Broiler breeder hens - the parent birds that produce commercial broiler chickens - suffer from severe chronic hunger due to feed restriction programs designed to prevent obesity-related reproductive failure.
Broiler breeder welfare presents a fundamental ethical conflict: the genetics that make commercial meat production economically viable create animals whose biology cannot sustain normal feeding without harm. The suffering involved in severe chronic hunger - experienced by billions of breeding birds globally - is invisible to most consumers. Unlike end-stage production welfare issues, breeder welfare sits deep in the supply chain where oversight is minimal. Slower-growing alternative genetics, including some dual-purpose breeds, can reduce the severity of restriction needed, but changing breeder genetics requires industry-wide coordination.