"So why couldn't these birds walk? In their last weeks of life, chickens raised for meat spend most of their time lying down as a result of lameness and deformity.
Known by the industry as "broiler" chickens, these birds have been so intensively genetically manipulated to grow to "slaughter weight" more quickly that they are now killed at around 6 weeks old, still chirping like babies in their grotesquely outsized bodies.
Such unnatural rapid growth causes painful debility, deformity, and death in billions of U.S. chickens every year. Selective breeding for hypergrowth of muscle tissue (meat) of the breast and thighs means that muscle growth in broiler chickens far outpaces bone growth, resulting in high rates of skeletal disorders, especially leg deformity and lameness.
Severe leg deformities prevent chickens from reaching food or water, and they are often trampled by other birds as they lie trapped in their own immobilized bodies. In the U.S. each year, approximately 90 MILLION broiler chickens die or are destroyed due to leg problems alone."
See entire post (and cute video)@ Free From Harm's Facebook page