The severe welfare problem of feed restriction in broiler breeder chickens and reform approaches addressing this overlooked component of poultry production.
Broiler breeder welfare represents a hidden welfare crisis: birds in the parent generation of commercial broiler production are kept in a state of chronic hunger throughout their productive lives to prevent the health consequences of their own genetics. The very traits selected to produce fast-growing broiler offspring create health problems in breeders if they are allowed to eat freely. Chronic hunger in these birds is not a management failure but a structural consequence of the genetic selection program. Addressing this welfare problem requires either changing the breeding genetics or developing feeding strategies that satisfy hunger while preventing obesity — a genuine welfare research priority.