Farm Animal Welfare

Chicken Catching and Loading Welfare

The catching and loading of broiler chickens for transport is one of the highest-risk welfare points in the production cycle, with mechanical catchers offering improvements.

Key Facts

Manual catching involves picking up chickens by one or two legs, causing pain and injury
Injuries during catching include dislocations, fractures, and haemorrhage
Mechanical chicken harvesters reduce handling injuries by up to 50% versus manual
Dim lighting during catching reduces bird stress and flightiness
Catching crews can handle thousands of birds per hour under time pressure

Welfare Considerations

Catching and loading is a critical welfare bottleneck in broiler production. Birds experience sudden handling after a life with minimal human contact, causing extreme fear. Rough handling causes physical injuries in addition to acute psychological stress. The time pressure under which catching crews work creates incentives that compromise individual bird welfare. Mechanical systems and better training represent meaningful improvements.

What You Can Do

Support retailers that require approved mechanical catching for supplier flocks
Advocate for catching welfare to be included in farm assurance audits
Support research into further mechanical catching improvements
Choose higher-welfare chicken products with better catching standards
Engage with retailers about their supplier catching requirements