€55,000 a year to stare at chick's bottoms 12 hours a day

NachoBusiness · 04-03-2015 1:02am #1

But yet nobody wants to do it..

Job title: Chicken sexer

Salary: £40,000 per annum

Hours of work: 12 hours a day

Job description: Stare at chicks’ backsides

Despite the generous salary, nobody wants this job.

The UK’s poultry industry is struggling to get people to determine the sex of newly-hatched chicks, and it could hit exports.

It actually takes three years to learn the tiny differences between male and female chicks and then you’re expected to determine the sex within three to five seconds.

That’s between 800 and ,1,200 chicks a day – plus you’re expected to have a 97-98 per cent accuracy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8ODNFSkSak

Andrew Large, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, told The Times: ‘It takes three years to train someone so they develop the sensitivity and dexterity to reliably sex the bird and a lot of people don’t want to spend that amount of training.

‘I think the problem is the job itself. You are spending hours every day staring at the backside of a chick. That is not seen as being attractive.

‘In southeast Asia a chick sexer is a high status job. In the UK it is more likely to be the butt of humour.

Source.

Don't think I could do it tbh, not with knowing what they do to all the male chicks.

Would you?

Kylo Ren · 04-03-2015 1:11am

NachoBusiness wrote: »

Don't think I could do it tbh

Nonsense, I bet you've handled more cocks than most have had hot dinners.

Cookie_Monster · 04-03-2015 1:11am

Maybe if they weren't 12 hour days people would be interested? nobody wants to work excessive hours regardless of what the job actually entails.

Lapin · 04-03-2015 1:11am

I'd get bored after about two minutes and say fuggit, chances are they are split somewhere around the 50/50 mark between male and female.

So I'd just chuck every second one down the chute and hope for the best.

They all taste the same in a Snack Box anyway.

StewartGriffin · 04-03-2015 1:13am

Unfair!

I stare at women's bottoms for about the same amount of time, and I get NOTHING!
:mad:

Wide Load · 04-03-2015 1:13am

I wouldn't be able to work all day with a hard on. I'd be no use to anyone.

RedemptionZ · 04-03-2015 1:14am

Talk about a misleading title...

Doesn't seem to much of a story there? The job isn't seen as particularly satosfactory because of what it actually entails and requires 3 years of presumably poorly paid training. Pretty obvious there won't be a large qualified group of candidates to choose from.

HoratiJoe · 04-03-2015 1:16am

So if you **** it you may get bird flu

WoollyRedHat · 04-03-2015 1:20am

I'd get fired, I'd eat them before they hatched. I'm a monster

Mr_Muffin · 04-03-2015 1:20am

In Ireland this would be considered a Jobs bridge position.

Kelly06 · 04-03-2015 1:40am

NachoBusiness wrote: »

But yet nobody wants to do it..

Don't think I could do it tbh, not with knowing what they do to all the male chicks.

Would you?

What do they do to them? Wait do I even want to know? It's bad right?

DEFTLEFTHAND · 04-03-2015 1:46am

Kelly06 wrote: »

What do they do to them? Wait do I even want to know? It's bad right?

They're fed into a grinder.

Infini · 04-03-2015 1:48am

Hen, Hen, Trap, Hen, Trap, Trap, Hen, Trap...

Kelly06 · 04-03-2015 1:52am

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

They're fed into a grinder.

What!!!Why!!!

Why don't they let them grow into chickens? I get that hens are left for laying eggs. But a chicken can be either male or female before it reaches puberty. Or so I thought anyways.

osarusan · 04-03-2015 1:57am

This was once a big profession in Japan!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/31/oukoe-uk-jobs-chickens-idAFTRE67U0QY20100831

SoftMicro · 04-03-2015 1:58am

Could they not just genitaly modify them to be all the same sex?

BunkMoreland · 04-03-2015 1:58am

Mr_Muffin wrote: »

In Ireland this would be considered a Jobs bridge position.

JobBridge.

Where does the "s" come from?

AlanS181824 · 04-03-2015 1:58am

Best of luck to whoever gets the job.

WoollyRedHat · 04-03-2015 2:03am

SoftMicro wrote: »

Could they not just genitaly modify them to be all the same sex?

Fowl sexist!

SoftMicro · 04-03-2015 2:05am

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Fowl sexist!

chicks with dicks?

WoollyRedHat · 04-03-2015 2:10am

SoftMicro wrote: »

chicks with dicks?

Yes, that's more eggalitarian.

Canis Lupus · 04-03-2015 4:37am

Not only is the job probably stressful but you also have the happy knowledge knowing all the males ones are sliding down a chute into a grinder. Happy work environment

kneemos · 04-03-2015 4:59am

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

They're fed into a grinder.

