Broiler parent birds suffer chronic hunger due to feed restriction to prevent obesity. This welfare problem upstream of meat chicken production is rarely discussed but severe.
Broiler parent bird welfare represents one of the most severe chronic welfare problems in food animal production, yet it is invisible to consumers who focus on the chicken meat or eggs they purchase. Parent birds live their entire productive lives in a state of chronic hunger — the genetic drive to eat is intact but feeding is severely restricted to prevent the diseases that unrestricted eating would cause. The industry acknowledges this welfare problem while arguing it is the lesser of two welfare evils. Welfare science disagrees: chronic hunger in a motivated animal represents severe suffering that demands resolution through breeding programme reform, not management accommodation.