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Australia’s '''chicken meat industry''', or ''broiler'' industry, has a relatively brief history when compared with the other major Australian livestock industries. There are currently more than 800 commercial meat chicken growers in Australia. Most grow chickens under contract to meat processing companies and are known as ‘contract chicken growers’. These producers grow 80 per cent of Australia’s meat chickens. No official Government records were kept until the mid 1960s, so it is difficult to say when intensive poultry production began. However, industry sources estimate that three million broilers were produced in 1951, compared with an estimated 460.3 million in 2007. Most commercial meat chicken farms are intensive, highly mechanised operations that occupy relatively small areas compared with other forms of farming. Commercial broilers are run on litter floors (e.g. rice hulls, wood shavings) in large poultry sheds. ''Australian broilers are not kept in cages'', regardless of the production system used. The main production systems are generally referred to as conventional, [[Alternative poultry production systems#Free_range|free range]] and [[Alternative poultry production systems#Certified_organic|organic]]. [[Image:Broiler farm contract growers.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Contract chicken growers (Source: RTENOTITLE, The Story of Chicken)]] === Broiler industry facts and figures === *The chicken meat industry has experienced strong growth over the past half century. In 1997, 351.4 million chickens were slaughtered to produce 512,244 tonnes of meat. By 2007, these numbers had grown to 460.3 million chickens producing 816,166 tonnes of meat. *It is estimated that the per capita consumption of chicken meat in Australia will reach 39.2 kg/person in 2007/08 (The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE)). By comparison, ABARE has forecast that Australians will consume on average 36.3 kg of beef and veal, 12.3 kg of lamb and mutton, and 26.2 kg of pig meat, per capita, in the same period. *Consumption of other poultry meats (including turkey and duck) contributed a further 1.9 kg per capita to the diet of Australian consumers in 2004/05. *Most chicken meat produced in Australia is consumed locally, with less than 2% exported. The domestic chicken meat (broiler) market accounts for 96% of total chicken meat production, in contrast to the large reliance other agricultural industries often have on export markets. *As a result, by 2005, the industry had a turnover of $3.6 billion annually, supported 120,000 jobs with $6 billion worth of assets invested in by the Australian poultry industry. In 2006/07, the gross value of production was estimated at $1.4 billion Australian dollars. *A typical family farm may house 100,000 broiler chickens and produce a total of 550,000 birds a year in several batches. The average investment in each poultry farm is around 4 to 6 million Australian dollars, including land value. *Meat chickens are grown out to an average live weight of 2.55 kg. The average dressed weight of a meat chicken at the end of primary processing is 1.71 kg. *More facts and figures at [http://www.chicken.org.au/page.php?id=4 chicken.org.au] === History of the broiler industry === Rapid expansion of the poultry industry took place in response to demand during the 1950s. Most production during this time was in the hands of ‘backyard’ producers and larger family operations, who were often involved in the production of chickens as an offshoot of their egg-producing activities as well as being producers and/or distributors of other livestock and produce. The birthplace of the commercial industry was the outer Sydney metropolitan area, although other centres of commercial production quickly sprang up around other major population centres. [[Image:Farm aerialshot.jpg|thumb|right|300px|An aerial shot of a modern broiler farm]] In the decade 1950/51 to 1960/61, the size of the industry increased almost seven fold. In the early 1950s the first real efforts were made to develop an Australian meat chicken breed, resulting in the release of Australia’s first scientifically bred meat chicken strain in 1959. With the introduction of continuous chain processing systems, the processing of chickens became faster and more efficient and the resultant economies saw a rapid fall in price of chicken to the consumer. As a result of these developments and the rise of the ‘integrator’ in the industry, further expansion of the commercial industry occurred in the 1960s. These vertically integrated companies (fashioned on the highly successful US meat chicken company model) owned chicken breeding and hatching operations, feed mills and chicken processing plants and contracted out the growing of chickens from day-old to slaughter weight to [[#Growing_meat_chickens|‘contract growers’]]. The establishment of Kentucky Fried Chicken in Australia, with its first store opening in 1968, had a major impact on the consumption of chicken. In the 12 months from 1970-1971 a total of 75 stores were opened and during the same period total Australian production increased by 38%. Coupled with further improvements in the genetic material available, refinement of the nutrition and husbandry of broiler chickens, improvements in processing technologies and further growth in demand, the industry’s output increased more than five-fold in the 1960s and more than doubled again in the 1970s. It has continued to grow steadily, although less spectacularly, over the past 30 years. Before 1960 the traditional roast ''chook'' eaten on special occasions was either a spent layer (boiler) or a male from a layer strain which was reared to about 12-14 weeks of age especially for meat production. These male birds were crossbred layer strain birds, resulting from mating White Leghorn (WL) cockerels with