Welfare Footprint Project has analysis here, which they summarize:
Adoption of the Better Chicken Commitment, with use of a slower-growing breed reaching a slaughter weight of approximately 2.5 Kg at 56 days (ADG=45-46 g/day) is expected to prevent “at least” 33 [13 to 53] hours of Disabling pain, 79 [-99 to 260] hours of Hurtful and 25 [5 to 45] seconds of Excruciating pain for every bird affected by this intervention (only hours awake are considered). These figures correspond to a reduction of approximately 66%, 24% and 78% , respectively, in the time experienced in Disabling, Hurtful and Excruciating pain relative to a conventional scenario due to lameness, cardiopulmonary disorders, behavioral deprivation and thermal stress.
The reduction in suffering per chicken is probably >24% if this analysis is correct, and it accounts for longer lives. My guess is >50%, giving substantial weight to disabling pain relative to milder pain. Accounting for more chickens necessary for the same amount of meat (EDIT: although WFP assumes they grow to the same weight) wouldn’t flip things. (And there would be a reduction in demand to partially offset this, due to higher costs per kg of meat.)
Lameness-related pain primarily due to their breed seems to be the largest source of their suffering and responsible for a lot of suffering, so it makes sense to me that slower growing breeds would be better off.
I think it’s worth noting here that (if I’m understanding it right) the alternative breeds recommended by the better chicken commitment are slower-growing but don’t have a lower max weight. And the welfare footprint project numbers on pain durations already account for the longer time to reach full weight.
I think it’s worth noting here that (if I’m understanding it right) the alternative breeds recommended by the better chicken commitment are slower-growing but don’t have a lower max weight.
I’m not sure, but the optimal weight at slaughter could be lower, which I think Lusk et al. (blog post) found for the US. Even if they could reach the same maximum weight, it may be more profitable to slaughter them at lower weights.
And the welfare footprint project numbers on pain durations already account for the longer time to reach full weight.
Ya, I intended to imply that, but could have worded things better. I’ve edited my comment.
Gotcha, that makes sense! Even if producers slaughter at a lower weight, I think the number of chicken-days of life per kg of meat shouldn’t change much relative to what goes into the WFP analysis. So I don’t think that producers slaughtering earlier changes the quantity of time spent suffering very significantly, just whether it’s distributed among fewer longer-lived chickens or more shorter-lived chickens.
For the reformed scenario, represented by the use of a slower-growing strain, we assumed an average ADG of 45-46 g/day, hence that the same slaughter weight would be reached in approximately 56 days.
Welfare Footprint Project has analysis here, which they summarize:
The reduction in suffering per chicken is probably >24% if this analysis is correct, and it accounts for longer lives. My guess is >50%, giving substantial weight to disabling pain relative to milder pain. Accounting for more chickens necessary for the same amount of meat (EDIT: although WFP assumes they grow to the same weight) wouldn’t flip things. (And there would be a reduction in demand to partially offset this, due to higher costs per kg of meat.)
Lameness-related pain primarily due to their breed seems to be the largest source of their suffering and responsible for a lot of suffering, so it makes sense to me that slower growing breeds would be better off.
Thank you! This is the kind of analysis I was looking for.
I think it’s worth noting here that (if I’m understanding it right) the alternative breeds recommended by the better chicken commitment are slower-growing but don’t have a lower max weight. And the welfare footprint project numbers on pain durations already account for the longer time to reach full weight.
I’m not sure, but the optimal weight at slaughter could be lower, which I think Lusk et al. (blog post) found for the US. Even if they could reach the same maximum weight, it may be more profitable to slaughter them at lower weights.
Ya, I intended to imply that, but could have worded things better. I’ve edited my comment.
Gotcha, that makes sense! Even if producers slaughter at a lower weight, I think the number of chicken-days of life per kg of meat shouldn’t change much relative to what goes into the WFP analysis. So I don’t think that producers slaughtering earlier changes the quantity of time spent suffering very significantly, just whether it’s distributed among fewer longer-lived chickens or more shorter-lived chickens.
Ah, ya: