It’s estimated that there are more than 50 billion chickens raised for meat in the world each year. That works out to about 136 million chickens killed each day worldwide.
The United States is the third most prolific country for chicken farming. There are about 9 billion chickens raised for slaughter in the USA each year. An additional 305 million hens are kept for commercial egg production.
Chickens are the most plentiful food source of any domesticated animal. There are more chickens raised and slaughtered than all other types of livestock combined. Along with turkeys, these birds represent 99 percent of the animals killed for meat in the USA if you’re counting by individuals slaughtered.
Chickens have become more plentiful in recent decades. In the last 60 years, chicken production in the United States has grown from 580 million in the 1950s to today’s number of 9 billion. Chickens bred for meat look different than those raised 60 years ago as well. Modern chickens are plumper and grow much faster in order to keep up with demand.
Factory Farming Conditions
The practice of factory farming chickens has come under intense scrutiny in recent years. The conditions that most commercial chicken farms maintain are quite different from what you might encounter at a backyard chicken farm.
Commercial meat chickens, or broilers, are bred to grow very quickly and put on a lot of weight during a brief period of time. This makes it possible to slaughter them for meat at six weeks of age. This rapid weight gain and growth predisposes them to heart problems; these birds often do not survive into old age even if they’re not slaughtered.
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Other problems with factory farmed chickens include the cramped conditions they’re kept in and unnatural living conditions. Interestingly, poultry are not classified as “animals” when raised as a commercial food product, which may be one reason that they can be farmed in such inhumane conditions.
Conclusion
Fortunately, things are changing for these birds as more people become aware of factory farming practices. With the rise in popularity of backyard chickens, a demand for humanely raised chickens and their eggs is rising. The future of factory farming may look very different for these birds if the trend continues the way it has in recent years.
If you’re reading this article and either have chickens or are thinking of raising them yourself, you’ll understand the importance of a quality chicken coop. This article on the complete chicken coop guide for beginners may be incredibly helpful to you.
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I I Have A Chicken has been setting over 2Weeks, Can put some new Eggs under Her….so she back Hatch Them….Or is it Too Late.Thank You, Betty
keep it safe
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I love chickens and wish they had a better life. It makes me so sad to know humans only use them for feed. Maybe God will bless their little hearts in chicken heaven.
136 million chickens a day killed I don’t think God is going to have the time to bless them all
Assuming that “god” had time to bless 136 million chicken, how’s a blessing going to help? In the USA, we are over-consuming, with everything, and this will be our downfall. We got to do better not only as a society but humanity in general. It’s a slaughter, plain and simple, and we should be ashamed of how we’re using Earth’s resources.
why are 136 million chickens killed a day
No more horrifying cruelty to chickens, we are savages the way we treat all our animals, we don’t deserve them!
Factory farming is the only way to raise enough chickens to meet consumer demand. Chickens raised outdoors must still have shelter for weather extremes. They are prey for other animals so many wildlives must be destroyed to avoid chickens from becoming meals for wild animals.
The only way to treat them humanely is to stop using them for our purposes. Stop breeding them for our purposes. Every major health and nutrition organization supports the superior health benefits of a well-balanced vegan diet. We can thrive with entirely plant-sourced foods. And all animal, fowl, and fish agriculture contribute to over half of all environmental destruction of land, air, and seas.
Humans were not created to be vegans but omnivores. What we need is moderation in everything we do.
Here here to the plant based revolution., it really is possible, it really is within our grasp.. and yes.. it really is delicious!!
I have a couple of chickens my self Ducks ect and I don’t think I could eat them when thay die I bury them I don’t eat pets period
Why? Bad People. Mean People. Wait, I’m a person right? OK I mean bad factory people! Don’t hurt the chickens! I will not eat chicken again! Poor things.
Yes.. because the workers of the slaughter company are the ones at fault..! Stop and think for a minute…
People take jobs to pay bills and feed themselves.. Its the corporations that have led society to fast food and mega factories not the people working under them.
Vegetarian an ancient word for people who didn’t know how to hunt or fish for food.