Get answers to the most frequently asked questions about eating chicken.
Chicken farmers and producers take pride in the care of their broiler chickens (chickens raised for meat), and the fact is that chickens are as healthy as they’ve ever been. But we know its on us as an industry to do a better job of providing more information about how our chicken gets from farm to table and the welfare guidelines for broiler chickens – so we wanted to provide information on a few topics that you may have questions about.
Antibiotics are just one of many tools farmers use to keep their flocks healthy, in order to contribute to a safe and wholesome food supply. Today, all chicken farms are under a health program designed by a licensed veterinarian. But just like people, animals sometimes get sick, and treating illness is a responsible part of animal care. When this happens, farmers work with animal health experts and veterinarians to determine if an antibiotic is needed. The vast majority of the antibiotics that we use are never used in human medicine, and we’re taking steps to phase out those most critical to human medicine.
Chickens today are in fact bigger! As the demand for chicken as a protein has increased, farmers have worked to create larger and healthier chickens – to meet that demand over the past few decades.
In the 1920’s, the average chicken at market weight was 2.5 pounds and the U.S. population to feed was 115 million. Today, through improvements in breeding, nutrition, veterinary care and bird health, chickens have healthier organs and stronger limbs. In addition to providing broiler chickens with healthier nutrition, the use of vaccines and better living conditions have also improved chicken health and overall growth rate. All of these improvements mean farmers are able to raise bigger and healthier birds to feed today’s growing U.S. population of approximately 320 million.
A chicken’s growth rate is measured by how long it takes the chicken to reach market weight after it hatches. Most of the chicken meat available today comes from flocks that are bred to be bigger and grow faster than in years past – growing to market weight in about 48 days on average. “Slower-growing” chickens or “Heritage breeds” are not bred to convert feed to muscle as quickly, and so can take almost twice as long to reach market weight – around 81 days.
You might be surprised to learn that there are no artificial or added hormones used in the production of U.S. chicken. In fact, the use of such hormones is expressly forbidden by law by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Note: Labels that read: “Raised without hormones must also include a statement saying that no hormones are used in the production of any poultry raised in the United States.
Chickens are not “crammed” in houses. Broiler chickens (chickens raised for meat) live in growout houses, which – as their namesake implies – provide enough space for chicks to literally “grow out” into full sized chickens. In fact, the houses are built in a way that each bird can eat, drink, rest and move around freely.
By nature, as the old saying goes, birds of a feather tend to flock together – a behavior that can sometimes give the impression that the birds are crowded, when in fact they’re just following their natural instincts.
The chicken industry is committed to environmentally responsible and sustainable chicken production practices to ensure a healthier planet. After all, it takes a healthy planet, fresh water, fertile soil and clean air to raise and produce chicken.
For the chicken industry, sustainability means being responsible stewards of land, water and feed management, along with maintaining and advocating for the humane treatment of our most important asset: our chickens. So we compiled a decade of data from 2010 to 2020 into an inaugural U.S. broiler chicken industry sustainability report to identify what we’re doing right and areas we can improve.
You might see “cage free” labels on packaged chicken meat that you purchase at the store. However, no chicken you buy is raised in a cage. The majority of chickens raised for meat in the U.S. live in large, open structures called houses where they are free to walk around. Others, including free-range chickens, have varying access to the outdoors, based on farmer preference.
Broiler chickens (chickens raised for meat) are always raised by farmers trained in animal welfare.
Farmers and employees are trained in handling and caring for chickens in order to provide a safe, healthy and low-stress environment. If caught mistreating the chickens, they are subject to immediate disciplinary action, including termination and prosecution
Just like humans, birds can get the flu. Bird flu, technically known as avian influenza, is a disease that affects birds, including poultry like chickens, turkeys and ducks. First and foremost, consumers need to know that bird flu is NOT a foodborne illness, so you cant contract it from eating poultry that hasn’t been cooked properly. And in the event a flock does test positive, it won’t enter the food chain. Bird flu is caused by a virus that is passed from bird to bird through their saliva, nasal secretions and/or feces. Other susceptible birds pick up the virus by directly touching the infected bird’s fluids or by touching a surface that has been contaminated by the fluids.
There are 2 classifications of bird flu—low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Birds who contract LPAI sometimes do not exhibit any symptoms or show mild ones, like ruffled feathers or a decrease in egg production. Birds with HPAI exhibit more severe symptoms such as little energy or appetite, lack of coordination, coughing, sneezing or nasal secretions. HPAI may also cause high mortality.
“Woody breast” describes a quality issue stemming from a muscle abnormality in a small percentage of chicken meat in the U.S. This condition causes chicken breast meat to be hard to the touch and often pale in color with poor quality texture. “Woody breast” does not create any health or food safety concerns for people and the welfare of the chicken itself is not negatively impacted.
A contract grower is an independent farmer working under contract with a chicken production and processing company to raise chickens. More than 90% of all chickens raised for meat in the U.S. (broiler chickens) are raised by contract growers.
The company with which the farmer contracts provides the chickens, the feed, veterinarian care and technical advice—removing about 97% of the economic risk from farmers, compared to independent growers. Meanwhile, contract poultry farmers provide day-to-day care of the birds, land and housing on which they’re raised, and utilities/maintenance of the housing. This mutually beneficial partnership (a key part of vertical integration) supports the economic viability and independence of the family farm while ensuring efficiency and consistency in modern poultry production.
According to the USDA regulations, free range means that chickens have access to the outdoors for at least some part of the day, whether the chickens choose to go outside or not. Chicken labeled as “organic” must also be “free-range,” but not all “free-range” chicken is also “organic.”
Since 1996, farmers in animal agriculture, including poultry, have fed genetically modified grains (corn) and oilseeds (soybeans) to their flocks and herds with U.S. government oversight. Since more than 80 percent of the corn and soybeans grown in the US are raised from genetically modified seeds, almost all corn and soybean used in conventional livestock and poultry production is genetically modified.
After more than 20 years of research, there has been no scientific evidence of any compromise to animal health whatsoever from the ingestion of genetically modified feed ingredients. In fact, since 1996, overall chicken health has improved and U.S. production has increased by 43 percent.
Products carrying the USDA Certified Organic seal must meet the requirements of the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board for organic growing, production, handling, storage and processing practices. These standards prohibit the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or antibiotics, and require the use of feed made from organic ingredients, including organic grains. Most practices at the processing plant are the same for chickens raised organically or conventionally, though processing aids and sanitizers used in organic processing must be approved for organic use. The organic food label does not indicate that the product’s safety, quality or nutritional attributes are any higher than the conventionally raised product.
Typical bedding materials in a chicken house may include: rice hulls, straw, wood chips or peanut shells. These dry, absorbent materials help keep the ground dry and soft for the chickens.
