Some have the custom of performing the rite of Kapparos [symbolic atonement] on the day preceding Yom Kippur; if it is not possible to do so then the rite may be performed earlier.

The rite consists of gently taking a chicken in one’s hand and reciting a prayer. A man takes a rooster; a woman takes a hen; a pregnant woman takes two fowls — a hen and a rooster.

The fowl is then slaughtered by an expert butcher in accordance with halachic procedure.

At Anshei Lubavitch we use only free range chickens from a local farm, which are then distributed to the needy.