Alexandra Ulans

American and European companies are pledging to move to include slow-growing broiler chickens for production, which means they will use broiler chickens with less efficient growth rates in their production systems. Slow-growing strains show improved welfare outcomes compared to conventional ones.This newsletter describes some characteristics of fast- and slow-growing broilers, along with the impac ...

Conventional broiler (meat) chickens reach a final weight of 6.6 lbs (3 kg) in approximately 40-44 days. Across their lifetime, these fast-growing birds gain an average of 68-75 g per day, with daily gain increasing with age (Aviagen, 2022; Cobb, 2022).With their fast growth, however, they can be prone to cardiovascular and musculoskeletal diseases (Hartcher and Lum, 2020; PEC newsletter vol. 31). ...