ANIMAL WELFARE (Issues in Poultry) Flashcards
3 codes of practice for poultry:
-pullets and laying hens
-chickens, turkeys and breeders
-transportation (under revision)
Who has to follow the codes of practice?
-everybody who has the animals!
*also include some welfare requirements
Marketing board welfare requirements:
-egg farmers of Canada
-chicken farmers of Canada
-Turkey farmers of Canada
*get audited once a year
Egg production hens: housing systems:
-conventional (cages) (most common in Canada, 2036 this is no longer allowed)
-enriched
-free run
*not a clear-cut decision!
>advantages and disadvantages for both enriched and free run
Conventional:
-small cage made of wire mesh
-5-6 birds in a cage
-slope so egg roles down onto conveyer belt
-have feed and water
-manure falls through the floor
Enriched:
-a bit bigger cage
-enrichment within the cage
-‘furniture’ (can lay egg in certain area
-scratching mats
Free run:
-larger group in a large room
-aviaries on left and right
-water, feed, nest boxes, perches
Advantages of conventional:
-small groups
-health
-mortality
-ammonia (manure belts=cleaner)
Advantages of enriched:
-all of cages plus
-better health
-furniture
-increased space
Advantages of free run
-space (behaviour and exercise)
-furniture
Disadvantages of conventional:
-limited space
-behavioural restriction
-bone quality due to not moving around
Disadvantages of enriched:
-less space than free run, but more than conventional
Disadvantages of free run
-risk of cannibalism (trying to establish a hierarchy)
-disease
-parasites
-environment
-bone breaks (multiple levels)
Egg production hens: housing systems and consume costs:
-more expensive to have free run eggs
Egg production hens: beak treatment
-sharp pointed tip of the beak is removed in commercial and pets (*not debeaking)
-reduces cannibalism and injury=improves livability and reduces fear
>cannibalism is a learned behaviour=can become a big problem!
Methodology for beak treatment:
-literature primarily hot-blade (can cause problems and chronic pain)
-NA: uses primarily infrared (around 10 years)
-both reduce cannibalism
-very different pain response (infrared minimal if any)
Beak treatment example in Germany:
-2015: had plans on prohibiting beak treatments in turkey hens in 2019 (didn’t happen)
-2017: prohibited in layers
-different projects to find options to keep turkeys with untrimmed beaks
*good management has made it okay with no beak treating in hens in Germany
Projects to find options to keep turkeys with untrimmed beaks:
Plus:
-2.5% fibre in feed
-breaks during the day
-emergency kit
-separating pecked bird
-covering wounds with zinc spray and baby powder
-put different objects in pens (jeans, platforms, jeans, ‘pens’, more oats)
*no matter what was tried, still had a higher mortality factor of 4!
*also worse injuries in untrimmed birds (most in the snood area, then head area)
Environmental enrichment in broilers:
-litter floors (free run) vs. barren environment
-limited behaviour expression
*no recommendations for broilers (no feather picking or cannibalism)
Behaviour expression in broilers:
-moving freely
-pecking
-scratching
-dust bathing
-wing flapping
-resting and sleeping undisturbed? HARD
-reaching elevated structures? NO
Environmental enrichment definition:
-enhancement of an animal’s physical or social environment
*Codes of practice for it in layers to prevent cannibalism
What can enrichment look like for broilers?
-point-source enrichment
>available in different areas in the barn
Ex. rope, barriers, ramps
Advantages of environmental enrichment: broilers
-positive effect on health (contact dermatitis (foot, hock, breast) and lameness)
-positive effect on behaviour (expression of larger behaviour repertoire and less fear reactions)
-resting and sleeping undisturbed
-better distribution in the barn
-stimulating activity
Disadvantages of environmental enrichment: broilers
-expensive (investment costs, labour intensive)
-workload (installation, service/repairs, cleaning and disinfection)
-challenges while bird control
-biosecurity risks for organic materials
-it may have negative performance effects
Slow growth broilers:
-grow approximately 23% slower than conventional breeds (GAP)
What may slow growth broilers have?
-reduced leg issues?
-reduced cardiac issues?
-may also be accomplished with lighting programs, nutrition, and management in conventional production
What may slow growth broilers not have?
-longer time with greater chance for dust/ammonia
-foot pad lesions, etc
Environmental cost in USA for slow growth birds only?
-20 thousand more barns
-1.5billion extra birds for same meat amt
-72.4 million additional on-farm mortality
-7.6 million additional acres for crops
-additional 5 billion gallons of water
-27.5x more manure to dispose of
-9billion additional production costs
Conclusions of poultry welfare issues?
-welfare issues to exist
>industry is addressing many of these
>genetics, nutrition, bird management
-consumer information gap
*be informed!
