Kashrus of Kapparos Chickens

The outbreak of a poultry illness is expected to have a tremendous impact on local organizations that facilitate kapparos.

The disease is a strain of reovirus, a flu-like illness that has been afflicting birds on the east coast. Any kapparos outfit that intends to distribute their birds will need to hire additional mashgiachim to inspect all freshly-slaughtered chickens.

A chicken with the reovirus will have difficulty walking and eating. The disease can cause the veins of a bird’s leg to break, rendering it unquestionably treif. There is no vaccine for this strain of the disease.

“Honestly I wasn’t expecting to have to hire this many staff,” said Rabbi Shea Hecht of NCFJE. Hecht’s organization is well-known for offering $5 kapparos chickens to Crown Heights families. Sponsors such as Morris Gad and Dovid Fischer prevent NCFJE from taking a loss on the deeply-discounted birds, but this Sunday Hecht is bracing himself for the worst. In addition to hiring expert mashgichim, inspection for the reovirus will cause the overall kashrus inspection to take much longer, demanding that most hourly staff work overtime. “I’ll be happy if we break even,” he said.

Hecht’s kapparos chickens go to the Hadar Hatorah yeshiva, Camp Emunah and a number of needy households in Crown Heights. Because of the reovirus, there’s no telling what percentage of chickens will actually be fit for kosher consumption.

According to Rabbi Aaron Koschitsky, a shochet and mashgiach for David Elliot and Weiss Organic (both under the CHK) and an expert on the reovirus, an expert mashgiach will be able to spot the presence of the resovirus through certain superficial signs on a slaughtered bird; and by cutting into the leg to check the veins.

About half of the flocks that Koschitsky has inspected have shown less than 1% infection of the reovirus. However, a number of flocks have shown higher levels of infection, some up to 90%.

Companies such as David Elliot and Weiss Organic are now sending scouts to inspect flocks before purchase, in order to minimize losses from the reo virus. However, organizations like NCFJE that purchase their kapparos chickens directly from a poultry farms have no way of knowing what they’ll get.

Chickens will be available Sunday, September 23, from 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm outside the NCFJE offices on Eastern Parkway, between Kingston and Albany. The discounted price is for residents only.