Chicken Supply Down: Tyson is Looking for More “Manly” Roosters
It's hard to keep up with all of the different shortages America is going through right now. Between lumber, microchips, and gas. Plus steel, metals, chlorine and ketchup packets. Now add to the list, chickens. I guess we might not have to worry about the shortage of Chick-fil-A sauce either, if we don't have any chicken to dunk in it.
So what happened to all the chickens?
Besides the fried chicken wars between restaurants, now we can lay the other part of the blame on the largest American and global poultry producer's roosters. That's right, Tyson's roosters just aren't the "men" they used to be. According to the WCF Courier, "the meat processor, said that its chicken volumes have been low in part because the roosters it uses for breeding are not meeting expectations." Whoa, imagine being a rooster and hearing that. I mean, you had one job, and now you're being told "you're not good enough anymore".
The mental toll on these rejected roosters has to be tough
They've been emasculated , essentially deprived of their male role and identity. Think about it , they went from having a harem and "king of the barnyard" to being demoted back to just crowing. So, after they crow at the break of dawn and wake everyone up, then what do they do with the rest of their day? It's not like they can watch TV or play golf, they have no opposable thumbs and the wi-fi is terrible on the farm.
Sure, blame it on the guys!
The Courier article mentions that, "the company had an "unexpected decline" in hatchings earlier this year because of the type of roosters it used", said Donnie King, Tyson's chief operating officer. It happens to the best of us, (so I've heard) maybe these roosters just need a little help. Maybe you sneak a "little blue pill" into their feed? Maybe they need to get their testosterone levels checked? Seems unfair.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Apparently, the answer to the age-old question is...to find a man that can satisfy her needs, and fertilize her eggs. Basically what happened was, Tyson chose these former studs for their off-spring's quality for meat, but they ended up with fewer eggs and lower hatch rates than the ones they used to employ.
What's next for Tyson's cast off roosters?
To increase its chicken supply, Tyson is switching back, to their previous roosters. The Courier article also mentioned, "the company declined to share what will happen to the rejected roosters, or how many are being swapped out". Wow, first, they lose their jobs, and now they find out their "ladies" are going back to their previous man? How can this get any worse for the rejected roosters? I guess it looks like retirement for these old birds. A life of sitting around, eating too much and getting fat. Then I think we know what happens next. They're invited to dinner, and they're the "guest of honor". So, things could worse, much worse.