The catching and loading of broiler chickens for transport to slaughter is one of the most acute welfare-risk points in poultry production. Method, training, and equipment all affect outcomes.
Poultry catching welfare involves the training, supervision, and incentive structures of the people doing the catching as much as the method itself. Catchers who grab multiple birds by one leg or throw birds into crates cause fractures, dislocations, and haematomas. These injuries cause pain during the final hours of the bird's life and reflect welfare failures in a system that minimises oversight of catching operations. Mechanical harvesters reduce human variation but can cause their own injury patterns. Night catching, catching training, and monitoring of injury rates at slaughter creates accountability throughout the catching and transport process.