proof rooster collar that is placed around the rooster’s neck. This creates pressure on the vocal head, which is made up of muscles and cartilage, and prevents the rooster’s crowing from disturbing the people around it.
"Sexing" in poultry farming
Sexing (sexing) is mainly carried out in egg production because only hens lay eggs and are therefore relevant.
Cloacal sexing is used to recognise the penis or clitoris by applying pressure. With the appropriate dexterity and concentration, a trained person can “sex” around 2000 chicks in one hour.
In feather sexing, the length or colour of the feathers determines whether the chick is a hen or a cock.
Harry and William are a symbol of intolerance
It’s about animal ethics and animal rights. We breed animals of all kinds, we now hatch eggs in mechanical devices and we give ourselves the right to decide what to do with animals: this is an offence against morality and respect for living beings.
Harry and William won the farmer’s wife’s heart and she made sure that they didn’t end up in the soup pot or the oven because of nagging neighbours. That’s what I call compassion for the fellow animal creature.</span
Never be afraid to do the right thing, especially when it comes to the welfare of a person or an animal. Society's punishments are minor compared to the wounds we inflict on our souls when we look the other way.
– Martin Luther King (1929-1968) US-American theologian
From: Gisela Pschenitschnig, Gut Aiderbichl
