Comparison of growth performance, pasture usage, carcass yield and breast meat characteristics of two different slow-growing broiler genotypes kept in the free-range

Consumers' interest in animal welfare-friendly systems with outdoor access is growing and therefore the necessity has arisen for genotypes suitable for free-range systems. This study aimed to investigate the suitability of two slow-growing broiler genotypes by comparing growth performance, pasture usage, carcass yield and breast meat traits. Two slow growing genotypes Hubbard ISA Red JA-57 (n= 240) and Sasso XL44 x SA51A (n= 240), were raised in free-range system for 63 days, and their suitability was assessed. Body weight, feed consumption and feed conversion rate were weekly determined. To assess the pasture usage (interior, buffer and outer zones), the observations were performed twice a day. The total of 60 birds (n: 30 broilers/genotype) were randomly sampled for slaughter process at 63rd day of age, and subsequently breast muscle samples were processed for the physical quality and chemical composition parameters of the meat. At 63 days of age, the final body weight was found to be 2918.0 g and 3253.6 g in Hubbard and Sasso birds respectively (P0.001). These findings could help free-range broiler producers to choose a more suitable genotype according to the final body weight, feed efficiency, pasture usage, carcass yield, and breast meat characteristics

Applied Research Note: Pretesting of a new housing system for breeding birds of layer strains in Sweden

Pretesting of any new animal housing system in Sweden must include an evaluation of animal welfare. In 2013, a Swedish hatching company applied to the competent authority (CA) for permission to import, install, and bring into use a system with large furnished cages for breeding birds of layer strains, with similar to 70 birds per cage (compared with the current 16 birds per cage). Pretesting of the system was conducted on 3 batches, similar to 24,500 birds each of breeding hens and males of Lohmann Selected Leghorn and Lohmann Brown (LB) at the hatching company's facilities. Data recorded included clinical records at 3 different ages on 50 birds in each batch and data from official welfare monitoring during production and at slaughter. The birds in the batches had serious health and animal welfare issues, including high mortality, in particular among LB males. Mortality in the batches was more than double (9.6-11.0%) the average mortality (3.8%) reported for birds in conventional furnished cages (CFC) in Sweden during the same period. Compared with CFC birds in Sweden, prevalence of keel bone bursitis was also high in the batches and there were extensive feather damages, especially in hens. In addition, daily supervision was considered difficult to carry out safely in the system. Thus, the system raised important issues concerning bird health and welfare, and the recommendation to the CA was not to approve the system for the Swedish market. The CA decided to ban the system, a decision supported by the Swedish appeal court

Implementation of Straw Racks in Commercial Pig Housing-Impact on Straw Availability and Pig Behaviour

This study investigated if straw racks, which enable larger straw rations, induced a more straw-directed behaviour in pigs, as a mean to facilitate the provision of manipulable material and natural behaviour. It was conducted on a commercial farm (459 pigs, 42 pens, 30-120 kg) where half of the pens received 25 L of straw on the floor (CONTROL) and the other half of the pens received straw in a rack holding 44 L of straw (RACK). The pig behaviour in five randomly assigned pens per treatment were recorded for 24 h, during three periods of production. Pig activity levels, exploratory behaviour, pen utilization and available clean straw were scan sampled. During period 1, no pigs were observed interacting with the straw racks. During this period, CONTROL pigs conducted more straw-directed behaviour and less pen-directed behaviour compared to pigs in the pens with a rack during period 1. The lack of rack interactions may imply an underdeveloped spatial cognition in the pigs. Apart from period 1, there were no significant difference in behaviour between RACK and CONTROL pigs. The racks did not disturb the use of the pen. The absent treatment effect in periods 2 and 3 may reflect that there was a too small difference in straw ration between the treatments. In order to design and implement straw racks that promote straw interaction, future studies should focus on understanding pigs' spatial cognition

How are they really doing? Animal welfare on organic laying hen farms in terms of health and behaviour

The present study describes the current welfare situation on commercial organic laying hen farms in Sweden in terms of indoor environment, bird health and behaviour.Organic laying hen farms (n = 11) in Sweden were visited for one day each. The farm visits were performed at the end of lay and involved farmer interviews, indoor environment assessments, behavioural observations and tests and clinical examinations in one flock per farm.In 95% of all human avoidance distance test trials performed, the hens distanced themselves from the observer before the test was completed. Median number of birds per flock approaching during a novel object test (n = 4 trials per flock) was 2 (0-9). These results may indicate a high level of fear of humans and general fearfulness among the hens.Plumage damage was especially prevalent and most severe on the breast and belly, tail and wings, with median prevalence of moderate-severe damage of 96% (84-100), 96% (72-100) and 98% (94-100), respectively. Median prevalence of keel bone deviations was 67% (32-84) with 3% fractures (0-8). Median prevalence of breast skin lesions was 57% (10-74). There was a significant positive association between breast skin lesions and keel bone deviations (P = 0.02) and foot pad hyperkeratosis (P < 0.001). Median prevalence of severe hyperkeratosis was 33% (8-96), with prevalence being significantly lower where litter depth was thicker (P = 0.003). More dust bathing events were observed in flocks where litter depth was thicker (P = 0.007).The present study contributes with updated knowledge of laying hen welfare on organic farms in Sweden. The results confirm the findings of previous on-farm studies, demonstrating that important issues, including keel bone damage and severe feather pecking, remain in need of attention to ensure the welfare of laying hens in future commercial egg production

