What word should be used to describe the farming of chickens?Can the word "rearing" be used?

The connotation of the term "rearing" is typically a
parent-child situation, and it implies that care is provided for the child by the parent
(including protection, provision, and education).  While "rearing"
can be used in an animal situation, it would apply more toward the
animal mother rearing her litter or
offspring.

It would be assumed from the fact that this is
chicken farming, that you are talking about humans taking care of
the chickens.  In this case, the most acceptable word would be "raising."  Many critics
believe the term raising chickens is most appropriate for a farm
with a smaller number of chickens.

Example: My neighbor
raises chickens and sells the eggs at the farmer's market on
Wednesdays.

If you are talking about mass-production
chicken farms (like Tyson or Perdue), the term "raising" is still used, but applied
liberally, at best.  Have you heard the term CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations)?  CAFO critics would assert that the term "raising" in this case implies a
little bit too much personal human involvement.  A more appropriate term to describe
these kinds of chicken farms would be chicken production and
distribution.  More often than not, such farms are not egg farms,
but rather, chickens are produced for their meat.  Such critics
believe it is a little too generous to suggest the farm "raises" the chickens, as they
are largely penned up for the duration of their short lives, fed by machines, and
slaughtered in an assembly-line fashion.