Fast-Growing Frankenchickens

Big Ag loves big money and it really knows how to get it. Forcing birds to reach slaughter weight in record-fast time means big ole bonuses, and so the industry has systematically overbred chickens who now go from hatchling to over-sized adult in just 35 days. If a human baby grew at the same rate, they would weigh nearly 300kg, which is the size of a fully grown tiger, by the time they were two months old.⁴ Whoever said chicken meat was natural?!

Of course, such unnatural growth comes at a huge cost to the birds. Lameness, bone deformities and broken bones, heart attacks, burns, and organ failure are all more common in fast-growing Frankenchickens.⁵ Plus, because they are more likely to get sick and die,⁶ the factory farming industry uses up to three times more antibiotics than in slower-growing breeds.⁷ Not only have antibiotic residues been found in chicken products on sale in London supermarkets⁸ but overuse of these drugs is associated with antibiotic-resistant infections in people.

The birds’ rapid growth rate also explains the “white striping” that can often be seen in shop-bought chicken, which is where fatty deposits have replaced the muscle.⁹ And it also explains the dark marks you may see on chicken meat. These are skin burns from where the birds have been slumped in their own waste, unable to stand up or escape the painful, burning alkali. The industry calls them “hock burns” but in reality, they are piss burns.

More than one billion chickens were reared for meat in the UK in 2024.¹⁰ Of those, 95% were reared in intensive factory farm units¹¹ and at least 90% were Frankenchickens.¹² Frankenchickens are sold in almost every supermarket and chain restaurant. Many companies promised to stop selling meat from fast-growing birds, but then most – most notably Nando’s and KFC¹³ – dropped that pledge pretty quickly, but not before they had got all the feel-good headlines.