All birds have a wishbone - it is part of the skeletal structure which makes flight possible. Powerful muscles are required for flying and these have to attach to a strong but flexible framework. Birds achieve this by having a large, strong breast bone, some fused vertebrae, and collar bones which are fused together in the middle - this latter is the wishbone or fercula. The wishbone can bear the strain of the contracting flight muscles by being flexible enough to bend with each wing beat.
Has anyone noticed how often you come to pull the wishbone and find it's already broken? Disappointed that you can't now make your wish?
Does the chicken maybe break its own wishbone in the mad desperate wish that it won't be eaten? Does the chicken farmer break them in order to maximise his chances, wishing that one day he will make his fortune?
The truth is something like that, yes.
The farmer, in his wish to make money, resorts to keeping thousands of 'broiler' chickens tightly packed in barns, as many as 45000 in one shed is not unusual. The birds are selectively reared so that they reach the right size for slaughter within 6-7 weeks of hatching, and are fed growth promoting drugs to speed things up even more. The birds are unable to move freely or exercise, the result being thin brittle bones which break easily. Also the rate at which the bones are forced to grow results in them being soft and low in calcium. When the catchers come in they gather up as many birds as they can handle and throw them roughly into crates, pack them onto lorries and transport them to the slaughter house. At this point many die, but many more suffer from broken bones, usually the wing, breastbone (wishbone) or leg.
So next time you find a broken bone in your chicken, spare a thought for the farming practice that caused it and wish for change.
For further information:http://greenfield.fortunecity.com/garden/156/broilers.html