Chickens trapped in their own bodies (A Breed Apart - Part 2)
Walking problems are one of the easiest animal welfare issues to spot.
We can’t see metabolic disease or know from the outside that an animal’s heart is enlarged or over-worked, but we can see when birds are unable to walk and easily imagine that they are in constant pain and may not be able to get to food and water.
Let’s explore some of the ways fast-growing chicken breeds struggle to move under their own weight.
A chicken with splayed legs, unable to stand. This is a common problem for chickens in commercial farms - and increases their likelihood of other issues, including ammonia burns on their skin and dehydration from inability to reach water.
Image: We Animals Media
Deformed bones
Fast-growing meat chickens put so much weight on so quickly that their leg bones may become deformed. This problem is exacerbated by a genetic predisposition to leg deformities.
It’s such a significant issue that producers have tried to selectively breed chickens with fewer leg problems. There has been some success reported from these efforts, showing that selective breeding may be able to improve the welfare and health of fast-growing meat chickens - but the leg deformities are still occurring.
Microfractures & bone infections
The larger breast muscles meat chickens have been bred to produce creates a shift in how meat chickens carry their body weight, with more weight in front of their legs.
This can cause tiny fractures in the largest weight-bearing leg bones (femurs), and these fractures are then prone to bacterial infection.
The weight shift also seems to be associated with poor gait in general, as slower growing chickens uniformly show very little limping or other walking problems. The prevalence of walking problems varies in fast-growing chickens, but is always much more common.
We know that they are in pain, because chickens who are badly affected will move around more if they are given pain relief medication.
Foot & hock skin inflammation
Meat chickens are also prone to skin inflammation on their feet and hocks (the joint on a bird’s leg which looks like a backwards knee). This has been recorded to occur in 7% of fast-growing chickens but only 1% of slower growing chickens when kept at lower stocking densities.
Birds kept at higher stocking densities are more likely to show these problems because of the poor condition of the ground they live on. More birds per square metre means more manure, which leads to damp litter, and this can cause skin irritation. Fast-growing chickens are also more likely to have more skin contact with this manure, because they’re far more likely to have difficulty walking normally.
Another study reported that fast-growing chickens were much more likely to have skin inflammation on their hocks than slower-growing chickens when both were at the same stocking density. This is likely due to the changed body shape and weight of faster-growing birds changing the way they stand and walk.
Leg problems and skin problems on the feet also have a strong impact on how chickens walk, meaning that faster-growing chickens are more likely to show lameness (such as limping) than slower-growing chickens kept at the same stocking density.
Ammonia burns on a chicken's wings, inside a commercial chicken farm.
Image: We Animals Media
Breast burns & muscle abnormalities
Skin burns and blisters are also seen on other parts of meat chickens such as the breast. This is again more prevalent in fast-growing birds, and likely because these birds are less mobile, so are spending more time sitting in contact with the ground.
In addition, fast-growing birds show a range of muscular abnormalities that are believed to be related to their growth rate and heavy selection for large breast muscles.
We don’t know what these abnormalities feel like for the birds that have them. It may be a chronic source of pain, it may affect how their body works or how they move. As a result, chickens may make compromised choices, like resting in places that are wet, too hot or too cold or have particularly poor ventilation, just to avoid the pain of walking around.
Moving is difficult
Fast-growing chickens are suffering in bodies that make it difficult and even painful to move. This is even worse when their living conditions make it even harder to move and keep their bodies healthy.
Simply slowing down the unnaturally fast growth of chickens raised for meat by a few weeks makes a huge difference to their ability to move around and support their own body’s weight.
Help make life better for chickens
Two easy actions you can do right now to help chickens are:
Sign the Better Chicken Commitment pledge, to show that you support businesses making the switch to better chicken.
Spread the word – most Aussies are unaware of how bad life is for our chickens, and, like you, will want better welfare standards.
Add your name here to show the chicken industry and food businesses that you want higher welfare chicken products that meet the requirements of the Better Chicken Commitment.
As our campaign grows, there’ll be more opportunities to help demonstrate your support for the Better Chicken Commitment. Signing our BCC pledge will also get you on our email list, where we’ll share more opportunities to help chickens have a better life.
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Like most Australians, I care about the welfare of farmed animals.
Chickens farmed for meat are one of the most poorly treated animals in the agriculture industry. Every year, millions of Aussie chickens suffer short, miserable lives before being slaughtered using outdated and cruel methods. I want that to change.
As many Australians like me grow more aware and concerned about how animals are farmed for food, I'm looking to restaurants and shops to match expectations for better animal welfare, sustainability, and food quality.
I’m calling on food businesses to sign the Better Chicken Commitment and introduce higher welfare standards for all chickens in their supply chain. This includes better living conditions, more humane slaughter methods, and switching to healthier, slower growing chicken breeds that promote good welfare.
It’s time to change the way chickens are farmed in Australia.
The Better Chicken Commitment must be the new standard for Aussie chickens.