Poultry Flashcards
Name the four husbandry systems for laying hens (0,1,2,3). Are cage systems still allowed?
3 = cages: no conventional single cages, enriched cages allowed in EU (not D), small group housing allowed in D until 2025
2 = floor husbandry: one or more layers, with or without outdoor climate
1 = free range: permanent or mobile stable
0 = organic/ecologica husbandry = similar to free range, but more eco-friendly (more space, organic food …)
List three important needs of laying hens and assign housing elements which help to fulfil this need(s)
Social behaviour:
- hierarchy → hens fight, apprx. 100 hens make stable group, Add space and retreats through structural elements to prevent feather pecking (walking and running, sand bathing for plumage care, enough space for pecking). Feather pecking increase with increasing age and numbers of animals in the herd. Dock beak banned since 2017
Daily routine:
- Diurnal animals, routine can be controlled by light programs, leave sleeping place shortly before dusk, oviposition in the morning, noon: plumage care and rest, onset of dusk: sleeping place
Resting and sleeping:
- Increased and safe sleeping places, close contact with herd → perches
Locomotion:
- Hens like running and fluttering → enough space
Food intake:
- Omnivores, pecking+scratching, ingest whole grains and stones to grind them in stomach → distribute feed well to occupy them, provide small stones/grit, foraging areas
Comfort behaviour:
- Plumage care with beak/feather shaking/sand bathing, plumage damage due to abrasion of feathers on housing/feather pecking ! → provide enough space and sand baths, don’t trim beaks
Nest site search for oviposition:
- Want to scrape hollows in deformable nest floor
if overcrowding: oviposition in protected position (raised, dark nests, corners) → provide enough group and individual nests with loose bedding, enough space, no animal controls during main laying period
According to the German minimum requirements: Which stocking density is allowed? Resp. which area per laying hen is required? Compare it with the requirements for free range systems or organic farming and for broilers (conventional and organic)
Laying Hens:
minimal legal requirements: 9 LH per m^2 usable area (0.11/LH), 18 LH if usable area is on several levels (0.055/LH), max. 4 levels on top of each other with min. distance 45 cm, feces can’t fall to lower levels, without separation max. 6000 LH
free range: 0.11 m^2/LH + 4 m^2 outdoor run per LH, total max 6000 LH
organic: 0.16 m^2/LH (6 LH/m^2) + 4 m^2 outdoor run per LH, total max 3000 LH
Broilers:
minimal legal requirements: max. 39 kg/m^2 (15-26 animals), max. 35 kg/m^2 if average weight is <1.6 kg (21 animals)
organic fixed stable: max. 10 birds or 21 kg/m^2 + 4 m^2 outdoor run area
organic mobile stable: max. 26 birds or 30 kg/m^2 + 2.5 m^2 outdoor run area
List the four different fattening systems, how many days do they last?
Short: 28-30d
- Stocking density: 35 kg/m2
- Batches/year: 8
Medium: 32-35d
- Stocking density: 39kg/m2
- Batches/year: 7
Long: 38-42d
- Stocking density: 39
- Bacthes/year: 7
Splitting procedure: 20-30% of housed animals are removed and slaughtered prematurely, remaining animals have more space + longer fattening time + higher final weights
Sketch the lying behaviour of chickens (distribution) when it is too warm, too cold, an air draft.
Too warm: chicks stay as far away form heat source as possible
Too cold: chicks huddle close to heat source
Air draft: no even distribution, chicks accumulate on one side of heat source
- What is special about the “Windstreek” house for broiler?
- the entire house is no longer heated (except the “motherhoods” and the barn is ventilated via natural ventilation (no noises of motors) energy saving up to 80 %
- Natural sunlight with up to an equivalent of 50 % of floor space (instead of 3 % when offering natural light)
- In addition, the different climate zones in the house and the 3D use of space (multiple raised levels, perches and straw bales) with the help of voids, are very attractive for broilers and their well-being
- The house also has great potential to significantly reduce the emissions of ammonia, odor and particulate matter (frequent removal of dirty litter).
- What is special about the “Rondeeleieren” house for laying hens?
The Rondeel system is a unique barn system, with many features in which the hens are not beak trimmed. This case study highlights the key features and management aspects of this system which make it possible to rear laying hens with beaks intact, without resulting in injurious feather pecking.
A multi-tier system in the night quarters (complex environment like in nature), Ranging opportunities - house can be opened for the birds to go outside. The provision of wood trunks and wood shavings and the presence of a sandy surface and drainage system and the presence of drinking points in the day quarters, encourage the birds to range in this area –> Increased use of the range is strongly associated with a reduced risk of feather pecking. This diverse and interesting environment is important to allow the expression of a range of natural behaviours such as foraging, perching and dust bathing, which helps prevent injurious pecking. A lower stocking density gives the birds more space;
Provision of adequate litter in the night quarters, which has been shown to reduce the incidence of feather pecking. The artificial grass in the day quarters is also a unique addition which encourages the hens to scratch, peck, rest and range.
Climate control, with sensors creating a uniform climate between the day and night quarters, helps encourage the hens into the day quarters to range and forage.
