Species: Laying hens

Effect of Providing Environmental Enrichment into Aviary House on the Welfare of Laying Hens

Jiseon Son, Woo-Do Lee, Hee-Jin Kim, Bo-Seok Kang, Hwan-Ku Kang

Published in 2022

Scientific paper showing that enriching the environment of laying hens by providing pumice stone or alfalfa hay reduces stress and improves production, but does not reduce pecking behaviours.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Stress

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Final report of an audit of Spain carried out from 20 September 2021 to 01 October 2021 in order to evaluate the protection of the welfare of laying hens at all stages of production

DG SANTE

Published in 2022

DG SANTE report concluding that the Spanish administrative and legal framework is generally sufficient to ensure effective official controls on animal welfare. It points out minor differences in some of the procedures of the autonomous States and suggests how they could be remedied. 

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords: Societal issues, Welfare indicators

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The Relationships between Damaging Behaviours and Health in Laying Hens

Virginie Michel, Jutta Berk, Nadya Bozakova, Jerine van der Eijk, Inma Estevez, Teodora Mircheva, Renata Relic, T. Bas Rodenburg, Evangelia N. Sossidou, Maryse Guinebretière

Published in 2022

Scientific review of the detrimental behaviours and health risks that can result from sub-optimal housing and/or rearing conditions in systems offering an alternative to cages for laying hens. Due to the increased social interaction, the risk of harmful behaviours and infectious diseases is increased. Preventive monitoring of the behaviour and health of hens is therefore needed.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Societal issues, Welfare indicators

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Positive Effects of Elevated Platforms and Straw Bales on the Welfare of Fast-Growing Broiler Chickens Reared at Two Different Stocking Densities

Frédérique Mocz, Virginie Michel, Mathilde Janvrot, Jean-Philippe Moysan, Alassane Keita, Anja B. Riber, Maryse Guinebretière

Published in 2022

Scientific paper to evaluate the welfare benefits of raised beds and straw bales for fast-growing broilers as a function of stocking density. It confirms that environmental enrichment improves welfare at all stocking densities, and that reducing stocking density is a powerful lever for improving welfare.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Societal issues, Welfare indicators

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Final report of an audit of Austria carried out from 26 to 30 April 2021 in order to evaluate the protection of the welfare of laying hens at all stages of production

DG SANTE

Published in 2022

DG SANTE audit report concluding that the Austrian system of official controls on animal welfare of laying hens is satisfactory, with two possible improvements, one on the procedures for verifying and assessing the effectiveness of the controls, the other on the creation of a document trail for the controls.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords: Societal issues, Risk management

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Assessing animal welfare: a triangulation of preference, judgement bias and other candidate welfare indicators

Elizabeth S. Paul, William Browne, Michael T. Mendl, Gina Caplen, Anna Trevarthen, Suzanne Held, Christine J. Nicol

Published in 2022

Scientific paper showing that hens kept in living conditions generally viewed as those preferred by a species and individually (as demonstrated by experiments) show greater optimism than those in kept living conditions that are less preferable for both the species and the individual. 

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Living environment, Livestock farming system

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Insect proteins offer health, welfare benefits to poultry

Elisabeth Doughman

Published in 2022

Article on the nutritional, environmental enrichment and leg-health benefits of insect protein for poultry. A research centre has been established in Texas to investigate the sustainable production of insect proteins for human food and animal feed.

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Enrichment, Stress

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Les larves d’insectes activent les poulets

Eva Pampouille

Published in 2022

This article presents the results of a PINHS research project demonstrating that feeding black soldier fly larvae to Ross 308 broilers increases their activity levels at feeding time and their feed efficiency without affecting their performance or health status. However, this type of enrichment is currently too expensive.

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Enrichment, Stress

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French Assemblée Nationale: Written answer to question n°22563: Elevage de poules en cage

Question: Typhanie Degois (La République en Marche - Savoie). Answer: French Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Published in 2022

Answer to a question on whether the Government intends to set a deadline for banning the cage-rearing of laying hens in France and its replacement by alternative systems.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Societal issues, Housing

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Investigating the cecal microbiota in broiler poultry farms and its potential relationships with animal welfare

Lisa Di Marcantonio, Francesca Marotta, Michele Podaliri Vulpiani, Quixi Sonntag, Luigi Iannetti, Anna Janowicz, Gabriella Di Serafino, Elisabetta Di Giannatale, Giuliano Garofolo

Published in 2022

Scientific paper demonstrating that the composition and diversity of the caecal microbiota of broilers vary according to their levels of welfare and the presence or absence of Campylobacter in their microbiota.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Animal-based measures, Microbiota, Welfare indicators

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