Broiler breeder birds — the parents of fast-growing meat chickens — are chronically feed-restricted to prevent obesity, creating severe hunger and frustration that represents one of the most significant welfare problems in poultry farming.
Broiler breeder welfare represents a systemic welfare problem embedded in the entire chicken meat production system. Every fast-growing meat chicken sold in supermarkets was raised from parents enduring chronic feed restriction-induced suffering across their entire productive lives. This is not a marginal issue — it affects tens of millions of birds globally at any given time. Addressing it requires either changing the genetics of meat chickens to slower-growing breeds (which eliminates the feed restriction need) or developing validated low-density diet protocols. Supporting slower-growing broiler standards indirectly improves broiler breeder welfare.