Broiler breeder chickens — the parent stock used to produce commercial broilers — suffer from chronic hunger as a welfare management strategy to prevent obesity-related health problems caused by their growth genetics.
Broiler breeder welfare represents a genetic welfare trap: the same selection for rapid growth that causes welfare problems in commercial broilers also causes problems in their parents, which are then managed through chronic feed restriction that creates a different welfare problem. Birds maintained at a fraction of appetite show clear behavioral indicators of persistent hunger motivation. This is a systems-level welfare failure requiring a genetic solution — parent stock that can maintain health without requiring welfare-compromising management. Consumer pressure on the chicken industry to adopt slower-growing genetics in both broilers and breeders is the primary market lever available.