The parental stock of meat type chickens (broiler breeders) are commonly feed restricted to decrease their rapid growth and the issues associated with it. Among these birds, chronic hunger and stress are the most prominent welfare concerns and flock heterogeneity, as an effect of food competition, a major management challenge.

The aim was to characterise welfare and morphometric differences between small and large 4 week old broiler breeder females within a flock, with the hypothesis that small birds would show signs of lower welfare as a consequence of loosing in the competition for food and thereby experience a higher feed restriction.