Backyard poultry producers have been associated with outbreaks of exotic (e.g. avian influenza) and endemic (e.g. Salmonella) disease all over the world. Currently in the UK the registration of small flocks (less than 50 birds) with local authorities is voluntary therefore there is not an accurate record of how many […]
Abstracts: Lameness and its relationship with health and production measures in broiler chickens
The aim of this study was to explore lameness and the associations between lameness and health/production measures of animal welfare in commercial broiler production, using the Welfare Quality protocol for broilers. A total of 50 flocks were included in the sample and farm visits were conducted for lameness scoring at […]
Abstracts: Review of environmental enrichment for broiler chickens
Welfare problems are commonly found in both conventional and organic production of broiler chickens. In order to reduce the extent of welfare problems, it has been suggested to provide stimulating, enriched environments. The aim of the present paper is to provide a review of the effect on behaviour and welfare […]
LETTER TO THE EDITOR:Draft national poultry welfare standards criticised
Dear sir, The claimed purpose of the new standards is to replace old standards that “have not kept pace with community and trading partner expectations”. However, despite undeniable community expectations, relevant standards like the length of time free range hens should spend outdoors, the required minimum eight hours for outdoor […]
Abstracts: Monitoring chicken flock behaviour provides early warning of infection by human pathogen Campylobacter
Campylobacter is the commonest bacterial cause of gastrointestinal infection in humans, and chicken meat is the major source of infection throughout the world. Strict and expensive on-farm biosecurity measures have been largely unsuccessful in controlling infection and are hampered by the time needed to analyse faecal samples, with the result […]