Broiler Catching and Loading: A Critical Welfare Moment

Why catching and loading at the end of the grow-out period is one of the highest-risk welfare events for broiler chickens, and how better practice can reduce suffering.

Key Facts

Catching and crating is the process of collecting broiler chickens from the grow-out house for transport to slaughter, typically at 5-7 weeks of age
Manual catching involves catching birds by their legs; mechanical harvesters use rotating rubber fingers to sweep birds onto conveyor belts
Up to 30% of broiler chickens arrive at slaughter with evidence of recent injury, including bruising, broken bones, and dislocations attributable to catching
Catching is typically performed at night to take advantage of reduced activity and lower light responses in birds
Well-trained catching crews using calm, gentle techniques significantly reduce injury rates compared to rushed operations
Mechanical harvesters show variable welfare outcomes; some studies show reduced injury, others increased bruising depending on machine design and bird density
Pre-catch feed withdrawal timing affects gut fill and processing quality, but overly long withdrawal causes hunger stress in birds

Welfare Considerations

Catching and loading represents a welfare crisis point in broiler production — a period of intense, unavoidable handling that causes injury and extreme fear in birds that have had minimal human contact during the grow-out period. The scale is enormous: globally, tens of billions of chickens are caught and loaded annually. Injury rates that might seem low as percentages translate to billions of animals experiencing broken bones, dislocations, or severe bruising in their final hours. The intensity of fear during catching is difficult to overstate: birds experiencing acute capture stress show behavioural and physiological responses indicating extreme distress. Investment in catcher training, appropriate staffing levels, and technology assessment can meaningfully reduce this suffering at modest cost per bird.

What You Can Do

Support welfare certification schemes that require training standards for catching crews and monitor injury rates at slaughter
Advocate for injury rate monitoring at abattoirs as a feedback mechanism to catching operations
Encourage food companies to audit catching practices as part of supply chain welfare commitments
Support research into catching equipment design that minimises injury and fear
Raise awareness that catching welfare is a critical but often overlooked component of broiler welfare standards