Poultry Welfare Scenario

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Poultry Welfare Scenario
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Flock 1 Fertile-egg flock

• Eggs contain viable
• embryos which are
• provided to research
• facilities
• Flock consists of
• 200 hens 15-20 roosters
• Hy-Line Brown variety

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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

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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

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Personnel

• Flock 1

• Flock 2

• 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

• 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

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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

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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

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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

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Neonatal Interventions

• Flock 1

• Flock 2

• 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

• Beaks are not trimmed
• No toe trimming
• No comb dubbing

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Housing

• Flock 1

• Flock 2

• 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

• Pens are well ventilated
• Litter is cleaned from pens every 3 months
• Pens measure 4 x 10 (1.2 x 3 m) each

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Flock 1 - Time Budget (Ave. for 10 Bird sample)
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Flock 2 - Time Budget (Ave. for 10 Bird sample)
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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

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Flock 2Human 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Egg Collection

• Flock 1

• Flock 2

• Egg collection occurs 2-3x/day
• Eggs are collected by hand
• Floor egg incidence approximately 9

• Egg collection is done by hand 2x/day

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Molting

• Flock 1

• Flock 2

• 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

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