A billion birds are reared for food every year, making up half the meat the nation eats. Poultry meat is valued for its safe, affordable, and lower impact qualities.
We are always keen to improve processes, identify risk factors and regularly conduct research to ensure ours is an industry that people can trust and value.
Whatever we do must be right for the bird, right for our people and right for the consumer – at ever point of the production chain.
The role of assurance – BPC members are actively involved in ensuring standards are at the cutting edge of livestock production practices. We value the transparency assurance schemes bring consumers.
The Supply Chain process
01. Primary breeders
Primary Breeders are at the very beginning of the supply chain. Their role is to make improvements to the global chicken population via natural selection.
Birds that demonstrate good health and productivity traits pass their genes to the next generation. This process leads to improvements in bird welfare and efficiency. Over 70% of the world’s poultry derives from UK breeding stock.
02. Breeders & Rearing Farms
Meat chickens are called broilers, and they are raised on broiler farms. Breeder farms, however, produce the eggs that are sent to the broiler farms after they hatch.
Therefore, breeder farms are the first step in the process of producing broiler birds that will eventually be consumed.
03. Hatcheries
When they arrive from the breeder farm, eggs are placed in incubators. In here they are kept warm, and machinery turns them regularly.
Eggs hatch at around 21 days old. The yolk sac that feeds the chick in incubation is absorbed into its body, providing nutrition for 72 hours post-hatch. Chicks are then placed in a clean, climate-controlled lorry that transports them to farm.
04. Growing farms
Whether a bird is grown indoors, free range or lower stocking density depends on market requirements. In the UK, no meat chickens are reared in cages. 80% are reared indoors. Large sheds reduce exposure to disease, protect birds from predators, and ensure total control of the climate.
Before the birds get there, fresh bedding is put down and equipment is cleaned and disinfected. When they arrive, and as they grow, inputs (like temperature and water consumption) are checked several times a day, ensuring birds are comfortable and thriving.
05. Catching and transport
Farmers, catchers, and processors work together to ensure minimal disruption and discomfort for the birds. Trained catching teams take care as they move around to pick birds up and place them into crates.
Crates are then loaded onto a lorry. Transport times are always carefully considered, and road conditions are monitored to ensure birds are not in transport for great lengths.
06. Processing
Broiler chickens are transported to processing plants. Birds are stunned, either with gas or electricity.
After slaughter, they are defeathered, eviscerated, cleaned, and refrigerated. They are then portioned (if required) and packaged, ready for distribution or further processing.
7. Consumers
British chicken goes into supermarkets, restaurants, and mass catering establishments such as schools and hospitals. Consumers have access to a huge variety of chicken products from fresh meat, to breaded items, ingredients, and ready-to-eat.