And manufactured into what delicious product that we take for granted is made from prime chicken?

Jhcx · 04-03-2015 5:13am

So what sort of fckin chickens am I eating?

Tbh that bloody wing thing looked the bloody same. And that's all I can think of is that Australian accent.

Is supermacs still open? Getting a bit peckish for chicken.

Depraved · 04-03-2015 7:10am

Oh just put a a few big tv screens on one side of the room with soccer, American football and Top Gear playing. All the male chicks will gravitate towards that side and the female chicks away.

Duckjob · 04-03-2015 8:39am

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Maybe if they weren't 12 hour days people would be interested? nobody wants to work excessive hours regardless of what the job actually entails.

Scarlett Johanssons private masseuse?

Nino Brown · 04-03-2015 8:49am

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

They're fed into a grinder.

Yeah, maybe the reason people don't want the job is more to do with wit watching this all day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtA3msHGusQ (Chick Grinder, don't watch it if that kind of thing bothers you).

This always made me curious as to why vegetarians eat eggs. The won't eat the chicken because killing chickens is "wrong", but they will eat the eggs, despite millions of male chickens being killed in the process of getting the eggs.

In fairness though, gruesome as it may seem, that grinder is a pretty quick death, if I had a choice between electric chair, lethal injection, or grinder I'd pick grinder.

anncoates · 04-03-2015 9:19am

I wish I hadn't went and looked up what happens to the male chicks.

FortuneChip · 04-03-2015 9:21am

StewartGriffin wrote: »

Unfair!

I stare at women's bottoms for about the same amount of time, and I get NOTHING!
:mad:

Sounds like you've learned something about yourself so.

Greenmachine · 04-03-2015 9:30am

3 Year to learn, my god, if it is so hard to ID them why not wait till they are a few weeks older, to ID them, then any old fool can do it. Requires a 97-98% accuracy rate too.
What does training involve a shock collar and an experienced chicken sexer, watch over .
You: Male
Chicken Sexer: Correct
You Male:
Sexer: Incorrect(Pushes Shocker)
You: I was really sure that was a male.
Sexer: Okay sorry, we call that one a draw
You: I hate you

ZiabR · 04-03-2015 9:35am

Kelly06 wrote: »

What!!!Why!!!

Why don't they let them grow into chickens? I get that hens are left for laying eggs. But a chicken can be either male or female before it reaches puberty. Or so I thought anyways.

You thought wrong. Female chicks are not left alive to lay eggs. It is the female chickens that we eat. The males are not sold into supermarkets etc. Even though there is nothing really wrong with eating roosters, slightly more gamey taste.

As for a chick being a male or female until puberty, you thought wrong again. That would be like saying a puppy can be a female or male until they reach puberty.

noodler · 04-03-2015 9:44am

Kelly06 wrote: »

What!!!Why!!!

Why don't they let them grow into chickens? I get that hens are left for laying eggs. But a chicken can be either male or female before it reaches puberty. Or so I thought anyways.

logik wrote: »

You thought wrong. Female chicks are not left alive to lay eggs. It is the female chickens that we eat. The males are not sold into supermarkets etc. Even though there is nothing really wrong with eating roosters, slightly more gamey taste.

As for a chick being a male or female until puberty, you thought wrong again. That would be like saying a puppy can be a female or male until they reach puberty.

Yeah, I had thought the males also don't grow large enough to be cost effective.

I remember one of the processors basically saying "if you know someone who want X thousand male chicks then let me know.

The Corinthian · 04-03-2015 10:02am

Nino Brown wrote: »

This always made me curious as to why vegetarians eat eggs. The won't eat the chicken because killing chickens is "wrong", but they will eat the eggs, despite millions of male chickens being killed in the process of getting the eggs.

Vegetarians are not really vegetarians and they will eat animal products and often animals too (such as fish) - we just tend to use the term incorrectly.

As to why they will eat some animal products and not others, it could be for health considerations, personal taste (some people just don't like red meat) or idiocy.

When I say idiocy, I mean emotive reasons that make it difficult for them to eat certain animals because of emotional attachment (e.g. horse, rabbit) or because of visible farming practice, but as long as the farming practice is unknown or hidden, then it's OK.

For example, chickens will have stopped laying eggs by the time they're about 18 months old, yet their natural life span will generally be over five years. Do you think that poultry farmers feed and house chickens that produce nothing for over three years? That chickens get to 'retire' in Florida?

So those who won't eat chicken because they don't like what happens to them, yet eat eggs are effectively supporting the same practice - you can't have one without the other, unless people would be willing to pay for those chickens to live a long and natural life - and pay 25 Euro for a half dozen eggs...

In short, 'vegetarians' will sometimes eat eggs despite not eating chicken for the same reason that they'll post videos and photos of cute kittens on Facebook.