Australorp (AL) hens. These are usually described in the industry as ''WL x AL'', with the breed name of the cockerel being placed first and that of the hen last. A ''history of the industry'' can be found at [http://www.chicken.org.au/page.php?id=1 chicken.org.au]. === Structure and ownership of the broiler industry === [[Image:Feedmill1.jpg|thumb|left|300px|An Australian feedmill]] The chicken meat industry now operates largely through vertical integration, with company ownership of breeding farms, multiplication farms, [[Breeding chickens#Hatchery|hatcheries]], feed mills, some broiler growing farms and [[Meat chicken farm sequence#Processing|processing]] plants. Three large integrated companies supply about 80% of broiler chickens marketed in Australia. The biggest of these three companies is Inghams Enterprises, followed by Bartter Enterprises and Baiada. All three of these companies are privately owned and each has farming and processing operations in at least three states. The balance of output is shared among seven medium-sized companies (each supplying between 1-3% of the market nationally), and a myriad of smaller processors. Processing companies generally contract out the growing of their broiler chickens to contract chicken growers. These growers own the farm and provide the management, shedding, equipment, labour, bedding and other inputs for the rearing of the chickens. The processing company provides and at all times owns the chickens and provides the feed, medication and technical advice. Contract growers are paid a growing fee which currently varies from 49-64 cents per bird. The terms and conditions of the grower contracts, as well as the growing fees, are established by state government constituted committees in some states, or by negotiation between growers or groups of growers (under authorisation by ACCC) and companies in other states. The payment generally includes a performance-based component. Approximately 800 growers produce about 80% of Australia’s meat chickens under contract to processing companies. The balance of meat chickens are produced on large company farms, or on farms owned and managed by ‘intermediary’ companies which own a number of farms, each managed by a farm manager, and who enter into contracts with the processing companies to grow out chickens on a larger scale. The three major poultry producing companies also own their own breeding farms, supplemented by some contract operators, and supply eggs to their company’s hatchery. These companies also own their own feed mills in at least some of the areas in which they operate and have their own laboratories to test samples for common poultry pathogens and other bacteria. Several companies have their own research farms. A number of the medium sized companies also own their own parent breeding farms and, in some cases, hatcheries. Each of the larger companies operating in the industry also has a product research and development facility. Chicken is marketed throughout Australia by the large and medium sized integrated companies under various brand names through numerous outlets. Brands range from nationally recognised names to state recognised names and house brands. Numerous smaller processors also market chicken either under their own particular brand or in some cases without any brand identification, other than their name and address on the original packaging. [[Image:Hatchery2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Hatchery incubators]] A completely vertically integrated company would operate: *Feed Mill – producing feed for breeders and meat chickens *Breeding Farms – producing fertile eggs *Hatchery – producing day-old chicks *Growing Farms – producing the end product i.e. chicken meat *Processing Plant – to process and market chicken meat *Veterinary Services *Transport A '''diagram''' of the chicken meat industry's structure and ownership can be found at [http://www.chicken.org.au/page.php?id=2 chicken.org.au]. ==== Broiler industry locations ==== Major centres of chicken meat production have developed adjacent to the major capital cities, although the industry is becoming more regionalised as those areas become increasingly urbanised. Poultry processing plants, together with all the other component activities in areas in an integrated operation, have developed in proximity to markets and a ready source of labour. Many of the largest operations are established in, or within a 50km radius of capital cities. The obvious advantages are in distribution costs associated with transport of the end product, labour availability and services. Hand-in-hand with the siting and location of poultry processing plants is the siting and location of chicken grow-out farms. Processing companies, be they totally integrated or independent processors, prefer the meat chicken growing farms that supply them to be located relatively close to the processing plant - preferably within about a 100km radius, or two hours travelling time, of the plant. As with any farming operation, certain factors are desirable, if not essential, including: *proximity to a feed mill *guaranteed water supply *guaranteed supply of electric power (preferably three phase) *accessibility to heavy transport, realising the need for access for both fully laden feed trucks and live poultry haulage vehicles *availability of a source of labour, depending on farm size *availability of other services such as tradesmen, servicemen and veterinarians Major areas of meat chicken growing are: *outskirts of the Sydney metropolitan area, Mangrove Mountain / central coast, Newcastle, Tamworth and Griffith areas of NSW; *Redland Bay south of Brisbane, and other areas to the south, south west and north of Brisbane in Queensland; *Mornington Peninsula, east of Melbourne, and Geelong and Bendigo areas in Victoria; *outskirts of Adelaide and the Two Wells area in South Australia; *outer metropolitan areas of Perth. Smaller pockets of chicken meat production are found in the north east corner of NSW surrounding Byron Bay, Mareeba in Queensland and Tasmania. There is no longer a commercial meat chicken farm in the Northern Territory. Find more information about the '''geographical distribution of farms''' at [http://www.chicken.org.au/page.php?id=3 chicken.org.au]. [[Image:Broilers1.