Broiler breeder (parent) hens are kept on restricted feed rations to prevent obesity that would compromise fertility. This intentional chronic hunger is one of the most significant but least visible welfare problems in poultry production.
Broiler breeder hunger represents an extraordinary welfare problem that is largely invisible to consumers and even to many people working in animal welfare. Parent birds of fast-growing commercial broiler breeds cannot be allowed to eat freely because their genetics produce such extreme growth rates that ad libitum feeding causes fatal obesity and reproductive failure. The solution - deliberately keeping them chronically hungry - causes persistent suffering that is well-documented in behavioral research. These are not occasional hungry animals; they are perpetually, intensely food-motivated birds whose welfare is compromised every day of their lives. The underlying solution is breed reform - developing parent stock without this fundamental conflict.