SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Behavior and Welfare
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1698528
This article is part of the Research TopicAnimal Communication: Neurobiological, chemical, and physiological aspectsView all 22 articles
Development of the capacity to suffer in embryos and chicks: a systematic review of relevant studies
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of St Andrews Centre for Ethics Philosophy and Public Affairs, St Andrews, United Kingdom
- 2Mace Animal Welfare, Dunfermline, United Kingdom
- 3University of Winchester, Winchester, United Kingdom
- 4Murdoch University School of Veterinary Medicine, Murdoch, Australia
- 5Griffith University School of Environment and Science, Nathan, Australia
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Approximately 1.8 billion chicks are hatched worldwide in commercial hatcheries every month. A typical commercial hatchery is a high-speed and stressful environment. Not only is chick welfare impacted while at the hatchery, but also chickens' early life experiences can have long-lasting impacts on their welfare once they leave the hatcheries. Additionally, chick embryos may have the capacity to experience stress and pain. This study systematically reviewed recent scientific studies exploring the starting point for the capacity to suffer in chicks and chick embryos. It found that the capacity to suffer (i.e., to experience pain, distress, or other prolonged negative welfare states) may commence by embryonic day 18—three days before hatching—and likely earlier. Based on this, serious and widespread welfare problems may exist for the 1.8 billion chicks hatched in hatcheries globally every month.
Keywords: chicks, Chick embryos, Pain, capacity to suffer, Hatcheries, chick welfare, Chicken welfare
Received: 03 Sep 2025; Accepted: 29 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mace and Knight. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jenny L. Mace, maceanimalwelfare@gmail.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.