Farmed Chicken Broiler Welfare: Genetics, Growth, and the Welfare Crisis

Modern broiler chicken genetics have created birds that grow so fast they frequently experience heart failure, lameness, and chronic pain — making broiler welfare one of the most significant animal welfare challenges by scale.

Key Facts

Modern broiler chickens reach slaughter weight in 35-42 days, compared to 84 days for slower-growing breeds in 1950
Approximately 70 billion broiler chickens are raised and slaughtered globally each year
Breast muscle myopathy affects approximately 50% of modern fast-growing broiler genetics, causing muscle degeneration and pain
Lameness — often caused by skeletal disorders linked to rapid growth — affects an estimated 25-30% of commercial broilers
Ascites (fluid accumulation from heart failure) and sudden death syndrome kill millions of birds annually from cardiac overload
Slower-growing broiler breeds (achieving slaughter weight in 56+ days) have dramatically better welfare outcomes
Litter quality directly affects footpad dermatitis, which affects 20-80% of conventional broiler flocks
The Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) is a retailer and brand commitment to require slower-growing breeds and improved conditions

Welfare Considerations

Broiler chicken welfare represents the largest scale animal welfare crisis in existence: 70 billion individuals per year experiencing chronic pain from skeletal disorders, heart conditions caused by growth rate exceeding physiological capacity, and in many cases lameness that prevents normal movement for the final weeks of their short lives. The welfare harm is caused directly by selective breeding decisions that prioritize growth rate and breast muscle yield over basic physiological integrity. Slower-growing genetics — breeds that take 56+ days to reach slaughter weight — dramatically reduce lameness, cardiac problems, and breast myopathy. The Better Chicken Commitment, signed by hundreds of food companies, represents an industry-wide commitment to welfare improvement that, if fully implemented, would improve the lives of billions of individual chickens annually. Consumer demand for welfare-certified chicken and company-level BCC adoption are the primary levers for accelerating this transition.

What You Can Do

Choose chicken products from brands that have signed and are implementing the Better Chicken Commitment
Reduce consumption of conventional chicken while welfare standards improve across the industry
Ask food companies and restaurants whether they have signed the Better Chicken Commitment and when they will implement it
Support organizations tracking and reporting BCC implementation including Chicken Watch and Humane Society reports
Learn about broiler genetics and the welfare consequences of extreme growth rate selection
Advocate for minimum breed welfare standards in chicken welfare legislation