Functional housing systems for high welfare in laying hens: promoting natural behaviors in safe environments

为蛋鸡提供高福利的功能性鸡舍系统：促进安全环境中的自然行为

基本信息

批准号：
BB/N00860X/1
负责人：
John Tarlton
金额：
$ 68.96万
依托单位：
University of Bristol
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2016
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2016 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FN00860X%2F1
关键词：
Functional housing systems welfare laying

项目摘要

There are 36 million UK laying hens producing 10 billion eggs with a retail value of £1 billion. In the EU 335 million hens generate E10 billion, and globally there are nearly 5 billion hens producing over 1 trillion eggs. Egg production is a major wealth creator and a key element of global food production. In the EU, battery cage systems have been banned, with much of the production switched to free range systems (FRS). Similar legislation is proposed in many other countries, including India and the USA. FRS provide many health and welfare benefits to laying hens, however two major threats to welfare and production have recently emerged which require urgent action. Keel bone fractures effect on average 60% of hens in FRS, with some systems as high as 90%. These are painful and reduce productivity and profit. With up to 20 million UK hens suffering from keel fractures each year, the Farm Animal Welfare Committee regard this as the most serious problem of hen welfare. Injurious feather pecking (IFP) affects as many as half the hens in over three quarters of all FRS, resulting in pain, decreased egg production, increased feed consumption, and often leading to cannibalism and death. Beak trimming, the main means of controlling IFP, is now banned in a number of EU countries, with a UK ban proposed for 2016, leaving producers with no effective means of control. Urgent action is therefore needed to devise an alternative strategy to reduce levels of IFP. Welfare in laying hens remains a serious public concern, with over 75% of UK and EU citizens regarding hen welfare as inadequate.We have shown that impacts with structures within housing systems during normal activities are the major cause of keel fractures. However, hazardous housing structures cannot be entirely eliminated, and reducing activity, as seen in battery hens, seriously impairs skeletal function. We have shown that FRS hens making greater use of the range are more likely to remain fracture-free. However, range use in many systems remains very low, and the potential benefits of ranging are not being realised. We hypothesise that increased range use will promote activity away from hazardous structures, improving bone strength and skeletal function, but avoiding injurious impacts which generate keel damage. Similarly, we and others have indicated that ranging significantly reduces IFP, with an 89% drop in systems with substantial range use. Thus we hypothesise that action to increase range use will reduce incidence and severity of IFP, and encourage natural foraging behaviours.The aim is to determine whether actions to increase activity and natural behaviours in a safe environment will substantially and significantly reduce keel fractures and IFP in laying hens. However, ranging and activity may have other health and production consequences, and these will be examined at flock and individual level, allowing us to determine the effects of range use on the overall wellbeing of hens and the economic impact for the producers.This study will combine video monitoring, welfare assessments, cutting-edge activity logging developed in previous BBSRC funded research, and light-level monitoring technology provided by Biotrack, a leading animal monitoring specialist. We will compare normal FRS, enhanced FRS and barn systems to get a breadth of individual and flock activity, ranging and behaviours. For the first time, this will allow evaluation of range use and activity in flocks and individual hens in commercial production units, provided by Stonegate, our Industrial Partner, one of the UK's leading egg producers. By examining welfare outcomes of feather pecking behaviour, plumage scores and keel fractures, we can assess relationships with fracture incidence and IFP levels. We will further determine how activity relates to biomechanical, metabolic, physiological and radiological changes in bone, to better understand how exercise influences skeletal function in chickens.

英国有 3600 万只蛋鸡生产 100 亿枚鸡蛋，零售价值达 10 亿英镑；欧盟有 3.35 亿只蛋鸡生产 100 亿欧元，全球有近 50 亿只蛋鸡生产超过 1 万亿枚鸡蛋，这是一项重要财富。在欧盟，笼式笼养系统已被禁止，许多其他国家（包括印度和美国）也提出了类似的立法。 FRS为蛋鸡提供许多健康和福利益处，但最近出现了对福利和生产的两个主要威胁，需要采取紧急行动，龙骨骨折影响了 FRS 中平均 60% 的母鸡，有些系统高达 90%。每年有多达 2000 万只英国母鸡遭受龙骨骨折，农场动物福利委员会认为这是影响母鸡福利的最严重问题。超过四分之三的 FRS 中多达一半的母鸡受到这种影响，导致疼痛、产蛋量下降、饲料消耗增加，并经常导致同类相食和死亡，而断喙是控制 IFP 的主要手段，现已在许多国家被禁止。欧盟国家，以及英国提出的 2016 年禁令，使生产者缺乏有效的控制手段，因此需要采取替代策略来降低蛋鸡的福利水平，这仍然是公众严重关注的问题。 75% 的英国和欧盟公民认为母鸡福利不足。我们已经表明，正常活动期间对鸡舍系统内结构的影响是龙骨断裂的主要原因。然而，危险的鸡舍结构无法完全消除，并且会减少活动，如所见。在电池母鸡中，严重损害骨骼功能，我们已经证明，更多地使用范围的 FRS 母鸡更有可能保持不骨折。然而，在许多系统中，范围的使用仍然非常低，并且范围的潜在好处没有得到体现。意识到了。我们假设增加范围的使用将促进远离危险结构的活动，提高骨骼强度和骨骼功能，但避免产生龙骨损坏的有害影响同样，我们和其他人已经表明，范围显着 IFP，系统中的 IFP 大幅下降 89%。因此，我们假设增加牧场使用的行动将减少 IFP 的发生率和严重程度，并鼓励自然觅食行为。目的是确定在安全环境中增加活动和自然行为的行动是否会大幅减少龙骨。然而，放牧和活动可能会产生其他健康和生产后果，这些将在鸡群和个体层面进行检查，使我们能够确定放牧使用对母鸡整体福祉的影响和经济影响。这项研究将结合以前 BBSRC 资助的研究中开发的视频监控、福利评估、尖端活动记录以及领先的动物监测专家 Biotrack 提供的光级监测技术。我们将比较普通 FRS 和增强型 FRS。和谷仓系统以获得宽度这将首次对商业生产单位中的鸡群和个体母鸡的活动范围进行评估，由我们的工业合作伙伴 Stonegate 提供，该公司是英国领先的鸡蛋生产商之一。通过检查啄羽行为、羽毛评分和龙骨骨折的福利结果，我们可以评估骨折发生率和 IFP 水平的关系，我们将进一步确定活动与骨骼的生物力学、代谢、生理和放射学变化之间的关系，以更好地了解运动的方式。影响鸡的骨骼功能。