Impact of genetics and breeding on broiler production performance: a look into the past, present, and future of the industry

Intense genetic selection for economically important traits like body weight, growth rate, feed efficiency, and those associated with carcass-processing characteristics have been instrumental in increasing productivity and efficiency of the broiler industry. Over the past 20 yr, poultry breeding companies have placed considerable selection pressure on breast meat yield. This, in turn, has increased overall eviscerated body weight of broilers. Genetic improvement is expected to result in broilers reaching a 2.34 kg (5 lb) market-ready body weight in less than 29 d by the year 2034.