The term “broiler” refers to a commercial chicken for meat. It is a hybrid animal, obtained from genetic selections of pure breeds or crosses between them, characterized by a rapid growth rate, a notable final weight (before slaughter) and optimal yields in meat cuts (breast or thighs).
Intensive farms make extensive use of hybrids because they give optimal performance compared to breeds with normal growth.
In the past, it took about 3 months to reach the ideal weight for slaughtering a chicken, today hybrids reach the same weight in just one month (in 1925 a chicken took 112 days to reach 1.2 kg in weight, today it is possible to obtain a 3 kg chicken in less than 50 days).
The most widely bred hybrids are: Ross 308, 508, 708 and Cobb 500.