Farm Animals

Farmed Chicken Broiler Breed Welfare Comparison

Comparing welfare outcomes across different broiler breeds reveals the trade-off between growth rate and health that breed selection determines.

Key Facts

Ross 308 and Cobb 500 are the dominant conventional fast-growth breeds
Slower-growth breeds including Hubbard JA87 have substantially better leg health
Health outcome differences between breeds persist even in identical housing conditions
Some major retailers have committed to specific welfare outcome breeds

Welfare Considerations

Breed choice is the single largest determinant of broiler welfare outcomes. Fast-growth breed problems are not fully addressable through management changes. Switching to slower-growth breeds with better health outcomes is the most impactful single welfare intervention available to the poultry industry.

What You Can Do

Support retailers that have publicly committed to slower-growth breed sourcing
Advocate for slow-growth breed requirements in public food procurement
Choose chicken products from identified welfare-outcome breeds
Recognize that breed welfare improvement may require modest price increases