Survey of laying hen husbandry in Switzerland

Abstract

In Switzerland eggs have not been produced in battery cages since January 1992. During the 10 year period from 1981 farmers replaced their battery cages with deep litter, aviary and grid-floor systems and modified cages. However, the cages used to replace the conventional battery cages and most of the gridfloor systems did not fulfil the requirements of the Swiss Welfare Act and they were not permitted to be advertised or sold thereafter. Sixteen years after the ban on battery cages, the Federal Veterinary Office has undertaken a survey to determine how laying hens are kept in Switzerland and how the alternative systems have fared. The survey was carried out on 96 randomly chosen farms with at least 500 hen places to find out more about the housing conditions, management processes, status and performance of hens. The results show that aviaries are very common in Switzerland (65% of the laying hens) and that the laying performance in these systems is significantly higher than that in gridfloor systems and similar to that in battery cages. Provision of a protected outdoor area is a valuable benefit. To be successful with aviary systems it is necessary for pullets to spend the rearing period under similar housing conditions.

Associations between and development of welfare indicators in organic layers

“…Riber and Hinrichsen (accepted 2) found a tendency for 62 weeks old hens in multi-tiered barn and organic systems to have a poorer plumage than hens in single-tiered systems. In contrast, Häne et al (2000) found no difference in the plumage condition between multi-tiered and single-tiered systems (with permanent access to littered area) for hens between 50 to 70 weeks of age. The discrepancy is likely to Hinrichsen, Riber and Labouriau be due to differences in the conditions laying hens are kept under in the countries involved in the two studies (i.e.…”

Antimicrobial Resistance in Swiss Laying Hens, Prevalence and Risk Factors

“…Since housing of laying hens in cages is forbidden in Switzerland since 1992, there is long lasting experience with alternative housing types (Häne et al., 2000; Kaufmann‐Bart and Hoop, 2009). The four predominant housing types in Switzerland are farms, where the hens either have access to a pasture area (‘organic’ and conventional ‘free‐range’), to an isolated and sheltered ‘outdoor scratching area’ or without any outdoor access (indoor).…”

Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) on a request from the Commission related to the welfare aspects of various systems of keeping laying hens

“…Therefore some conclusions were and still are drawn from routine investigations at autopsy at clinical veterinary departments and institutes where birds have been sent in from commercial production. There are several recent reports in which non cage housing systems have been widely introduced lately and where the incidence of bacterial/protozoa infections like erysipelas, E.coli, pasteurellosis and histomoniasis and Ascaridia show a marked increased prevalence in floor-kept birds per se compared with cages (Häne et al, 2000;Hafez, 2001;Hafez et al 2001;Permin, et al, 2002;Esquenet et al, 2003;SVA, 2004).…”