Feather eating and its associations with plumage damage and feathers on the floor in commercial farms of laying hens

Riber, Anja B.; Hinrichsen, Lena Karina

doi:10.1017/s1751731116000057

Cited by 9 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The barns system in Denmark consists of either single-tiered percheries or multitiered aviaries. The participating producers were originally recruited for another research project ( 17 , 33 ); 10 of the original 13 barn egg producers agreed to participate in this study. The hens were housed according to the EU regulations for barn production systems ( 34 ), i.e., the barn hens were housed at a stocking density of 9 hens/m 2 and with no outdoor access.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The assessment of plumage condition was based on the method described by Tauson et al ( 37 ), modified to include an expanded explanation for the different scores ( 17 ). A 4-point scale was used (1–4 with the highest score being the best) for five body parts (neck, back, tail, belly, and wing).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both feathers and droppings were stored at −18°C until later examination. The feathers and droppings were examined according to the methods described by Riber and Hinrichsen ( 17 ). In short, dried droppings were cracked and visually examined for presence of feathers or pieces of feathers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Different characteristics of floor feathers, i.e., feathers dropped onto the floor either due to moulting or plucking from the birds, have previously been found to be valid welfare indicators used in relation to feather pecking. For instance, prevalence of floor feathers with pecking damage has been found to be correlated positively with feather eating and feather pecking, measured as prevalence of droppings with feather content and poor plumage condition, respectively ( 17 ). Furthermore, lower densities of floor feathers and lower proportions of short downy feathers have been found at higher occurrences of poor plumage condition ( 17 , 18 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, prevalence of floor feathers with pecking damage has been found to be correlated positively with feather eating and feather pecking, measured as prevalence of droppings with feather content and poor plumage condition, respectively ( 17 ). Furthermore, lower densities of floor feathers and lower proportions of short downy feathers have been found at higher occurrences of poor plumage condition ( 17 , 18 ). Riber and Hinrichsen ( 17 ) found no association between poor plumage condition and prevalence of droppings containing feather content, i.e., the feathers were not eaten, and speculated whether the disappearance of feathers, especially the downy feathers, was due to higher activity or arousal levels in the flocks suffering from high levels of feather pecking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Welfare Consequences of Omitting Beak Trimming in Barn Layers

Riber

Hinrichsen

2017

Front. Vet. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Beak trimming is used worldwide as a method of reducing the damage to feathers and skin caused by injurious pecking in laying hens. However, beak trimming also causes some welfare issues as trimming the beak results in pain and sensory loss. Due to this dilemma, there is an ongoing discussion in several European countries about whether to ban beak trimming. In this study, we investigated the welfare consequences of keeping layers with intact beaks and examined for links between injurious pecking damage and keel bone damage on an individual level. A study was conducted on 10 commercial farms housing laying hens in the barn system. Each farm participated with a flock of beak-trimmed hens (T) and a flock of non-trimmed (NT) hens that were visited around 32 and 62 weeks of age. During visits, the condition of plumage, skin, feet, and keel bone of 100 hens was assessed. Mortality was recorded by the producers. NT flocks had a lower prevalence of hens with good plumage condition around 32 weeks of age (94.1 vs. 99.6%, P < 0.001) and a higher prevalence of hens with poor plumage condition at 62 weeks of age (63.6 vs. 15.2%, P < 0.001) compared with T flocks. The prevalence of hens with keel bone deviations, with both keel bone fractures and deviations and with body wounds, was higher in NT flocks compared with T flocks at both ages (P < 0.001). Accumulated mortality from placement to end of production tended to be higher in NT flocks compared with T flocks (14.2 vs. 8.6%; P = 0.06). The prevalence of keel bone damage was higher among hens with poor plumage condition than hens with moderate/good plumage condition (31.5 vs. 22.2%; P < 0.001). Thus, omitting beak trimming had negative consequences for the condition of plumage, skin, and keel bone, and tended to increase mortality, highlighting the risk of reduced welfare when keeping layers with intact beaks. In addition, injurious pecking damage was found to be positively linked to keel bone damage. The causal relation is unknown, but we propose that fearfulness is an important factor.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Welfare Consequences of Omitting Beak Trimming in Barn Layers

Riber

Hinrichsen

2017

Front. Vet. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Hotspot analysis for organic laying hen husbandry—identification of sustainability problems as potential risk points to lose consumers’ trust

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over the last decade, there has been growing societal concern about the welfare of farmed animals. Although organic agriculture provides higher living standards, there are still critical points which can damage consumers’ trust in organic livestock farming. That is a risk, as especially organic farming relies on consumer trust. A hotspot analysis was conducted to identify critical points within the organic laying hen husbandry in Germany. This methodology aims to examine the sustainability of a product along its whole life cycle. Based on literature reviews, the life phases breeding, keeping, feeding, animal health, transport, and slaughter were assessed with ecological, social, and animal welfare criteria. Finally, the results were triangulated with various experts, and the critical points were classified in terms of their potential to diverge from consumers’ expectations. Our results show a high dependency of the organic sector on the conventional breeding process and its specialized breeds. This fact involves critical points which contradict the ideology of organic farming. The loopholes in the organic EU regulations in transport and slaughter were identified as additional threats to consumer trust in the organic system. The overall not better animal health compared to the conventional poultry system and the high numbers of poultry kept on some organic farms are also possible causes of disappointment in consumers’ vision of organic livestock farming. Therefore, we recommend an adjustment of some organic EU regulations regarding these points. Further, a linkage of the organic certification of a slaughterhouse to higher animal welfare standards during slaughter should be considered.

show abstract