Unfortunately, I think that there are no US farms yet that use in-ovo sexing (though I’d love to hear about it if I’m wrong about that!) I know it’s been implemented in Germany and I think is being adopted more widely in Europe, but I don’t think the US has followed suit yet. Even the Animal Welfare Approved certification doesn’t have any requirements about what do with male chicks, it simply states that they can be “removed” from the AWA system (meaning, I think, transferred off-farm and then no certification-related requirements apply to them anymore, so they’re probably just macerated as usual. :( )
Re: hen feed and insects, I think that the “natural forage” that these farms refers to means that chickens forage for bugs in the ground. I’m not sure to what extent these are wild insects vs grubs raised for chicken feed, but either way, if you’re worried about insect suffering, it seems possible that pasture-raised foraging chickens contribute more to that than a corn-fed chicken would (though given the pesticides used to grow the corn, I’m not actually sure).
Unfortunately, I think that there are no US farms yet that use in-ovo sexing (though I’d love to hear about it if I’m wrong about that!) I know it’s been implemented in Germany and I think is being adopted more widely in Europe, but I don’t think the US has followed suit yet. Even the Animal Welfare Approved certification doesn’t have any requirements about what do with male chicks, it simply states that they can be “removed” from the AWA system (meaning, I think, transferred off-farm and then no certification-related requirements apply to them anymore, so they’re probably just macerated as usual. :( )
Re: hen feed and insects, I think that the “natural forage” that these farms refers to means that chickens forage for bugs in the ground. I’m not sure to what extent these are wild insects vs grubs raised for chicken feed, but either way, if you’re worried about insect suffering, it seems possible that pasture-raised foraging chickens contribute more to that than a corn-fed chicken would (though given the pesticides used to grow the corn, I’m not actually sure).