Broilers

Broiler chickens are raised for meat rather than for eggs. The broiler industry was started in the late 1950’s when chickens were selectively bred for meat production. Broiler chickens are housed in massive flocks mainly between 20,000 and 50,000 birds, with some flocks reaching over 100,000 birds. Broiler chicken farmers usually rear five or six batches of chickens per year.

After just six or seven weeks, broiler chickens are slaughtered (a chicken’s natural lifespan is around seven years). Chickens marketed as pouissons, or spring chickens, are slaughtered after four weeks. A few are kept longer than seven weeks to be sold as the larger roasting chickens.

Prices – The average price received by farmers for broilers (live weight) rose to an average 35.3 cents per pound in 2003. That was slightly below the 10-year average of 36 cents but represented a recovery from 2002 when the average price of 30.4 cents was the lowest level seen in more than 10 years. Average wholesale broiler prices (ready-to-cook) were on track to rise to about 61 cents per pound in 2003, up from the 10-year low of 55.54 cents seen in 2002.

Supply – Total production of broilers in 2003 rose slightly by +0.9% to 32.533 billion pounds, up from 32.240 billion in 2002. The number of broilers raised for commercial production rose 2.6% to 8.732 billion in 2003, up from 8.511 billion in 2002. Furthermore, in addition to a larger number of broilers, the average weight per bird rose by 1.6% to 5.20 pounds, up from 5.12 pounds in 2002.

Demand – US per capita consumption of broilers in 2003 was unchanged from 2002 at a record 80.5 pounds (ready-to-cook) per person per year. US consumption of chicken has nearly doubled in the past two decades, up from as little as 47.0 pounds in 1980, as consumers have switched to the leaner and healthier meat of chicken versus beef.