Storms destroy 200 chicken houses in Alabama

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tornadoes and violent storms destroyed 200 chicken houses that held up to 4 million chickens in Alabama, state officials said on Thursday.

In addition to the destroyed houses, which each hold up to 20,000 chickens, another 180 were damaged.

Alabama is No. 3 U.S. chicken producer, behind Georgia and Arkansas. The state has about 14,000 chicken houses that hold approximately 200 million chickens, according to the National Chicken Council.

"Thousands of chickens have been lost in the tornadoes, and these numbers could grow as we continue to assess the damage," Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan said in a statement.

"Power outages and loss of drinking water could worsen an already critical situation for poultry producers and meat processors," he said.

Pilgrim's Pride Corp, the No. 2 U.S. chicken company and majority owned by JBS SA, said a number of its complexes were affected by the storms and its processing plants in Guntersville and Boaz were without power.

Tyson Foods Inc, the No. 1 chicken producer, said it would have a statement later on Thursday.

(Reporting by Bob Burgdorfer; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)