Yisheng Group has launched “Yisheng 817,” a new small white-feather broiler breed approved as a national genetic line in China. Paired with the existing “Yisheng 909,” the two breeds create a differentiated market strategy to meet rising demand for varied broiler specifications. The move marks another milestone in China’s effort to commercialize and standardize local poultry genetics.
On August 22, Yisheng Group, one of China’s top poultry genetics firms, announced the official approval of its new broiler breed—Yisheng 817—as a national-level livestock genetic line. This new variety of small white-feather broiler is positioned to complement the company’s existing Yisheng 909 line, together forming a differentiated product strategy to meet various market demands for small-sized broilers in China’s rapidly evolving poultry sector.
Performance Upgrades and Market Differentiation
According to Yisheng’s statement, the 817 broiler exhibits several key performance advantages: low breeding cost, strong vertical disease resistance, high survival rates, and superior meat quality at the commercial generation level. Developed after years of selective breeding, the bird is tailored for small and medium-sized end products, while Yisheng 909 remains the company’s core product for medium to large-sized broilers.
This segmentation strategy enables Yisheng to serve both large-scale industrial farms and smaller processors or live bird markets, where demand for differentiated broiler weights continues to rise.
Toward Standardization: Elevating the 817 Breed from Legacy to Legitimacy
At the Seventh Yisheng Cup 817 Broiler and Small White-Feather Broiler Industry Development Conference, held earlier this month, Yisheng’s Chief Scientist Lou Mengliang emphasized the strategic value of the new 817 line. As he noted, the breed addresses a long-standing gap in the standardization of the popular yet historically non-standardized “817 hybrid chicken”—a bird widely used but often lacking in genetic consistency.
Lou Mengliang
Lou positioned the new breed as a turning point for the industry: “Yisheng 817 represents a leap from informal to formalized breeding, ensuring consistent performance and meeting the rising standards of China’s white-feather poultry industry.”
Building a Portfolio: From 909 to 817 to 909-1.0
Since entering the small white-feather broiler segment, Yisheng has rapidly broadened its product portfolio. In addition to the 817 and the original 909, the company unveiled the upgraded “Yisheng 909-1.0” at the same industry conference. This enhanced breed boasts improvements in feed conversion ratio (FCR), daily weight gain, survival rate, and market weight, aiming to optimize performance in the commercial production chain.
Wode 168 broiler—the first new breed to receive official approval
The 817 breed was jointly developed by Yisheng and the Poultry Research Institute of Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences—the original developers of the traditional 817 crossbred broiler. With this collaboration, Yisheng now offers a triad of small broiler genetics: 909, 817, and 909-1.0, solidifying its position as a key innovator in the segment.
China’s Small Broiler Boom
Besides Yisheng’s progress, other players have also entered the arena. In the same approval round as the 817, the “Guanghong No.3” breed—developed by Foshan Nanhai Poultry Co., Ltd. and South China Agricultural University—also received national certification. Earlier, Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Co., Ltd. successfully registered two varieties: “Wode 168” in 2018 and “Wode 158” in 2021.
According to the annual report published by the National Broiler Industry Technology System, China’s small white-feather broiler market has maintained a steady upward trajectory since 2016. In 2024 alone, output reached 2.48 billion birds, representing a year-on-year increase of 9.36%.
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