Broiler
A broiler is a chicken bred and raised primarily for meat. Modern broilers grow rapidly and are commonly produced in large-scale systems.
Chicken: A domesticated bird descended primarily from the red junglefowl and raised for meat, eggs, or both. Broilers are a production type of domestic chicken.
Broiler breeder: A chicken kept to produce fertilized eggs that hatch into broiler chicks. Breeder flocks supply the chicks raised for meat.
Chicken meat: Meat obtained from domestic chickens, sold fresh, frozen, or processed. Broilers are raised chiefly to supply this food.
Broiler welfare: The physical health and behavioral well-being of chickens raised for meat. Fast growth and housing conditions can affect broilers' ability to move and remain healthy.
Broiler industry: The global system that breeds, raises, processes, and distributes chickens for meat. It links broiler breeding and farming to processing and markets.
Hatchery: A facility where eggs are incubated and chicks are hatched under controlled conditions. Commercial broiler production begins with eggs hatched in specialized facilities.
Poultry farming: The raising of domesticated birds for meat, eggs, or other products. Broiler production is one branch of poultry farming.
Lameness in broiler chickens: Impaired walking in meat chickens, often associated with leg disorders or painful conditions. Rapid weight gain can contribute to mobility problems in broilers.
Selective breeding: The practice of choosing organisms with desired traits as parents for later generations. Decades of selection produced broilers with rapid growth and high meat yield.
Chick brooding: The early rearing of young poultry with controlled warmth, feed, and protection. Newly hatched broilers need careful temperature and access management.