Light source preferences in laying hens

The aim of this experiment was to study the light source preference in laying hens reared in either artificial or natural light

Impact of amount of straw on pig and pen hygiene in partly slatted flooring systems

Background: Straw is a beneficial enrichment material for pigs, shown to improve welfare through reducing tail biting. Straw has previously been identified as one of the means of how to raise pigs without tail docking, through improving natural exploratory behaviour. Straw has however been linked to poor pen hygiene, making farmers reluctant to use straw and has largely not been implemented in commercial farming worldwide. Straw is a beneficial enrichment material for pigs, shown to improve welfare and reduce abnormal behaviour such as tail biting. Results: This study investigates the impact of straw on pig and pen hygiene in pens with partly slatted floor in three grower and four finishing pig batches on five commercial farms (2329 pigs, 211 pens) in Sweden which were providing straw daily. Each batch was divided into two treatments; Control: 50-600g straw/pen/day based on the farm normal straw ration; and Extra straw; (=doubled Control ration). The pens were scored based on cleanliness of the pigs, solid and slatted pen floor every second week. The pig and pen hygiene were mostly scored as clean in both treatments, overall around 1% of the observations were considered dirty/soiled. Conclusions: As very few pens or pigs were considered dirty, it was concluded that straw provision is possible without risking poor pig and pen hygiene. Few observations in this study were considered dirty regardless of amount of straw that was provided, and had likely to do with other factors in the production rather than straw ration. These results implies that straw could be used in partly slatted pens in order to improve pig environment but more research is needed to quantify the impact of other external factors related to climate (e.g. temperature, humidity, velocity)

Final report for the CORE Organic Cofund funded project "Optimizing the use of the free-range as the key to improve organic chicken production FreeBirds"

The FreeBirds project has generated more insight in the relation between birds’ free-range use and health and welfare of layers and broilers, as well as to the consequences for the nutrient load of the soil. Furthermore, health and welfare of different strains of layers and broilers in organic systems was we investigated. In both broiler chickens and layers there was considerable individual variation in range use, and those “consistent rangers” could be distinguished from “inconsistent rangers”, who only visited the range on some days. Furthermore, it was found that broilers walked longer distances in the willow zone than in the grass zone of the range, which may indicate that the birds preferred the willow. When studying the ranging of layers, most of hens were found in the barn, but they also visited the other areas frequently. No relationships were found between welfare problems and range use in individuals. Manure and soil samples were analysed for parasite egg from 40 farms in Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands. Eggs from Ascaridia/Heterakis, the most common roundworms, were found in 71% of the farms. Furthermore, eggs from Capillaria (commonly called hair worm) were found in 7% of the manure samples. Very low levels or no parasite eggs were found in the soil samples in all countries. No relationship was found between parasite infection and free-range use, production or mortality in the hens. Flocks that had been treated with anti-parasite drugs had the same levels of parasites compared to the non-treated flocks. Nutrient load of the soil was studied in Italy and Belgium. On the Italian farms, high values were found for nitrate and phosphorus, and the highest concentrations were found close to the house and then in the superficial layer of the soil. Furthermore, differences were found in concentrations of total nitrogen and organic carbon in the surface soil layers and deeper layers. A decrease in soil pH was found in all the farms when sampling was moved away from the houses. In the Belgian farm outdoor runs with willow were found to have more mineralised nitrogen, than runs with hazelnut. This was probably due to that the runs with hazelnut had a regular grass mowing between the trees, and mowing was not performed in the runs with willow. The studies on the suitability of different strains of laying hens and broilers for organic production revealed that there were differences between hybrids regarding welfare and production. The Polish studies showed that the local broiler breed, Green-Legged Partridge, was more robust than the Sasso hybrid, and thereby more suitable for outdoor systems. In the Turkish study, white Atabey hens had higher egg production and a better feed utilisation than brown Atak-S hens. The Danish study found that Bovans Brown layers were either superior or equal to DeKalb White layers (DW) regarding all bird welfare and egg quality indicators. Furthermore, shelters in the range were highly used by the layers, and they seemed even more important for DW birds. The Swedish study found that gait score was significantly better in broilers in the outdoor range than in birds assessed indoors, although the number of chickens ranging at the time of visits was low in all flocks. The FreeBirds project suggest that in order to promote bird welfare, as well as, to mitigate nutrient accumulation, the birds should be encouraged to range more extensively. Furthermore, rotation of the free-range areas are strongly recommended, to reduce the soil nutrients and parasite eggs. Moreover, to decrease the nutrients the outdoor run should be used more extensively, and the ground cover close to the house could be covered with material that can be periodically removed and refreshed. It is important to note that both broiler and layer strains that are more suitable for organic production, in terms of welfare and range use, also are the strains that produce less

Organic Pig Production in Europe - Health Management in Common Organic Pig Farming

Organic farmers in Europe have developed different housing systems for pigs based on the availability of land, soil characteristics, climate, tradition and national organic certification schemes. This guide gives an overview of the typical housing systems used for pigs in organic farming. It lists advantages and disadvantages of the different systems and provides relevant recommendations to farmers for health managment