The chicken sandwich war that Popeyes kicked off last year has apparently led to a CHICKEN SHORTAGE.(Dun dun dunnnnn!)

Chicken sandwich mania began last year when Popeye's started selling tons of sandwiches. The hype drove Chick-fil-A's sales up too. Now McDonald's and Wendy's are also planning to step up their efforts to sell more chicken sandwiches cuz chicken is in right now.

But all of that has led to a serious shortage of little chickens.

It's because chicken sandwiches need chickens that are under four-and-a-quarter pounds, since their breasts are the perfect size. Get your head outta the gutter!

And there aren't enough small chickens to keep up with demand. It's gotten to the point where small breasts now cost companies TRIPLE what larger breasts costs, which is a historically high difference.

A restaurant consultant says the chains are willing to pay that premium, though because it's still cheaper than trying to cut larger breasts into the right sizes. Quote, 'They won't settle for bigger birds.'

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