The welfare of laying hens in cage systems is of increasing concern. Represented by the European Union’s ‘End the Cage Age’ initiative, more and more countries have advocated cage-free farming. China, an important country for poultry farming and consumption in the world, is highly dependent on cage systems and lacks […]
Abstracts: Welfare issues and potential solutions for laying hens
In free-range and organic production systems, hens can make choices according to their needs and desires, which is in accordance with welfare definitions. Nonetheless, health and behavioural problems are also encountered in these systems. The aim of this article was to identify welfare challenges observed in these production systems in […]
Abstracts: Associations between behaviour and health outcomes in conventional and slow-growing breeds of broiler chicken
Broiler chickens are prone to a range of complex health and welfare issues. To support informed selection of welfare traits whilst minimising impact on production efficiency and to address a major gap in understanding, we systematically explored associations between health and behavioural indicators of broiler welfare.
Abstracts: Using multiple data sources to explore disease transmission risk between commercial poultry, backyard poultry, and wild birds in New Zealand
The movements of backyard poultry and wild bird populations are known to pose a disease risk to the commercial poultry industry. However, it is often difficult to estimate this risk due to the lack of accurate data on the numbers, locations, and movement patterns of these populations. The main aim […]
Abstracts: Exploring the attitudes of backyard poultry keepers to health and biosecurity
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 […]