Broiler breeder birds — the parents of commercial broiler chickens — face severe welfare problems from chronic hunger used to control their weight and prevent metabolic disease.
Broiler breeder welfare represents a systemic welfare problem created entirely by genetic selection decisions. Fast-growing broiler genetics produce offspring that reach market weight quickly, but the same genetics in breeding animals cause fatal metabolic disease if fed to appetite — so breeders are chronically food-restricted throughout their productive lives. The resulting hunger is constant, severe, and measurable. Behavioral research using preference tests and motivational frameworks has demonstrated that feed-restricted broiler breeders are strongly motivated to seek food even at significant cost — evidence of genuine hunger-driven suffering. This is not an incidental welfare problem but one deliberately created and maintained by the production system. Welfare-compatible broiler genetics that allow breeders to be fed adequately would eliminate this problem.