POULTRY AHW Flashcards
What do the following terms mean?
Avian
Pullet
Poult
Hen
Point of lay
Cockerel
Stag
Relating to birds
Young hen
Young poultry species of either sex
Female that has started laying
Transition from pullet to hen
Adult male chicken
Adult male turkey
What does WATOK stand for?
Welfare of animals at time of killing
What is the maximum weight a chicken can be euthanised by cervical dislocation?
Manual- 3kg- only 70 a day
Mechanical- 5kg
What is cervical dislocation?
Applying pressure to the neck and dislocating the spinal column from the skull and the brain
How many chickens can be held in one hand legally/
2
How must chickens be held, according to DEFRA?
By both legs
How is a commercial bird held at catching?
Not upside down
How would you approach a pet chicken?
Approach chicken quietly and slowly
Place hands either side of the body
Holding the wings so they don’t flap
Lift chicken against your body so that it feels secure
Place one hand underneath the chicken, with two middle fingers between its legs
What does campylobacter affect and how can it be prevented?
Chicken intestinal tract but is zoonotic so can cause gastrointestinal problems in humans
Prevented by good hygiene, removing faeces
Can be passed on from meat and eggs during slaughtering so should check them
What does vertically transmitted mean?
Directly passed on from humans to offspring
What zoonotic bacterial infection also causes gastroenteritis in humans?
Salmonella
What are the symptoms of salmonella in humans and poultry?
Poultry- no signs
Humans- fever, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps.
What are the signs of avian bird flu in poultry
Sudden death
Decreased egg production
Nasal discharge
Lack of energy/ appetite
What do the following terms mean?
Prophylactic
Metaphylactic
- Preventing a disease occurring by giving out treatment/ antibiotics before any animals are infected with the disease
- Only some animals are infected but treatment is given to all animals to prevent spreading the disease
What are the pros and cons of vaccinating via aerosol
- good for mass spread
- quick
- some is lost in air and high training is needed
What are the pros and cons of vaccinating via injection
- tends to be for dead vaccines
- ensures accurate dosage is being give
- but time consuming and for lots of chickens
What are the pros and cons of vaccinating via eye drop
- need to be extra careful giving the right dosage
- goes into respiratory tract
- stressful for birds
What are the pros and cons of vaccinating via in ovo (in eggs)
Prevents young chicks from early infection after hatch.
High tech machinery reduces human error and labour cost
better uniformity of the flock.
less handling of birds later in life, so better welfare
But must be done at late stage development or causes issues with egg development
What are pros and cons vaccinating through water
Less time consuming and stressful for birds
Not all birds may drink the recommended dose
What is the IV site in poultry?
Jugular vein
Wing vein (cutaneous vein) which is visible running between biceps and triceps, making a V shape
Where are the IM sites?
- breast
- pectoral muscles
- thigh muscles
- tail
What is the SC site
Back of neck
What basic examination can you do from a distance?
Appetite
Water intake
Environment
Degree of alertness
Social interaction
Eyes
Feathers
Beak
Movement
Eggs
What examinations can you do when you get closer/ able to hold the bird?
- skin
- wings
- limbs
- body condition
What natural behaviours should the housing allow poultry to express?
Roosting (resting)
Laying and brooding
Foraging- they like to peck at the ground
Dust bathing
What housing requirements should caged birds have?
Mental stimulation
Physical stimulation
Social interaction
Why are seed based diets not as good as pellet or mash based diets?
It could lead to selective feeding, which would cause nutritional deficiencies
Where do you assess body condition on a chicken?
Breasts and assess muscle
Why is seed feeding not as good as pellets or mash?
Chickens say selectively feed, which could lead to nutritional deficiencies or obesity
What is crop fill
It is a way of determining appetite development and checking that all chicks have found feed and water.
What happens if adequate crop fill isn’t achieved?
appetite development will be depressed, early growth rate will be compromised, and skeletal development will be below the desired levels, so affecting flock uniformity and production potential.
When should you assess crop fill?
Crop fill should be monitored during the first 48 hours, but the first 24 hours are the most critical.
What is the crop?
The crop is a muscular bag at the bottom of a hen’s neck which stores feed for the day
What are the three different categories when assessing crop fill?
Full, soft, and rounded – Chicks have found feed and water.
Full but hard with original feed texture felt – Chicks have feed but little / no water.
Crop empty – Chicks have not found feed or water.
What is the optimum temperature for poultry houses?
21C
What is the problem is humidity is too high?
Increased risk of condensation (particularly with poor insulation)
+Deterioration of structure
+Damp conditions compromise performance
Why was concrete the material of choice for this poultry unit’s floor?
prevents burrowing rodents and other predators from getting into your coop through the floor, it is also easy to clean and very low maintenance.