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Meat chickens or 'broilers']] === Growing meat chickens === Meat chickens today can reach a weight of approximately 2kg in 35 days while consuming only 3.2kg of feed. Genetic selection is still leading to improvements in performance and the time it takes to reach market weight is gradually becoming shorter. *In Australia, meat chickens are farmed in large open poultry houses called ‘sheds’, ‘houses’ or ‘units’. Shed sizes vary, but a typical new shed would be 150 metres long and 15 metres wide and hold about 40,000 chickens. The largest sheds can contain up to 60,000 broiler chickens. *There may be between 3 and 10 sheds on the one farm. A typical new farm houses approximately 320,000 chickens, with each of eight sheds holding approximately 40,000 chickens. *Feed and clean water is available to the chickens 24 hours a day, although some operators make feed available at a number of discrete 'meal times' each day. *The chickens have adequate lighting to see by and to find feed and water, with some periods of darkness each day to allow them to rest and to avoid panic in the event of a blackout. The lighting provided is usually dimmer than natural lighting, as dimmer lighting tends to promote calmness in flocks of meat chickens. *The farmer regularly checks shed temperature, humidity and air quality and adjusts the operation of his sheds accordingly. In many sheds, these factors are monitored automatically and adjusted by computer controllers. *All mechanically operated sheds have back-up electricity and alarm systems which alert the farmer if there is a problem with the functioning of the shed or supply of inputs to it. *The farmer also checks his flocks regularly, to monitor the health and progress of the flock, to remove any dead birds, and to cull any sick or injured ones. *Feeders and waterers are regularly checked to ensure that they are working and to correct any spillages. Careful management of ventilation and waterers helps to maintain the litter in a clean, dry and friable (easily crumbled) condition. Poor litter management will impact on air quality and can lead to reduced bird health and performance as well as carcass downgrading at the processing plant. *Over the life of the broiler flock, only about 4% of chickens are lost and these are through natural causes or culling. ==== Why do chickens grow to market weight so quickly? ==== Around 50-60% of the improvement in growth rates over the last 50 years ago is due to improved breeds of chicken. This genetic gain, which has been achieved through conventional selective breeding, is due to: #Investment in advanced breeding programs by the large well-resourced specialist breeding companies overseas #The number of generations that can be produced in a relatively short period of time. Chickens reach sexual maturity at about 20-25 weeks of age, then take only three weeks to start producing the next generation. Each hen can produce up to 150 progeny within a year of its own hatching). A further 20-25% of the improvement in growth is due to improved nutrition. For current meat chicken breeds, the precise profile of nutrients such as energy, protein, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals that the chicken needs at each stage of its growth has been studied precisely. For each feed ingredient, the levels of these nutrients digestible by the chicken has also been established. With this information, feeds can be formulated to match the chicken’s precise nutritional requirements throughout its lifecyle, thereby optimising growth. Other gains made in meat chicken growth and performance are due to better husbandry techniques and health management. [[Image:Freerange2.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Free-range broilers]] ==== Industry position statement on hormones in chicken meat ==== *'''Definition''' - Animals produce hormones naturally to regulate their body’s biochemistry. If hormones - either synthetic or natural - are introduced into an animal, they can modify the animal’s metabolism. This can have a range of effects, including changing its growth rate. *'''Situation Analysis''' - No hormones are fed or otherwise administered to any poultry in Australia. Hormones have not been used in the Australian poultry industry for more than 40 years. Hormones were originally used as an alternative to castration to improve the tenderness of the meat, but improved breeds of chicken have made this practice unnecessary. *'''Policy Statements on Hormones''' - No hormones are administered to meat chickens under any circumstance. There is no basis for any food safety concern regarding hormones. == Further information == *Original content provided by [[Kite, Vivien|Dr Vivien Kite]], Australian Chicken Meat Federation == See also == *[[Anatomy of the Chicken Learning Resource|Anatomy of the Chicken Learning Resource]] *[[List of poultry breeds]] *[[Meat chicken farm sequence]] *[[National animal welfare standards for the chicken meat industry]] == External links == *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chicken Wikipedia articles relating to chicken (food)] This site provides access to various articles relating to poultry production, recipes and breeds. [[Category:Chicken_meat_industry]] [[Category:Anatomy_and_physiology]] [[Category:Poultry_feed_and_nutrition]] [[Category:Bird_health_and_disease]] [[Category:Welfare]] [[Category:Environment]] [[Category:Food_safety]]

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