Comparison of the welfare of layer hens in 4 housing systems in the UK

@article{Sherwin2010ComparisonOT,
  title={Comparison of the welfare of layer hens in 4 housing systems in the UK},
  author={Chris Sherwin and Gc Richards and Charles Nicol},
  journal={British Poultry Science},
  year={2010},
  volume={51},
  pages={488 - 499}
}
1. The welfare of hens in 26 flocks (6 conventional cage, 6 furnished cage, 7 barn, 7 free-range) was assessed throughout the laying period using a combination of data on physical health, physiology and injurious pecking, collected by researchers on farm and during post-mortem analysis, and information submitted by producers. 2. There was an effect of housing system on 5 of the indicators recorded by researchers: gentle feather pecks given, feather damage score, proportion of hens with feather… 
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177 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
21
Background Citations
78
Methods Citations
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Results Citations
18

177 Citations

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WELFARE ASSESSMENT OF COMMERCIAL LAYERS IN SLOVENIA

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It was demonstrated that the IR thermography is a useful tool for the assessment of poultry feather cover quality that is not biased by the subjective component and provides higher precision than feather damage scoring.

On-farm comparison of keel fracture prevalence and other welfare indicators in conventional cage and floor-housed laying hens in Ontario, Canada.

Comparing welfare indicators from alternative housing systems for laying hens is important to ensure that progress is made in improving their well-being, and housing hens in single-tier floor systems increased the flock-level prevalence of keel fractures and resulted in a lower, yet more uniform, BW compared to he chickens in conventional cages under commercial conditions in Ontario.

Welfare of layers housed in small furnished cages on Danish commercial farms: the condition of keel bone, feet, plumage and skin

ABSTRACT 1. An on-farm assessment of keel bone, feet, plumage and skin damage was conducted in layers in small furnished cages to evaluate welfare implications. 2. Thirteen farms participated, all…

A cross-sectional study on feather cover damage in Canadian laying hens in non-cage housing systems

These findings emphasize the role of litter provision and management, and its potential impact on FD among laying hens in non-cage housing systems in Canada, and further longitudinal and/or intervention studies are needed.
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References

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