The egg: Readily available in all supermarkets in sizes S, M, and L, in white or brown, individually packed or in jumbo packs.
However, only female chicks – the future laying hens – are needed for egg production. So what happens to the male chicks that hatch in roughly the same numbers every day? The bitter truth is: As male chicks are of no use to the egg industry, most of them are killed on the spot in their masses (e.g. 50 million a year in Germany alone). They are then either disposed of or, in rare cases, used as food for snakes and reptiles.
HiPP, together with strictly controlled partner farms, is committed to a special protection programme to stop this senseless killing of male chicks. It is important for HiPP that these farms are able to meet its high standards of transparency, traceability and animal welfare. Together we want to change and improve the situation for male animals.
Because we at HiPP find it unacceptable that chicks are killed simply because of their sex. This practice is not compatible with our ethical principles.
Our “Raising Cockerels” initiative is a holistic approach: We buy both eggs and meat of the organic free-range chicken from our farmers. This way, we can support the rearing of both male and female animals.