hatchery. Virtually all chickens raised and killed for eggs, including those at so-called humane operations, come from hatcheries. At only a day or two old, half of the chicks born at hatcheries (primarily the males) are ground up alive, gassed, or thrown alive into trash bags, where they suffocate to death: male chicks, who cannot produce eggs, and deformed female chicks are useless to the egg industry.