A Practical Approach to Providing Environmental Enrichment to Pigs and Broiler Chickens Housed in Intensive Systems

Abstract

In Europe, regulations contain guidance to maintain high standards of animal welfare. In many parts of the world, large buyers for supermarkets or restaurants are the main enforcers of basic animal welfare standards. They can have considerable influence on improving standards on large commercial farms. Research clearly shows that straw is one of the most effective environmental enrichment for pigs. On some large farms, there are concerns that straw will either clog waste management systems or bring in disease. This paper contains a review of both scientific research and practical experience with enrichment devices that are easy to implement. Pigs prefer enrichment objects that they can chew up and deform. Broiler chickens prefer to climb up on objects, hide under them or peck them. It is always essential to uphold basic welfare standards such as animal cleanliness and low levels of lameness (difficulty walking). It is also important to reduce lesions, and maintain body conditions of breeding animals. An environment enrichment device is never a substitute for poorly managed facilities. It should enhance animal welfare on well-managed farms.

Effects of Environmental Enrichments on Welfare and Hepatic Metabolic Regulation of Broiler Chickens

“…Different enrichment programs in commercial broiler houses may influence diverse behavioral and physiological impacts on birds to improve welfare. Therefore, it is important to determine enrichment(s) that the animals will actively engage with, and several effective enrichment objects for broiler chickens have been suggested including ramps, platforms, and gradient lighting [42]. An enriched lighting program (VL_Con) was effective in improving birds' voluntary natural activity and engagement compared to 20 lx program (20 lx_Con) in this study and the previous study [10], indicating the improvement of comfort natural behavior using the VL lighting program.…”

Tactile, Auditory, and Visual Stimulation as Sensory Enrichment for Dairy Cattle

“…It has been reported that listening to music has positive effects on social stress by reducing cortisol levels and even increasing the intensity of positive emotions due to the activation of cerebral structures related to emotions such as pleasure (Figure 2) [45][46][47][48][49][50]. In animals (e.g., pigs, dogs, chickens, buffaloes, and laboratory animals) [51,52], music has shown beneficial effects by reducing aggressive behavior, stress, and anxiety, considering it a sensory enrichment [53][54][55][56]. Neural pathways of music-evoked emotions.…”

Monitoring hałasu w kurniku

“…W ostatnich latach pojawił się trend wykorzystania fal dźwiękowych jako formy muzykoterapii [Gueguen i in. 2023, Grandin 2023.…”