Bird Health, Housing and Management Routines on Swedish Organic Broiler Chicken Farms

Abstract

Slower-growing broilers on organic farms have replaced fast-growing hybrids to increase bird welfare. Due to limited knowledge of broiler welfare and management on organic farms in Sweden, the study aim was to gather information regarding health, housing and management routines, in order to describe the current situation on these. Farm visits performed in 2018 included 8 out of 12 established organic farms, on which either Rowan Ranger or HubbardJA57/HubbardJA87 were reared. Chickens in the observed flocks were 55 ± 6 (44–62) days of age. Observations included farmer interviews, indoor environment assessments, clinical examinations and gait scoring. Clinical examinations revealed no severe remarks, however minor to moderate plumage dirtiness, food pad dermatitis and hock burns were found in 47%, 21% and 13% of the birds, respectively. Although no severe walking impairments were observed, minor to moderate gait abnormalities were seen in two-thirds of the birds. Gait in birds assessed outdoors was significantly better than in birds observed indoors. Body weight uniformity was low in all flocks. This study provides increased knowledge of certain chicken health and welfare aspects, housing and management on Swedish organic farms. Future research should further investigate important aspects related to bird welfare, such as the high mortality rates observed.

Behaviour in Slower-Growing Broilers and Free-Range Access on Organic Farms in Sweden

“…Most farms were visited near the time of slaughter, and thus body weight and stocking density [17] might explain this inactivity, as slower-growing hybrids also become less active with age [16,19,20]. Although relatively slower-growing hybrids spend less time sitting and inactive in comparison with fast-growing strains [16,17,20], it is important to emphasise that the broilers in this study had average daily weight gain of 45-50 g (see [28]). Thus, as previously noted [18], this growth rate might not have been slow enough to alleviate the effect of weight on chicken behaviour.…”

“…The flock to observe, in case of two flocks of similar age, was selected by the farmer. The findings on housing system, indoor environment and bird health can be found in our previous publication [28].…”

“…On all farms, the birds were provided with roughage, objects to perch on, natural light inlets and at least eight consecutive hours of nocturnal rest, in accordance with current EU regulations [3] and KRAV ® standards [14]. A more detailed description of the farms, flocks and housing can be found in a previous publication by our research group [28].…”

“…The test was likely not biased by poor leg health [37] or high stocking density [38], biases previously described in studies on fastgrowing broilers in conventional production and in experimental conditions, respectively. Most birds (94%) assessed were observed to have no or minor gait impairments (see [28]), and were thus able to distance themselves from the observer. Bird density during farm visits was 17.1 ± 1.9 kg (mean ± SD) per m 2 (see [28]) and allowed birds to move away without obstruction.…”

“…Most birds (94%) assessed were observed to have no or minor gait impairments (see [28]), and were thus able to distance themselves from the observer. Bird density during farm visits was 17.1 ± 1.9 kg (mean ± SD) per m 2 (see [28]) and allowed birds to move away without obstruction.…”