An online seminar organised by the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture explored the question of whether dual-purpose chickens offer an alternative to the culling of male chicks.

Prof. Dr Bernhard Hörning (Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development) began by explaining to the 62 participants that, until now, chicken breeding had focused either on laying hybrids or on broiler hybrids. Only the breeding of pedigree poultry is an exception. In dual-purpose chickens, the females are used as laying hens and the males for fattening. These animals are therefore suitable for both egg production and meat production. However, the breeding traits ‘meat yield’ and ‘laying performance’ are negatively correlated. Consequently, dual-purpose chickens cannot achieve the same level of performance as hybrids that have been specifically bred for one of these traits. Purebred chickens, single crosses or hybrid chickens are suitable as dual-purpose chickens.

Egg production and daily weight gain 

Professor Hörning reports that traditional laying hens lay around 300 eggs a year, whilst dual-purpose chickens only reach 200–250 eggs per year. Differences can also be seen in daily weight gains. For dual-purpose chickens, daily weight gains range between 20–35 g, whilst broiler hybrids achieve daily gains of over 60 g; the breast meat proportion is also lower. In contrast, however, daily weight gains for broiler roosters from laying lines are only around 15–20 g, the expert explained.

Bernhard Hörning summarised his presentation as follows: Although dual-purpose chickens have some disadvantages compared to hybrids, such as lower performance and higher feed costs, they also have advantages, such as the use of male chicks, the preservation of old breeds and thus a regional connection. Furthermore, dual-purpose chickens achieve good performance with protein- and energy-reduced feed and can present an opportunity for feeding with local legumes. Another advantage of dual-purpose chickens is that they can be bred on the farm. Accordingly, in his opinion, dual-purpose chickens are particularly suitable for small-scale farming or organic farming. However, the expert concludes by emphasising that, for the successful marketing of dual-purpose chickens, it is crucial to educate consumers about the specific characteristics of the products (e.g. different meat quality) and the additional costs involved.

Experiences from the Animal Welfare Pilot Farm

In the second presentation, master farmer Christine Bremer reported on her experiences with dual-purpose chickens in the organic sector. She is a pilot farm in the Animal Welfare Pilot Farms Network project. Ms Bremer breeds dual-purpose chickens herself and rears parent stock on her organic farm in Suhlendorf (Uelzen district). She is particularly enthusiastic about the Coffee chickens from Ökologische Tierzucht gGmbH (ÖTZ), which she keeps on her farm.

When rearing these birds, the female and male chicks are raised together until the 5th or 6th week, the farmer explained. From this point onwards, female and male birds can already be easily distinguished from one another and separated accordingly.

The entry weight of ÖTZ laying hens is around 2.1 kg (18th/19th week of life). By the time they leave the rearing house (70th week of life), the hens should weigh no more than 2.8 kg. This is because if the hens accumulate too much abdominal fat, they start to brood, explains the poultry farmer. However, being underweight can also encourage brooding. When brooding, the hens stop laying and deplete their reserves. Therefore, brooding management is essential, and indeed before the birds are even housed, according to the breeder. She recommends making the nests as unattractive as possible for brooding, so that the birds do not want to raise chicks there.

Christine Bremer also shares her experiences regarding the preparation of the animals for slaughter. In the kitchen, it is important to note that cooking takes longer to ensure the meat does not become tough. Furthermore, the meat from dual-purpose birds has a slightly nutty flavour, both speakers report.

At the end of her presentation, Christine Bremer reiterates that dual-purpose chickens do not suffer from high-performance-related diseases and that these birds have larger stomachs, making them more tolerant of fluctuating nutrient densities in their feed. She also emphasises that dual-purpose birds are excellent at utilising leftovers.

All in all, this seminar has shown that rearing dual-purpose chickens, provided the appropriate farm management concept is in place, represents a good alternative to culling male chicks in laying lines. However, the rearing and marketing of these animals present new challenges. It remains to be seen whether dual-purpose chickens will play a greater role in the future.

Author: Regine Revermann, Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture