Poultry Welfare Scenario

Flock 1: Fertile-egg flock

•Eggs contain viable embryos which areprovided to researchfacilities

•Flock consists of200 hens; 15-20 roosters

•Hy-Line Brown variety

Flock 1: Fertile-egg flock• Flock is raised on floor

with wood shavings– changed 2x/year

• Access to wooden perches and 16 metal nest boxes; both are readily used by hens

Flock 2: Exhibition Flock• 15 different breeds

represented (some common, some exotic)

• Housed in pens with litter– changed every 3 mo.

• 4 hens + 2 roosters per pen; pens organized by breed

Personnel

Flock 1

• Manager has a bachelors degree in Poultry Science and a masters degree in Animal Science

• This farm has 3 full-time employees and 3 part-time students that take care of the birds

Flock 2

• Manager has a bachelors degree in Animal Science and 10 years of exhibition experience

• This farm has 1 full-time and 2 part-time student employees

Flock 1: Food & Water

• Fed 1x/day; complete multigrain pellet feed provided ad libitum– 3 feeders in facility

• Water is supplied via water line system– Water line contains 10 nipples

Flock 2: Food & Water

• Fed 1x/day– A commercial layer breeder

diet pellet feed provided ad libitum; attention paid to providing vitamins and calcium

– 1 feeder/pen

• 1 bell drinker/pen– cleaned 2x/week

Chick handling and rearing

Flock 1 Flock 2

• Eggs are sold to buyers to be raised as exhibition birds

• Enough are kept to replace flock 1x/year

• Most eggs go to fertile-egg research projects

• The flock is replaced every 3 years from the internal flock

Neonatal Interventions

Flock 1

• Beaks are trimmed with an electric debeaker with guide plate within 5 days of hatching– No analgesic agents are used

• Toes are not trimmed at this facility

• Combs are not dubbed

Flock 2

• Beaks are not trimmed

• No toe trimming

• No comb dubbing

Housing

Flock 1

• Facility is well-ventilated using large fans

• Facility measures 30’ x 38’ (9 x 11.6m) and is cleaned in the spring and fall of each year

Flock 2

• Pens are well ventilated

• Litter is cleaned from pens every 3 months

• Pens measure 4’ x 10’ (1.2 x 3 m) each

Flock 1 - Time Budget (Ave. for 10 Bird sample)

18%

37%

3%

4%

4%

18%

4%

12%Other

Resting

Dustbathing

Eating

Drinking

Social Interaction

Nestbox

Foraging

Flock 2 - Time Budget (Ave. for 10 Bird sample)

13%

10%

10%

4%

5%

5%

33%

10%

10%OtherMating BehaviorOther Social Int.ForagingEatingDrinkingSleepDustbathingResting in Litter

Flock 1: Human animal interaction

• Birds encounter caretakers during routine feeding, inspection and cleaning– Average flight zone upon slow, upright

approach is approximately 6 ft (1.8m)

• When necessary to handle them, birds are carried by both legs; one bird/hand

• Duration of tonic immobility is approximately 2 min for males and females

Flock 2:Human animal interaction

• Birds are inspected daily and encounter caretakers during all routine procedures

• With slow, upright approach, birds have an approximately 3 ft (0.9 m) flight zone

• Birds are carried upright, one at a time

• Tonic immobility tests result in a duration of approximately 30 sec. for males and females

Flock 1: Health

• Sick birds are euthanized and incinerated to prevent disease transmission (3-4/month)

• Birds are kept for 36 months before being humanely processed for meat byproducts

• Flock is not vaccinated

• There is 0% incidence of breast blisters

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Males Females

Leg Injuries

Flock 2: Health

• 0-2 birds become sick and are euthanized each month

• Flock is slaughtered and replaced each year

– Surplus birds are sold to appropriate facilities or euthanized

• No vaccinations are given

• There is a 3% incidence of breast

blisters in meat breed varieties

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

4

Percentage of Birds

Males Females

Leg Injuries

Flock 1: Behavioral Responses

• Fighting is rare among familiar birds in pens together, but occurs when a new bird is placed in the pen

• No cannibalism

• A 1% frequency of feather-pecking is observed– Animals are not removed from the group in the rare events of feather pecking

Flock 2: Behavioral Responses

• There is approximately one rooster-rooster fight each day (duration 60 sec)

• Cannibalism is rarely, if ever, observed

• 10% of birds show signs of feather pecking– Animals are removed in the event of feather pecking

Egg Collection

Flock 1

• Egg collection occurs 2-3x/day

• Eggs are collected by hand

• Floor egg incidence: approximately 9%

Flock 2

• Egg collection is done by hand 2x/day

Molting

Flock 1

• Molting is induced yearly– Accomplished by altering

dietary levels of calcium and zinc, as well as a reduction in photoperiod

• If these methods are insufficient, feed is restricted

• Water is not restricted

Flock 2

• This flock is replaced yearly before they have the chance to molt