The parent and grandparent birds are important and often overlooked when we speak of farmed birds.  These parents are culled systematically in order to control the bloodlines.  They are cruelly de-beaked and kept in dark, cramped sheds until their time is up. Eventually, they are all killed in the most economical way available. Breeding facilities for these parent and grandparent birds provide offspring for customers ranging from the smallest backyard farmer to the larger operations. Please don’t forget about them. The hens below were set to be killed at the breeder facility, to control the bloodlines. Instead, these hens were sent to a small-scale egg operation and used for egg production until their production declined, and then, once more, set for slaughter. All of the males had already been killed, as no egg operation, no matter how small or how large, has the need for males.