South African chicken producers will ask the government to help them guarantee electricity supply to the nation's biggest abattoirs as cuts harm the birds' welfare and create health risks. The slaughterhouses, some of which can process as many as 13000 chickens an hour, cannot rely on generators as they are not able to create sufficient power for their needs, SA Poultry Association CEO Kevin Lovell said.The birds are typically stunned unconscious by electrocution before they are decapitated while hanging upside down, he said.When power cuts interrupt the process, the birds "have been stunned but they haven't been killed; they're hanging upside down and they're coming back alive," he said."It's a real problem."Eskom has cut supply almost every other day this year as it struggles to meet demand.While rolling blackouts follow schedules, they are sometimes imposed at a few minutes' notice.Abattoirs belonging to producers, including RCL Foods and Astral Foods, slaughtered about 958million chickens last year, Lovell said.The association will approach the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries about asking Eskom and municipalities to directly control power supply to 20 of the largest slaughterhouses, which process about 80% of the country's production, and provide about eight hours' notice before cuts, Lovell said.Eskom will attempt to accommodate the needs of the poultry industry once producers have made an approach, Khulu Phasiwe, a spokesman for Eskom, said. ..