Breeding practice
Broiler Growth & Breeder Feed Restriction
Fast growth, restricted parents
What it is
Commercial broilers are bred to gain weight as fast as possible. The parent birds carry the same genetics, so they are held on controlled rations to limit the health and reproductive damage unrestricted growth would cause.
Where it sits in the system
One breeding system has to do two jobs: turn out meat birds that reach weight quickly, and keep the parent flock healthy and fertile enough to lay. Restricted feeding is how the second job is made to work.
Welfare concern
Broilers are grown faster than their legs and hearts can comfortably carry, and leg, cardiovascular, and mobility problems come with it. The parent birds are kept on a ration deliberately held below what they would eat, and where that restriction is severe it means chronic hunger, competition, and frustration.
Worth being precise about
Programmes vary, and precision feeding can reduce the competition; hunger is worst where restriction is most severe. The photograph shows affected commercial birds, because feed restriction leaves nothing visible to photograph.
