A very interesting of the history of the US chicken production industry, involving birds very different from those illustrated above (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/17/from-farm-to-factory-the-unstoppable-rise-of-american-chicken) is available. It notes that, at the beginning of the 20th Century, chicken was a relatively rarely consumed, seasonal item in the USA. Essentially, young 'broilers' were males that were useless for egg production. The only other chickens eaten, were mature birds after their egg-laying days were done. The World Wars had a major impact on chicken eating as the populace were encouraged to eat chicken and fish to save 'real meat' (beef, lamb and pork) for the troops. It was later noted, by corn growers, that their crop could be used to rapidly fatten chickens (they even financed some of the chicken production start-ups). Chicken rapidly became the most consumed meat in the USA. By 2019, more than 9 billion 2.7 kg broiler chickens were produced annually in the USA. Birds only took 47 days to reach 'harvest', having consumed 820 g of grain per lb of chicken meat. The chickens have all white plumage, as consumers apparently don't like pigment in the places from which feathers were plucked. White breast meat can also be sold for twice the value of darker flesh. Such consumer preferences have major influences on husbandry. Although there are many strains of chicken world-wide, US meat production involves birds produced by crossing the Cornish and the White Rock lines. The whole process is highly automated and clearly only considers birds as receptacles of marketable meat. The chicken, if sold here, will most markedly undercut any 'free- range' birds produced in UK farms.
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