The production of eggs and poultry meat is specialized. There are genotypes for egg production and for meat. The males of layer breeds are in general killed as one-day-olds. Killing such young animals raises ethical questions. A dual-purpose chicken, suited for both the production of eggs and meat, would prevent the killing of day-old males.
The conclusion of this report is, that dual-purpose chickens might serve a niche market, but a total shift to dual purpose chickens, to solve the problem of killing day-old males, is with regard to the environmental burden and economics not feasible.
