Broiler breeder hens — the parent birds that produce commercial broilers — experience chronic hunger as a management tool, representing a profound and largely invisible welfare problem.
Broiler breeder welfare represents one of the most concealed welfare problems in commercial poultry production. The parent birds of the billions of broiler chickens consumed annually are managed through chronic food restriction — a welfare harm so fundamental that it creates a state of ongoing hunger in every restricted bird throughout its productive life. These birds show the behavioral signatures of chronic hunger: they eat their own feathers, show stereotypic feeding behaviors, and compete aggressively for limited food. The solution requires changing the genetics at the root of the problem — selecting slower-growing birds for commercial production eliminates the obesity tendency that makes feed restriction necessary. Progress is occurring but slowly, driven by welfare advocacy and some early corporate commitments.