Improvements in chicken for a sustainable future

Improvements in chickens related to broiler breeder production, efficiency of broiler growth, environmental improvements and enhanced poultry wellbeing are helping to promote a sustainable future for the world’s poultry industry.

This was stated by Dr. John Hardiman of Cobb-Vantress, during his presentation at the recently held XXII Latin American Poultry congress (ALA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Since the early 1900’s commercial breeding companies have used the science of poultry breeding and genetics to help shape permanent production and wellbeing improvements in broiler parents and their broiler offspring for customers in the US and worldwide, Dr. Hardiman said.

For example, genetic improvements in the Cobb 500 over the last 30 years included a 10% increase in carcass yield, an 11% increase in breast meat percent of live weight and a .60 reduction in feed conversion ratio therefore producing broilers which require 25% less feed per unit gain.

In addition, there has been continuous improvement in reproductive traits while the number of selection traits related to broiler wellbeing and the environment including leg and skeletal health, metabolic disease, broiler livability and feed conversion have been expanded.