* Destroyed houses could hold up to 4 million chickens
* Alabama is No. 3 U.S. chicken producer
(Adds damage at Tyson Foods)
CHICAGO, April 28 (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.
Tyson Foods Inc <TSN.N> and Pilgrim's Pride Corp <PPC.N>, the No. 1 and No. 2 U.S. chicken producers, respectively, both said their chicken operations were affected.
"We're still assessing the damage to contract chicken farms, but can confirm that some chicken houses in the area were destroyed and others experienced various levels of damage," said Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson.
Tyson processing plants at Blountsville and Albertville were not damaged, but were idled on Wednesday due to a lack of power. The Albertville plant was still without power on Thursday.
Pilgrim's Pride processing plants at Guntersville and Boaz were without power and some complexes were affected, said spokesman Gary Rhodes. Pilgrim's Pride is majority owned by JBS SA <JBSS3.SA>.
(Reporting by Bob Burgdorfer; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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