Brazil is the world's largest broiler meat exporter. Health control, knowledge and technology, as well as the natural aspects of the country are pointed out as the keys for the success of that product in the market. Brazilian broiler production grew significantly in the last decade; it creates jobs and has a significant social role in Brazilian economy. This study aimed at evaluating the Brazilian broiler meat supply chain from 2000 to 2010 using the social network analysis (SNA). Data from governmental and private sources were organized and analyzed. The focus of this study was the broiler production supply chain segment involving the hatchery, the broiler farm, the feed mill, the processing plant, and the government. The inputs considered were one-day-old chicks, pullet, feedstuff, and the infrastructure; and the outputs were broiler meat and taxes paid. The software UCINET was applied for calculating the structural attributes and indicators of the network. Results showed a relatively disorganized network in 2000 with the strongest tie between the farmer and the processing plant. The structural organization of the network improved until 2010. The density of the ties in the broiler meat production network increased steadily from 2000 to 2010 within a vertical cohesive supply chain structure. The success of Brazilian broiler meat production is attributed to the abundance of land, fertile soil, favorable climate, and the effort and investments in research and development by innovative companies in the last few years. The results of the present study showed that Brazilian broiler production evolved positively in the last ten years, and it was weakly influenced by international challenges.

Health status, feed conversion ratio, and mortality are long known broiler chicken production indicators. However, further parameters are required by today's demanding meat markets, as these indicators are not sufficiently accurate to determine flock overall welfare. Morphological asymmetry has been pointed as an alternative welfare indicator as it reflects the ability of the bird to cope with the challenges that rearing conditions may impose. This study aimed at evaluating the possibility of using morphological asymmetry as a welfare indicator. Broilers from 28 to 42 days of age were used in the trial. Birds were randomly selected in a commercial poultry farm and transported to the laboratory. They walked over the force measurement platform in order to determined their feet force as a percentage of body weight. The following body parts of the live birds were measured by two different operators using a digital caliper: tarsometatarsus length, outertoe length, midtoe length, and backtoe length. In the corresponding carcasses, the following traits were measured: wattle width, eye length, and first secondary feather length. Data were submitted to statistical analyses and no correlation was found between specific feet trait measurements and walking ability. Considering the time budget involved in measuring morphological asymmetry, this procedure did not appear to be a practically feasible welfare indicator.