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What is a 'red bird'?

On the slaughter line, chickens are supposed to have their throats slit (to kill them and drain their blood). Next, they go through a tank of scalding-hot water to remove their feathers. But because the system doesn't work, every year millions of birds miss the throat-cutting blades and end up in the scalding tank while still alive and conscious. Because their throats have not been cut, their blood is still inside them. When they emerge from the scalding tank, their flesh is bright red from the blood, so the industry calls them “red birds”—but “dead birds” is more like it: What they go through is pretty much like being boiled alive.