5 – Hen Housing

Question 1

Conventional housing (battery cages)

Answer 1

• Process of elimination in Canada
• By 2036 need enrichment or non-cage housing
• Need to have a plan by 2025

Question 2

Why is there a pressure to change the conventional housing?

Answer 2

• Social responsibility
  o Freeing hens from cages
  o Animal welfare
• Consumer demand cage-free eggs based on their PRECEPTION of welfare
  o Still pick the cheapest eggs in the store
  o Then based taste and safety

Question 3

Definition of welfare

Answer 3

• Balance of basic health, affective states and natural living
• State of an animal both physical and mental state

Question 4

What are the 5 freedoms?

Answer 4

• Freedom from hunger and thirst
• Freed from discomfort
• Freedom from pain, injury or disease
• Freedom to express normal behaviour
• Freedom from fear and distress

Question 5

What are the 5 domains?

Answer 5

• Nutrition
• Environment
• Health
• Behaviour
• Mental state

Question 6

What are the advantages of enriched housing?

Answer 6

• Environmental control: separation from feces and air quality
• Small hen colony size: reduce aggression
• Good disease control
• No threat from predators
• Economics
• Ergonomics (easy to check on birds and walk in the barn)
• Egg cleanliness
• Lower environmental impact
• behavioural abilities

Question 7

What are some behavioural abilities that enriched housing allow for?

Answer 7

• Roosts
• More space
• Nest boxes (less lighting)
• Dust bathing
• Scratch pads
• *larger cages with more birds
• *variable light intensity

Question 8

What are some disadvantages of enriched housing?

Answer 8

• Lack of space/facilities
  o Prevents certain normal behaviours (ex. exploratory)
• More costly to build these barns=increases price of eggs

Question 9

What are the advantages of free run/aviary?

Answer 9

• Varied environment where normal behaviour can be expressed
• Protection from predators
• Provision of nest boxes, perches and dust bathing facilities
• Improved bone strength
• Birds can escape aggression by moving into the house

Question 10

What are the disadvantages of free run/aviary?

Answer 10

• Feather pecking and cannibalism
• Management of manure more difficult (dust and ammonia)
• Broken bones
• High risk of parasitic disease and infections (contact with feces)
• Ergonomics
• Economics
• Floor eggs

Question 11

What are the advantages of free range housing?

Answer 11

• Move freely and express behaviour
• Opportunity to graze on vegetation and varied diet
• Dust bath in soil
• Improved bone strength

Question 12

What are the disadvantages of free range housing?

Answer 12

• Feather peaking and cannibalism
• Risk of predators
• Disease risk due to access and contact with wild birds
• Adverse climate outside
• Increased risk of parasites (internal and external)
• Cost of production (feed cost)
• Floor eggs