Fast-food chicken chains flocking to L.A. to feed growing appetites.

More and more fast-food chicken chains are building their nests in L.A. County, heating up the competition here.

The fast-food chicken industry in L.A. County is worth an estimated $1 billion, and that number is expected to grow by double-digit percentage rates during the next several years, sources said.

The increasing presence of chicken eateries here reflects the perception that chicken is healthy to eat, easy to carry and relatively inexpensive to buy. Moreover, it can be cooked in a variety of ways, said Janet Lowder, president of Restaurant Management Services, a Rancho Palos Verdes-based restaurant consulting firm.

Anaheim-based Carl Karcher Enterprises Inc., acting as the franchisee, plans to develop and operate up to 200 Boston Chicken outlets in Southern California and Sacramento over the next five years, according to a statement. Carl Karcher Enterprises is best-known for its Carl's Jr. Restaurants hamburger chain.

Naperville, Ill.-based Boston Chicken now operates 228 stores in 21 states and made profits of $1.4 million on revenues of $42.5 million during 1993.

Furthermore, Atlanta-based America's Favorite Chicken Co. plans to finish this month converting all 80 L.A.-area Pioneer Chicken outlets into Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits outlets, following a February agreement with L.A.-based United Franchise Owners, the franchisee-owned company that operated Pioneer Chicken until then. Popeyes had sales of more than $600 million during 1993.

America's Favorite Chicken will further use its muscle to develop at least 82 new Popeyes in the Southland over the next couple of years, according to a company statement.

Kenny Rogers Roasters, named after the country-western singer who has a substantial but not controlling stake in the company, opened its first L.A. County outlet in Northridge March 9. Kenny Rogers Roasters plans to establish up to 25 eateries in the county by the end of 1995, said Greg Dollarhyde, executive vice president of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Roasters Corp., parent of Kenny Rogers Roasters. The chain has 130 outlets nationwide that each average $1 million in annual sales.

Kenny Rogers Roasters is coming here because the Southland is a sophisticated market full of highly educated consumers with disposable incomes, Dollarhyde said, adding that these are the consumers the chain targets.

Irvine-based El Pollo Loco Restaurants Inc. already operates 200 outlets in L.A. County and plans to open 10 to 20 new eateries here annually over the next couple of years, said company President Ray Perry. El Pollo Loco had nationwide revenues of $173 million during 1993.

And Louisville, Ky.-based KFC Corp., the industry leader with $7.1 billion in revenues worldwide during 1993, already operates 280 KFC outlets in Southern California, but spokesman Jean Litterst would not comment on any expansion plans.

On a smaller scale, West L.A.-based Koo Koo Roo Inc., operator of eight local chicken eateries, plans to open an outlet in Brentwood this week and has outlets in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica under construction, said Koo Koo Roo Chairman Ken Berg.

Koo Koo Roo, with a loss of $2.9 million on revenues of $4.1 million in fiscal 1993 ended June 30, is also searching for locations in Manhattan Beach, Hollywood, downtown L.A. and elsewhere in Santa Monica, Berg said. The hefty loss was related to the closure of five stores.

The Southland fast-food industry has enough room for all the chicken chains, Lowder said, because each one offers a different menu and cooks its chicken in a slightly different manner.

Kenny Rogers Roasters and Boston Chicken both serve rotisserie chicken, but Kenny Rogers Roasters cooks it on a large, oak-wood open pit, while Boston Chicken cooks its birds on encased rotisserie skewers, Lowder said.

KFC serves both fried and rotisserie chicken. Its rotisserie chicken, though, although cooked in the same manner as Boston Chicken's, is marinated differently, Lowder said.

Popeyes also sells fried chicken but uses birds that are larger than KFC's, giving the consumer the impression they are getting more cluck for the buck, Lowder added.

Koo Koo Roo, meanwhile, sells skinless chicken flame-broiled on a skewer and fresh-roasted turkey, while El Pollo Loco also sells flame-broiled chicken, but with a Mexican flavor.

Officials at the various chicken companies say they aren't too concerned about the increasing competition in Southern California.

The market for healthy, "high-quality, good food fast" is growing and is big enough a few major players in any trade area, Dollarhyde said.

"The market for fast-food is always saturated. For the past 30 years there has been an endless shakeout in the fast-food industry," he added.

"KFC welcomes the competition," Litterst said. The more often people think about chicken the more often they're going to be thinking about the folks who have been chicken experts for 40 years -- KFC."

More players creates a bigger interest in the chicken industry, Perry Echoed.

Koo Koo Roo doesn't directly compete with most of the other players, Berg said, because Koo Koo Roo doesn't cook rotisserie chicken.