Where did the number of chickens decrease the most?

If we compare 2015 and 2017, we see that the poultry industry in the Netherlands lost 1.578.505 chickens. It is striking, however, that this decrease is mainly visible in the conventional sector. But in which province has the number of chickens decreased the most? Statistics from Statistics Netherlands provide the answer.

The number of chickens in 2015 amounted to 106.762.945 chickens, and in 2017 that number has fallen to 105.184.440 units. However, the question is, of course, where most of those decrease came from. A new top 5 provides the answer to that question.

Where were the biggest declines?
If we look at the largest declines, Gelderland is at the top of the list. In this province, the number of chickens in 2015 was 18.253.826, but in 2017 that fell to 17.475.587. It means that the number of chickens has decreased by 778.239 in recent years. The number of laying hens decreased by 578.651 and the number of broilers decreased by 2015 between 2017 and 199.588.

The second place is for Friesland, where the number of chickens decreased by 2015 between 2017 and 771.089. The number of laying hens decreased from 1.496.801 (2015) to 1.316.318 (2017). This concerns a decrease of 180.483 laying hens. The number of broilers in this province has also decreased in the past 2 years: from 7.448.788 in 2015 to 6.858.182 in 2017 (-590.606 broilers).

Third place is for Overijssel. In this province, the number of chickens in 2015 was 11.923.662, but in 2017 that number dropped to 11.540.553. This concerns a decrease of 383.109 chickens. The number of laying hens in this province decreased by 188.600 heads and the number of broilers fell from 7.698.389 to 7.503.880 (-194.509 broilers).

The fourth place is for North Brabant, where the number of chickens decreased by 2015 between 2017 and 342.224. The number of laying hens decreased in this province from 9.422.534 (2015) to 9.006.986 (2017). This is a decrease of 415.548 units. In contrast, the number of broilers in North Brabant showed an increase of 73.324.

The last place of this top 5 is for Groningen. In this province, the number of chickens in 2015 amounted to 6.095.849, whereas in 2017 it fell to 5.881.663. It means that there has been a decrease of -214.186 chickens. The number of broilers in this province decreased by 366.984. It is striking that the number of laying hens shows an increase (+152.798).

Where did the number of broilers fall?
If we only look at where the number of broiler chickens has fallen the most, Friesland is at the top. In this province, the number of broilers in 2015 amounted to 7.448.788, but that number fell to 2017 in 6.858.182. This concerns a decrease of 590.606 broilers. It is striking that the decrease is mainly in the number of conventionally kept broilers (-594.826), because the number of organically kept broilers shows an increase (+4.220).

Groningen is in second place. In this province, the number of broilers decreased by 366.984: from 4.847.101 (2015) to 4.480.117 (2017). The number of organically reared broilers fell by 2015 between 2017 and 4.800, and the number of conventionally kept broilers decreased by 362.184 in the province of Groningen.

The third place is for Gelderland. In this province, the number of broilers in 2015 amounted to 4.847.101. That number fell to 2017 in 5.258.379, which is a decrease of 199.588 broilers. The number of conventionally kept broilers fell by 174.788 and the number of organically kept broilers decreased by 24.800.

Where did the number of laying hens fall?
If we look at the decrease in the number of laying hens, we see that Gelderland is at the top of the list. In 2015, this province still had 12.795.859 laying hens, but that number fell to 2017 laying hens in 12.217.208. This concerns a decrease of 578.651 laying hens. The number of conventionally kept laying hens decreased by 950.094. It is striking that the number of organically reared laying hens showed an increase of 371.443 pieces.

North Brabant comes in second place. In this province, the number of laying hens in 2015 amounted to 9.422.534, and in 2017 that fell to 9.006.986. This represents a decrease of 415.548 laying hens. The number of organically reared laying hens showed an increase of 16.808 heads, while the number of conventionally kept laying hens showed a decrease of 432.356 heads.

Third place is for Utrecht. Here the number of laying hens in 2015 amounted to 2.491.255, and in 2017 that fell to 2.281.672. This represents a decrease of 209.583 laying hens. The number of organically reared laying hens showed an increase of 869 pieces, while the number of conventionally kept laying hens showed a decrease of 210.452 pieces.

Organic versus conventional
If we only look at the 3 provinces where the number of organically reared chickens has increased the fastest, Gelderland is at the top. In this province, the number of organically reared chickens increased from 1.177.750 (2015) to 1.524.393 (2017. This means that there has been an increase of 2 organically reared chickens in the past 346.643 years.

Flevoland takes second place, because there the number of organically reared chickens increased by 90.544. If we look more specifically, we see that the number increased from 134.397 (2015) to 224.941 (2017) chickens. The bronze medal goes to Overijssel, where the number of organically reared chickens amounted to 2017 in 297.293. In 2015, there were 240.146, which means that the number of organically reared chickens has increased by 57.147.

If we only look at the 3 provinces where the number of conventionally kept chickens has fallen the most, Gelderland is also at the top here. In this province, the number of commonly kept chickens in 2015 amounted to 17.076.076, but that number fell to 2017 in 15.951.194. It means that the number of conventionally kept chickens has decreased by 2 in the past 1.124.882 years.

The silver medal goes to Friesland, where the number of commonly kept chickens in 2017 amounted to 8.121.781 birds. In 2015, that number was 8.902.745 conventionally kept chickens, which means that there has been a decrease of 780.964. Third place is for Overijssel, where the number of commonly kept chickens fell by 2015 between 2017 and 440.256. This is a decrease from 11.683.516 (2015) to 11.243.260 (2017) units.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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