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Chickens: Numbers and General Information

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The notes on this page provide general information about chickens, including slaughter numbers and lineage.

The number of chickens slaughtered by far outnumber[1]Derived from United Nations FAO statistics for 2017: “FAOSTAT.” Accessed June 10 any other species of farmed animal. This fact might have implications for efforts to educate the public about the suffering that chickens and other farmed animals endure.

Closely related: Chickens: Injustices and Suffering | Chickens: Sentience and Cognition

Points to Consider

Ninety-eight percent of chickens in the United States are raised on factory farms.

  • Ninety-eight percent of chickens in the United States are raised in factory farming conditions.[2]Institute, Sentience. “US Factory Farming Estimates.” Sentience Institute, April 11, 2019. 
    • The Sentience Institute used USDA and FDA data to calculate the number of chickens raised on factory farms.[3]Institute, Sentience. “US Factory Farming Estimates.” Sentience Institute, April 11, 2019.
  • It seems tenable that the percentage is similar in other industrialized nations.

Globally, over 76 billion chickens are slaughtered annually for meat, and another 11 billion egg-laying hens are slaughtered.

  • Over 76 billion chickens are slaughtered annually for meat.[4]Derived from United Nations FAO statistics for 2017: “FAOSTAT.” Accessed June 10
  • Over 11 billion laying hens are slaughtered when their female reproductive systems are used up and they are no longer profitable.[5]Derived from United Nations FAO statistics for 2017: “FAOSTAT.” Accessed June 10

In the United States, over 9 billion chickens are slaughtered annually for meat, and another 375 million egg-laying hens are slaughtered.

  • In the United States, over 9 billion are slaughtered annually for meat.[6]Derived from United Nations FAO statistics for 2017: “FAOSTAT.” Accessed June 10
  • In the United States, over 375 million laying hens are slaughtered when their female reproductive systems are used up and they are no longer profitable.[7]Derived from United Nations FAO statistics for 2017: “FAOSTAT.” Accessed June 10

Over a 60-year period in the United States, the number of chickens has grown 1400 percent while the number of producers has plummeted by 98 percent, resulting in a typical facility raising more than 600,000 chickens a year.

  • “In less than 60 years, the number of broiler chickens raised yearly has skyrocketed 1,400 percent, from 580 million in the 1950s to nearly nine billion today.” (Pew Research)[8]Big Chicken: Pollution and Industrial Poultry Production in America.” Accessed July 6, 2019.
  • “Over the same [60 year] period, the number of producers has plummeted by 98 percent, from 1.6 million to just over 27,000 and concentrated in just 15 states.” (Pew Research)[9]Big Chicken: Pollution and Industrial Poultry Production in America.” Accessed July 6, 2019.
  • “The size of individual operations has grown dramatically. Today, the typical broiler chicken comes from a facility that raises more than 600,000 birds a year.” (Pew Research)[10]Big Chicken: Pollution and Industrial Poultry Production in America.” Accessed July 6, 2019.

Chickens raised for meat are typically slaughtered at 5 to 7 weeks, which is less than 2 percent of their 8-year natural lifespan.

  • Chickens raised for meat[11]“Age of Animals Slaughtered.” Farm Transparency Project, October 12, 2017.
    • Slaughter Age: 5-7 Weeks
    • Natural Lifespan: 8 Years
    • % of Life Lived: < 1.2%
    • Human Age: 1 year

Chickens raised for eggs are typically slaughtered at 18 months, which is less than 19 percent of their 8-year natural lifespan.

  • Chickens raised for eggs[12]“Age of Animals Slaughtered.” Farm Transparency Project, October 12, 2017.
    • Slaughter Age: 18 Months
    • Natural Lifespan: 8 Years
    • % of Life Lived: < 19%
    • Human Age: 15 Years

Other Useful Information

Lineage

  • Domesticated chickens used for meat and eggs are likely descended from the red jungle fowl of Southeast Asia.[13]Smith, Page, and Charles Daniel. The Chicken Book. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000, 11-13.
  • More recent research paints a more complex picture—birds from India, Cambodia, Ceylon, and other areas may also be involved in the lineage.[14]Smith, Page, and Charles Daniel. The Chicken Book. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000, 11-13.
  • Chickens were used widely in Southeast Asia, India, and Tibet and were a common fixture in ancient Greece.[15]Smith, Page, and Charles Daniel. The Chicken Book. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000, 16-30.
    • Their exploitation in the West spread from Greece to Rome and then on to Europe and the Americas.[16]Smith, Page, and Charles Daniel. The Chicken Book. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000, 16-30.

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Footnotes

References

References
↑1, ↑4, ↑5, ↑6, ↑7 Derived from United Nations FAO statistics for 2017: “FAOSTAT.” Accessed June 10
↑2 Institute, Sentience. “US Factory Farming Estimates.” Sentience Institute, April 11, 2019. 
↑3 Institute, Sentience. “US Factory Farming Estimates.” Sentience Institute, April 11, 2019.
↑8, ↑9, ↑10 Big Chicken: Pollution and Industrial Poultry Production in America.” Accessed July 6, 2019.
↑11, ↑12 “Age of Animals Slaughtered.” Farm Transparency Project, October 12, 2017.
↑13, ↑14 Smith, Page, and Charles Daniel. The Chicken Book. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000, 11-13.
↑15, ↑16 Smith, Page, and Charles Daniel. The Chicken Book. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000, 16-30.