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Breed broiler is any chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) that is bred and raised specifically for meat production. [1] Most commercial broilers reach slaughter weight between four [2] and six weeks of age, although slower growing breeds reach slaughter weight at approximately 14 weeks of age. Typical broilers have white feathers and yellowish skin.
Meat chickens, commonly called broilers, are floor-raised on litter such as wood shavings, peanut shells, and rice hulls, indoors in climate-controlled housing. Under modern farming methods, meat chickens reared indoors reach slaughter weight at 5 to 9 weeks of age, as they have been selectively bred to do so. In the first week of a broiler's ...
One indication of the effect of broilers' rapid growth rate on welfare is a comparison of the usual mortality rate for standard broiler chickens (1% per week) with that for slower-growing broiler chickens (0.25% per week) and with young laying hens (0.14% per week); the mortality rate of the fast-growing broilers is seven times the rate of ...
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In one case last year, 5 million chickens were slaughtered on a single Iowa egg farm. Nebraska comes next with more than 6.7 million birds killed, followed by Colorado's 6.26 million and Minnesota ...
Chicks bred in the early 1900s. Prior to the development of modern broiler meat breeds, chickens were largely dual-purpose breeds, with most male chickens (cockerels) were slaughtered for meat, whereas females (pullets) would be kept for egg production.
RSPCA standards state that in order for chickens to be free range, there must not be more than 13 chickens per square meter. [23] Free-range broiler systems use slower-growing breeds of chicken to improve welfare, meaning they reach slaughter weight at 16 weeks of age rather than 5–6 weeks of age in standard rearing systems.
FILE - Chickens walk in a fenced pasture at an organic farm in Iowa on Oct. 21, 2015. Nebraska agriculture officials say another 1.8 million chickens must be killed after bird flu was found on a ...