Fast-growing broiler breeds experience significant welfare problems linked to their extreme growth rates. Slower-growing breeds offer substantially improved welfare outcomes that are driving industry reform.
The welfare problems of fast-growing broiler breeds are among the most well-documented in farm animal welfare science. The relationship between growth rate and leg health is not coincidental - muscles, tendons, and bones cannot develop fast enough to support the rapid weight gain of modern conventional breeds, resulting in chronic lameness and pain in a significant proportion of the world's most numerous farmed animal. The welfare solution is straightforward in principle: slower-growing breeds with better leg health, lower mortality, and more behavioral capacity to move, forage, and use enrichment. The barrier is economic - slower growth means higher cost per kilogram. Consumer willingness to pay for higher-welfare chicken is the key lever for making this welfare transition commercially viable.