Broiler breeder chickens — the parents of meat chickens — experience severe welfare problems from feed restriction practices. This overlooked aspect of poultry production affects millions of birds.
Chronic feed restriction of broiler breeders represents one of the most pervasive and severe welfare problems in the entire poultry industry. These birds are perpetually hungry — their satiety mechanisms are overwhelmed by genetics that drive constant appetite. The hunger is real, ongoing, and unrelievable except through feeding that would cause equally serious welfare problems through obesity and metabolic disease. This is not a minor management compromise but a fundamental conflict created by selective breeding. The solution lies in transitioning to slower-growing genetics that do not require this degree of restriction, a change that some major retailers have begun demanding from their supply chains.