Supermarkets are bracing themselves for a slump in chicken sales this weekend after what the industry calls “trial by TV”.

The celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have used their latest shows to expose sharp differences in the treatment of standard and free-range chickens.

Sales of standard birds - those reared indoors – appeared to be holding up yesterday but the panic from retailers was reflected in the number of advertisements promising a commitment to the highest standards.

It is easy to understand why stores and the poultry industry are nervous. Retail chicken sales are worth £3.5 billion a year.

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You can't expect a £3 chicken to have had a good life

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Sainsbury’s has announced that it intends to phase out standard chicken and replace it with birds produced to the RSPCA’s Freedom Food rules by 2010. Poultry sold under the Freedom Food label is inspected by the society. Farmers use slow-growing chicken breeds and a maximum of 15 birds per square metre are allowed, compared with the 18 or 19 birds in standard production. EU regulations allow for as many as 21 birds a square metre.

The extra space gives birds room to flap their wings and display other natural behaviour. Straw bales are put in sheds so birds can perch and peck.

Current rules insist on bright light indoors during the day and at least six hours of darkness at night. By 2010, however, the RSPCA intends to ensure that all Freedom Food birds have access to natural light. Sainsbury’s hopes that by the end of this year 18 per cent of its fresh chicken will meet the improved standards.

Morrisons is keen to expand its current range of Freedom Food poultry. Marks & Spencer and Waitrose have already pioneered these kinder welfare conditions for their fresh birds.

Poultry farmers are planning a fight-back and a crisis meeting of key figures in the industry will take place on Tuesday at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) headquarters. An advertising company has also been asked for advice on how to win over shoppers in a new promotional campaign. Some farmers believe the answer is to invite consumers to see for themselves the conditions of birds. One poultry farmer said: “We have nothing to hide and we must act quickly to get rid of all these myths.”

Many producers are keen to improve conditions but say they need higher prices for their birds. It costs £60,000 to convert a 100,000-bird unit to Freedom Food standards.

Charles Bourns, chairman of the NFU poultry board, urged supermarkets to provide the investment for farmers to adapt their production methods. “Because of the high feed prices we are not even making 3p a chicken at the moment and a lot of farmers are losing money,” he added.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs insists that it is not in the business of telling consumers what they should eat, but a spokeswoman said: “We don’t see anything inherently cruel with indoor chicken production.” She said that standards were revised all the time and the department had commissioned further research on the welfare of birds.

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