Consumers advocating the use of slow-growth chickens mistakenly assume these birds have better welfare conditions, Terrence O’Keefe, editor and content director, Watt AgNet, told Poultry Health Today.

Put another way: “…they make the assumption that current genetics are incapable of producing animals with good welfare. And, I guess to me, that’s just an absurd argument,” he said. O’Keefe pointed to performance in the US broiler industry achieved with modern genetics. There is record live-ability in the field and less use of feed is needed to produce more pounds of meat per bird. Condemnations are at a record low. Read more

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