Poultry welfare has been extensively studied; however, there is a lack of rigorous scientific knowledge relating to the different aspects of welfare factors and how this may contribute to the production quantity and product quality...
Environmental enrichment has been widely used to improve conditions for nonhuman animals in captivity. However, there is no consensus about the best way to evaluate the success of enrichments. This study evaluated whether the proportion...
Smothering, when birds group together in a way that results in death from suffocation, is a welfare and economic concern for the egg industry. This questionnaire-based study explored correlations between disease, housing, management practices and...
In the present study 66 layer flocks housed in different alternative husbandry systems were monitored from placement of birds on the farm until slaughter to evaluate a possible influence on the occurrence of selected non-infectious...
To prevent injuries and mortality in commercial non-caged laying hens a range of strategies should be used, including vaccination, effective biosecurity routines, optimal management and nutrition. Injurious pecking, footpad lesions, keel bone fractures, reproductive and...
The vocalizations of nonhuman animals are considered potential indicators of motivational or internal state. In many species, different call types, and structural variation within call types, encode information about physical characteristics such as age or...
Lame broiler chickens perform poorly in standardised mobility tests and have nociceptive thresholds that differ from those of non-lame birds, even when confounding factors such as differences in bodyweight are accounted for. This study investigated...
An alternative emergency method for killing poultry on-farm is required following European legislation changes (EU 1099/2009), which heavily restricts the use of manual cervical dislocation. This study investigated the kill efficacy of two mechanical methods...
Feather-pecking and cannibalism may reduce the potential of organic husbandry to enhance the welfare of laying hens. We report risk factors for these issues based on a large survey of 107 commercial flocks in eight...
The outdoor range in free-range, egg-production systems contains features that aim to promote the performance of natural behaviours. It is unclear what features of the range laying hens prefer and how these influence hen behaviour...