Laying hens welfare

 

The sub-page is dedicated to priority area 2. Assessment of welfare of laying hens housed in alternative to cage systems.

 

The set of welfare indicators documents below identifies the legal requirements of the legislation and addresses their corresponding specific indicators for each requirement, classified as animal-based, resource-based and management-based indicators. The indicators have been retrieved from literature review and expert knowledge. Furthermore, the legal requirements without specific corresponding indicators have been identified. The indicators and methods of assessment were evaluated according to their validity, feasibility, and reliability in order to deliver useful information for official controls. The possible gaps of knowledge and ‘open norms ‘ were identified and discussed.

Welfare indicators

List of the relevant indicators for the assessment of the welfare of laying hens in alternative rearing systems
Description of the considered validated indicators among the identified ones and associated methodology, Laying hens welfare in alternative housing systems
Identification of gap of knowledge regarding missing/not validated indicators, laying hens welfare in alternative housing systems

Factsheets and Methods

Severe feather pecking
Method for assessing gas concentrations in alternative systems for laying hens.
How to assess gas concentrations in laying hens farms?
Method for assessing light intensity in alternative systems for laying hens.
The assessment of foot lesions at slaughter in laying hens
Assessing dust level in layer barns
Main indicators for on-farm assessment of pullet welfare

The Factsheet How to assess gas concentrations in laying hens farms? is also available in French, Spanish, Italian, and German

GOOD WELFARE PRACTICES

List of the identified potential demonstrators of examples of succes that is selected for visits
Design and management of outdoor ranges for optimal use by layers
Design and management of covered verandas for optimal use

Training

Review of existing courses and materials for poultry
Report about some minimum standards for training courses on animal welfare assessment useful during official controls in alternative systems for laying hen

SCIENTIFIC STUDIES

The aim of this study was to develop a valid and feasible method for measuring dust levels in poultry barns during veterinary inspections. For this purpose, the dust level was assessed in 12 Danish layer barns using six methods: a dust measurement based on the light scattering principle, dust accumulation on structures in the building, visibility as a function of airborne particles in the barn, the dust sheet test (1 h), the dust sheet test (2–3 h) and a modified dust sheet test where the sheet was replaced by black tape attached to the observer. The study showed that the dust sheet test, where the sheets are left in the barn for 2–3 h before being assessed, is a valid method to assess the dust level in poultry barns.

A scientific paper was published based on this scientific study: Mousqué et al. 2023. Validation of methods for assessment of dust levels in layer barns.

Guidelines

Refined draft guidelines based on indicators identified in activity 2 and feedback on its application on field in ten laying hen farms