The productive life of a commercial laying hen is limited. Approximately 50% of the layers in production at any time will be scheduled for removal throughout the year (Lyons and Vandepopulieree, 1996). As a result, over 160,347,000 "spent" laying hens require disposal annually in the United States. Unfortunately, this volume of spent laying hens exceeds the demand and disposal of spent hens is becoming increasingly difficult (Bachman, 1995). While a number of options are available for the utilization of spent hens, unique challenges are associated with each method. This paper will discuss issues relative to the recycling of spent hens.
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