Broiler breeder chickens — the parents of commercial meat chickens — face severe chronic hunger because feed restriction is required to prevent the obesity and health failures caused by their extreme genetics.
Broiler breeder welfare represents a particularly troubling case because the suffering is designed into the production system. These birds experience chronic, intentional hunger as a management necessity — hunger severe enough to drive persistent stereotypic feeding behaviour and aggression over food. The welfare state of birds that would overeat to obesity and death without restriction sits between two forms of suffering: chronic hunger or chronic disease. The fundamental solution is genetic — selecting broiler lines that do not grow at pathological rates eliminates the need for restrictive feeding. Until then, precision feeding, environmental enrichment, and management strategies that reduce competition for limited feed are essential welfare mitigations.