Kelly06 · 04-03-2015 10:06am

logik wrote: »

You thought wrong. Female chicks are not left alive to lay eggs. It is the female chickens that we eat. The males are not sold into supermarkets etc. Even though there is nothing really wrong with eating roosters, slightly more gamey taste.

As for a chick being a male or female until puberty, you thought wrong again. That would be like saying a puppy can be a female or male until they reach puberty.

Lol. What I meant was a 'chicken' is the word for the bird of either sex before it reaches maturity. After maturity it's hen or rooster.

the_monkey · 04-03-2015 10:25am

12 hour shift is the worst part of this, don't know why they can't split it into 3x8 rather then 2x12 shifts.

Nino Brown · 04-03-2015 10:28am

The Corinthian wrote: »

For example, chickens will have stopped laying eggs by the time they're about 18 months old, yet their natural life span will generally be over five years. Do you think that poultry farmers feed and house chickens that produce nothing for over three years? That chickens get to 'retire' in Florida?

Some actually don't get killed, obviously most probably do, but they give a lot away to people who keep chickens as a hobby. My auld lad has a few of them. They still lay too, but their best laying days are just behind them.

BeerWolf · 04-03-2015 10:51am

Kelly06 wrote: »

What do they do to them? Wait do I even want to know? It's bad right?

View at your own discretion!!!

daheff · 04-03-2015 10:53am

SoftMicro wrote: »

chicks with dicks?

I think they want them without...I certainly want without!! :eek:

kneemos · 04-03-2015 10:54am

the_monkey wrote: »

12 hour shift is the worst part of this, don't know why they can't split it into 3x8 rather then 2x12 shifts.

You'd have to train another sexer.
Dunno what happens if one sexer gets sick though.

Sheepy99 · 04-03-2015 3:14pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb4w6j5kb70

artanevilla · 04-03-2015 3:16pm

Couldn't do it if it paid £250,000 a year. Horrifying job.

The Corinthian · 04-03-2015 3:26pm

artanevilla wrote: »

Couldn't do it if it paid £250,000 a year. Horrifying job.

In fairness, for £250,000 a year I probably would make the sacrifice. It's the boredom I'd have most difficulty with.

goose2005 · 04-03-2015 3:28pm

Nino Brown wrote: »

Yeah, maybe the reason people don't want the job is more to do with wit watching this all day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtA3msHGusQ (Chick Grinder, don't watch it if that kind of thing bothers you).

This always made me curious as to why vegetarians eat eggs. The won't eat the chicken because killing chickens is "wrong", but they will eat the eggs, despite millions of male chickens being killed in the process of getting the eggs.

In fairness though, gruesome as it may seem, that grinder is a pretty quick death, if I had a choice between electric chair, lethal injection, or grinder I'd pick grinder.

Millions of animals are also killed in growing crops, from habitat destruction, to pesticides, to getting eaten up in machinery etc.

JohnnyChimpo · 04-03-2015 3:47pm

Not sure why you'd want to train for 3 years for a monotonous job which will soon be replace by IR sensors and a robotic arm.

RoboRat · 04-03-2015 3:48pm

How can you watch a chickens ass whilst looking at boards? I'm out....

kneemos · 04-03-2015 3:54pm

JohnnyChimpo wrote: »

Not sure why you'd want to train for 3 years for a monotonous job which will soon be replace by IR sensors and a robotic arm.

Don't know what an IR sensor can do that takes a human three years.

Sleepy · 04-03-2015 5:19pm

The Corinthian wrote: »

In fairness, for £250,000 a year I probably would make the sacrifice. It's the boredom I'd have most difficulty with.

With £250,000 a year I'm sure you could afford an audible subscription or plenty of audiobook downloads to get past the boredom...

For that kind of cash I'd happily kill people, never mind chicks.

Depraved · 05-03-2015 12:18am

Sleepy wrote: »

With £250,000 a year I'm sure you could afford an audible subscription or plenty of audiobook downloads to get past the boredom...

For that kind of cash I'd happily kill people, never mind chicks.

I don't have £250,000. Will £80,000 do?

Capt'n Midnight · 08-03-2015 8:44pm

kneemos wrote: »

Don't know what an IR sensor can do that takes a human three years.

Blood test for hormones or chromosomes , ultrasound or xray to check internal organs

in the future they might even do it at the egg stage

or using FACS even at the sperm stage if someone develops the right technology

TheBeardedLady · 08-03-2015 8:48pm

I'd do it. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

harry Bailey esq · 08-03-2015 9:28pm

Id do it for 30 grand, the job title itself is guaranteed to get you layed all the time

€55,000 a year to stare at chick's bottoms 12 hours a day

Comments