Poultry FCI Flashcards
Why is welfare of such a concern in poultry abattoirs?
-Very large numbers slaughtered so a break down in the system would impact a large number of animals.
Why is catching such a stressful situation for the birds?
- Live very controlled lives (few people, noise level minimum etc)
- Very set routines which are disturbed by the catching process
- Many broilers have leg problems
- Many layers have osteoporosis
- Injury rates are high
- Spent hens are of little value so no incentive for good handling
How are the chickens caught?
- By hand: caught by the leg and inverted, often have 3-4 in one hand and they are dropped into crates
- By machine
What are the pros and cons of machine catching?
Pros: -Lower labour costs - Workers further from dust/ feathers -Lower injury rates -Reduced rejection rates Cons: - Speed of catching is lower
What are the three points of their life that poultry birds may be handled?
- day old chicks taken to rearing houses
- laying hens delivered to point of lay
- at the end of their lives taken to slaughter
(broilers often handled twice)
What welfare issues are a concern when transporting poultry?
- Noise
- Handling
- Mixing/ social disruption
- Food/ water withdrawal
- Fatigue
- Thermal challenges
What are broilers particularly vulnerable to during transport?
- Heat stress/ dehydration
- They are genetically selected for large muscles causing them to have reduced heat tolerance
- High temp and humidity is a killer for chickens.
Discuss the transport of day old chicks
- Very poor at tolerating high heat, optimum- 24 degrees and 60% humidity
- Yolk sac reserves= good at long journeys
Discuss the transport of end of lay hens
- Often poorly feathered so vulnerable to cold, optimum temp is 22-28 degrees.
- Thermoregulatory ability compromised
- Higher DOA rates
- Often longer journeys as not all abattoirs process them
What factors influence DOA rates?
- Temperature
- Catching company
- Breed
- Flock size
- Mean bodyweight
- Mean compartment stocking density
- Transport/ lairage time
What legislation is responsible for FCI?
Hygiene regulations 2006
What is listed on the poultry FCI?
- Farm of origin
- Intended dates for slaughter
- No birds intended for slaughter
- Flock mortality
- Diseases diagnosed
- Medication given
- Previous PM results
What does CCIR involve?
- Collection and communication of inspection results
- Valuable info for farmer and farmer’s vet
- If condition found at AM the OV needs to inform FBO
How are poultry flock AM inspections performed?
- Either on farm or at abattoir
- Vet must be present except for specific circumstances
- Aims to identify animals, check animal welfare and look for zoonotic conditions
- Individual bird inspection isn’t practical so overall assessment of flock is done
What will a vet doing a poultry AM check for?
- Tidiness
- record keeping
- Feeding programme/ vaccinations/medications
- Patterns of mortality
- Check weights/ water consumption
- View birds
- Check environment e.g ventilation/ light/ litter
What causes breast blisters?
Environmental condition
-High temperatures leads to coliform overgrowth forming abscesses in breast muscle
What NFDs affect poultry?
- Newcastle disease
- Avian influenza
Describe Newcastle disease
- Avian Paramyxovirus 1
- Causes sudeen death/ diarrhoea/ nervous signs/ drop in egg yield
- On PM: resp tract lesions and proventricular haemorrhages
What are the clinical signs of avian influenza?
Sudden death Respiratory signs Oedema Subcut oedema Swollen wattles Cyanosis Myocardial necrosis (high morbidity and high mortality)
