Zombie chickens taking over California?

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Dec 4th 2006 @ 3:01PM

In Sonoma County in Northern California, old hens that can't lay eggs anymore are being euthanized and composted in layers of sawdust at a rate of 500,000 a year. They are killed by placing them in a box and gassing them with carbon monoxide, a quick , painless, and humane method of euthanization. The only problem is that not all the chickens are dead when they are composted. "Zombie chickens" is the nickname for live hens who are digging their way out, crawling and staggering from the heaps. Some say this was a one time situation where two dozen birds were buried alive, caused by inexperience, but others say that every now and then they do get zombie chickens roaming around.

These old birds don't have much in the way of meat, usually less than a pound of usable meat vs. a five pound healthy young cooking chicken. Supposedly slaughtering them properly and transporting them frozen for sale costs more than composting them. Also no one wants old stewing chickens anymore, not even soup factories, and the last California rendering plant stopped accepting the old hens as of last May. This isn't just a California problem but a nationwide one.

Suggestions are being made on how to use the retired birds. Some say make chicken sausage to feed the poor and homeless, others say use them as food for exotic reptiles kept in zoos and as pets. One industry group thinks that they could be used as fuel in power plants, like excess slaughtered beef is in some plants in Europe. Right now no one is coming up with any really practical and useful ideas. Does anyone want to start an old age home for retired hens?

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Filed Under: Farming, Ingredients
Tags: america, buried alive, BuriedAlive, composting, euthanasia, poultry, zombie chickens, ZombieChickens

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-04-2006 @5:08PM John Romkey said... I'm not sure how you'd tell the difference between a zombie chicken and a non-zombie chicken! Except for the zombie chickens going around muttering "brains! brains!".
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12-04-2006 @3:57PM gash26 said... I think the unholy critters should be sold as pets, maybe it will replace the chihuahua fad we have now.
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12-04-2006 @5:31PM pms said... Grrrrrains!

This is scary. Maybe as steeds for some kind of Spartacus-style chariot races for trendy chihuahuas? It'd be a two-fer, and the associated gambling would probably bring in much needed tax income for Hollywood.
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12-04-2006 @9:22PM Topslakr said... Seems like they should perfect that process a bit. Leave them in the chamber for another couple of minutes or even just have the guy snap the necks as they come out. They are clearly passed out when then emerge from the chamber.. no pain there... I'd rather have my neck snapped instead of being buried alive...
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12-05-2006 @1:56AM cassie catastrophe said...
hey...has anyone thought of just setting them free? the poor things probably couldn't do much worse in the wild than they would wandering around senselessly. they've been cooped up all their lives. why not just let the old ones die on their own in the environment nature intended. (this includes no cages)
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Actually that would probably be more cruel to the birds. They are not bred to be able to survive on their own, have no skills on how to find food, are old and in ill health, usually have hardly any feathers and the ones they do have tend to be white, not a good camouflage color, and it could be a bad health and hygiene issue as well having birds dieing all over the place. While I did point out the problem I think that the egg producers are doing the best they can with the lack of resources available to them.
--JMF--

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12-05-2006 @5:14AM Berkana said... They should bring back stewing chickens! Totally! I'd be first in line to buy them.

If you ever cook chicken in a slow cooker, you'll know that chicken tends to overcook. The older the bird, the more connective tissue there is, so the better it stews. I've never tasted a real stewing chicken before, but I'd sure love to. I love stewed meat, so long as it has enough connective tissue to keep it from overcooking. All that connective tissue gelatinizes into delicious stewed goodness. If you've ever had good ox-tail stew, you'll know what I mean.
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12-05-2006 @10:55AM Doug Savage said... Wow. And here I thought I had cornered the market on zombie chickens:

http://www.savagechickens.com/blog/2006/10/zombie-love.html
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12-15-2006 @12:55PM Imelda said... Sorry to hear about the soup.Nothing is as good as soup made from old hens. But maybe Zombie Hens are even more tasty!
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