Modern fast-growth broiler chickens have been bred to reach slaughter weight in under 6 weeks, but the genetic selection driving this rapid growth creates serious and widespread welfare problems.
The welfare problems of fast-growth broilers are structural, not circumstantial. No amount of enrichment or improved housing fully compensates for a body that cannot support its own weight comfortably. A chicken with painful legs that spends 80% of its time lying on litter develops breast blisters, cannot access feed and water normally, and cannot engage in natural behaviours like dustbathing, foraging, or flapping. The breed is the problem. Slower-growing breeds with more natural body proportions show dramatically better welfare outcomes across virtually every measured indicator. The transition to slower-growing breeds is the single most impactful welfare improvement available to the chicken industry and is being demanded by major food companies under the Better Chicken Commitment framework.