Welfare issues Flashcards
Legislative requirements for poultry welfare
○ Council directive 2007/43/EC (broilers)
○ Animal welfare act 2006
○ Welfare farmed animal (England) Reg 2007 (all poultry)
○ New animal health law 2021
Assurance schemes for poultry welfare
○ RSPCA Freedom Foods scheme
○ Assured British Chicken scheme
○ Assured Duck scheme
Supermarkets have additional requirements
Current welfare issues identified in poultry industry
- Better chicken commitment
- Feather pecking/aggression in laying hens
- Fractured bones in laying hens
- Contact dermatitis
- Transport related injuries
- Water provision for ducks
European chicken commitment
- lower stocking density (=/< 30kg/m2)
- transition to strains of birds that demonstrate higher welfare outcomes
- enrichment provision
- multi-step controlled atmosphere killing
- compliance via third party auditing
Growth rate limits in EU
50g/d
Fast GR birds can be included if accompanied by active leg health plan
Bristol gait score of poultry
0-5
Aim for most birds to be 0-2
Benefits of enrichment for poultry
natural light and straw bale provision increases activity and leads to better leg health
What does increasing stocking density lead to
Reduced growth rate, walking ability, number of strides taken per walking bout, and increased jostling of birds and increased RH in final week
Reduced performance
Poorer quality environment
Lameness in broilers
In 1990, Tibial Dystrochondroplasia (TD) became a major issue in one breed especially
Intensive focus on selecting out the trait using hand held x-ray equipment
Mineral imbalance/deficiency
Post 2000, large focus on gait abnormalities
Birds examined according to defined protocols and attributed a score
Information fed back to genetic selection companies
Faster growth rate birds tend to experience a higher incidence of lameness
Benefits of a slow growth rate
Improved mental wellbeing and more expression of natural behaviour
More active throughout life
Enriched environment for poultry
Litter, lighting, enrichment
Purpose: provide behavioural opportunities in a rich and stimulating environment - have positive effects on physical conditions (walking ability) and mental wellbeing
Enrichment must be relevant/meaningful to the bird and sustain their interest
Indoors: natural light; pecking substrates; perches; dry friable litter (dustbathing, scratching)
Outdoors: shade/shelter outdoors; pecking substrates; perches; dry friable litter/soil
Feather pecking/aggression in laying hens
Has been classified in terms of severity and type:
○ Gentle pecking
○ Severe pecking
○ Vent pecking
○ Cannibalism
○ Aggressive pecking
Gentle and severe pecking considered as re-directed ‘normal’ behaviour, but can be difficult to distinguish between ‘normal’ and abnormal pecking
Vent pecking usually associated with onset of lay when oviduct can protrude or prolapse slightly
Cannibalism can occur pre- and post-mortem
Aggressive pecking directed to the head and may be associated with establishing social status
Beak trimming performed on all laying stock- either by infra-rad or heated blade, if carried out correctly is a very effective control measure
Management system, stocking density, breed, diet, light levels, colony size all influence incidence of pecking
Adjustments to lights, increased dietary NaCl levels and some poultry tonics (e.g. Heparanol, Vigosine) can all help resolve
Legislation around beak trimming in poultry
DEFRA initial legislation planned to prohibit beak trimming 1/1/2011
FAWC advised delaying the ban until Jan 2016
Beak trimming action group formed to review evidence and advise Ministers on policy and whether beak trimming could be banned
Recent trial flocks have been a disaster with losses >30% in some cases
Fractured bones in laying hens
More common at the end of lay due to de-mineralisation of long bones to supply calcium for egg shells
Barn or perchery systems appear the worst (up to 60%)
Generally accepted that bone strength is better in extensive systems than in caged or enriched colonies, however incidence of breaks is higher in extensive systems
Diet formulation critical at the end of lay, and water soluble calcium supplements often aid shell quality as well as reduce breaks
Foot pad dermatitis in poultry
Also referred to as:
○ Pododermatitis
○ Plantar pododermatitis/necrosis
○ Bumblefoot (very old name)
Part of a group of conditions referred to as contact dermatitis
Scored from class 0 to class 2
0. no lesion, minor discolouration
1. minor superficial lesions
2. ulceration, bumblefoot, plantar necrosis
Flock scored based on a sample of one foot from 100 chickens
