Farming

Print this page

Only those birds suited to thrive in indoor systems have been selected, over the last 40 years, to be part of poultry breeding programmes. Around ninety five percent of British chickens and turkeys are reared in large specially-designed houses.

Broiler chickens, those reared for meat, are very different from breeds of hen kept for laying table eggs. From being day-old chicks right up to the day of slaughter, the birds can roam throughout the house on fresh litter of chopped straw or wood shavings.

Carefully designed systems deliver clean, uncontaminated feed and water to the growing birds, while fans automatically provide fresh air and the houses are heated in the winter. Indoor chickens and turkeys are not battery birds and are not subjected to any surgical treatments, such as beak trimming.

Rearing birds indoors helps to protect them, not only from the elements and predators, but also from diseases harmful to the birds and from bacterial infections in the environment which can poison human food.

Continual advances in breeding data management, increased understanding of birds' nutritional needs, continuing improvements in house design, and training of stockmen in bird health and hygiene controls have all contributed – since the 1960s - to halving the number of days chickens take to grow to their market weight.

This care and attention to welfare leads naturally to improved food quality and safety.