What is the function of a sick pen?
To prevent infectious diseases spreading to the rest of the flock
Bird can be monitored more closely
Bird can be given extra care more easily
Can be used for hens getting bullied or new arrivals too
Why is enrichment important?
To provide mental and physical stimulation
To prevent unwanted behaviours
Which country produces the most broiler chicken meat?
United States
What does the British poultry council do?
It’s the trade association for poultry meat industry
Information on many poultry related topics, including poultry breeding, meat, chicken production, poultry transportation/ farming
Researches poultry health and welfare and food safety
Developing codes of practice for rearing and processing poultry for meat
How can poultry farms best use their resources?
- user friendly buildings and equipment
- best generic stock for performance and health/welafre
- feed formulation- minimum input but maximum nutritional benefit
- financially and ecologically stable
What does food conversion rate mean?
How much live weight of an animal compared to how much feed is put in
What is the food conversion rate of a chicken?
1.4 tons of feed —> 1 ton of meat
What is the optimum temperature for a chicken?
21C
What happens if a chicken is too hot/cold?
Too hot —> won’t eat
Too cold —> will put energy gained from food into keeping warm, not growing
What is the optimum nutritional energy conversion rate?
13.5mj/ kg
Why did traditional farming give chickens 23 hrs of light and 1 hr dark?
Chickens are photosensitive. This means that their bodies sense the amount of daylight hours and they only lay well when they are getting more than 10-12 hours of light a day. This makes sense biologically because a hen can’t hatch eggs in the winter so evolutionarily they stop laying eggs when light hours drop too low.
According to DEFRA, what are the rules on lighting with chickens?
Occurs within 7 days of chickens put in building, and up to 3 days before slaughter
In each 24 hour period;
8 hours of artificial lighting
A period of 4 hours darkness consecutively
Total of at least 6 hrs darkness
What age are chickens slaughtered?
5/6 weeks
Why might chickens be separated by sex
They have slightly different growing profiles
What are the four different types of egg production farms?
- free range
- organic
- enriched cage
- barn
What do the following type of eggs mean?
Grade A
Grade B
Grade C
Clean fresh eggs, with no cracks, yolk must not move away from centre of egg when rotated
Eggs are broken out and pasteurised
Non food use only- shampoos and soap
How do birds lay eggs in the wild?
In clutches
Each egg is laid slightly later in the day
Eventually ovulation will cease
How birds do lay under controlled intensive conditions?
Reared under short days until puberty
Increasing photoperiod stimulates ovulation
Maintaining long days maintains ovulation
How do chickens lay eggs in free range farms?
Under a greater influence of natural photoperiod
Ovulation will be at a lower rate
What happens if humidity for chickens is too high?
More bacterial or fungal infections?
Detoriafiom of structure
Damp conditions compromises performance
What is the legal limit on ammonia levels for staff
25ppm
Why is good ventilation on farm important?
- removes waste gases like ammonia and CO2
- removes dust particles that could cause respiratory problems
- ensures doesn’t get too hot
Why is it bad if air circulation goes anticlockwise?
Cold air gets into house and immediately drops onto floor, not drawn to roofage
Can be fixed by increasing fan speed
When is brooding and what is it?
the period immediately after hatch when special care and attention must be given to chicks to ensure their health and survival
After hatch and for next 10 days
What does poikilothermic mean?
Almost warm blooded, but slightly cold blooded
When was barren battery cage banned in UK?
2012
What are the cons of free range chickens?
Number of cracked/ floor eggs increases
Nematode (from worm eggs) infections increase
Which birds aren’t beak trimmed?
Broiler hens- as breed is more laid back
Organic farms
What are the DEFRA guidelines on beak trimming?
Must be over 18 years old
Not more than 1/3 of both parts of Beak
What are other mutilations are banned?
Anything impeding flight, other than feather clipping
Anything to effect vision by penetrating of nasal septum
What are the two notifiable bird diseases and what must you do if you suspect an outbreak?
Avian bird flu/ Newcastle disease
Diseases that you’re legally obliged to report to APHA, even if you only suspect an animal is infected
What type of influenza virus is avian bird flu and what does it mean?
Type A
Characterised by combination of surface proteins
Has H and N surface proteins, with lots of different subtypes. Therefore cresting large variety
What is Newcastle disease spread?
Secretions from respiratory tract
Faeces
Wild carriers
Uncooked chicken/ eggs
Vertical transmissiin
What are some signs of Newcastle disease?
Depression
Mortality
Diarrhoea
Oedema (swelling) of head
Is there a vaccine for the Newcastle disease?
Yes:
In ovo
Water/ aerosol
Injection
What
