The efficacy of three on-farm euthanasia methods for broiler chickens throughout the production cycle

Efficacy of three different cervical dislocation methods for on-farm killing of layer chicks

“…A few chicks killed by CD or ACD demonstrated cervical bone fractures which was in agreement with our previous study using adult layer chickens ( Bandara et al, 2019a ). However, no birds tested with aMCD in the current study had fractures, in contrast to research with adult laying hens (using KED-C; Bandara et al, 2019a ), 3-wk-old turkeys (using KED-S; Woolcott et al, 2018 ) and 8-day-old broiler chickens (using KED-S; Baker-Cook et al, 2021 ). The current results are similar to the results of Woolcott et al (2018) in which none of the five 1-wk-old turkey poults tested with the KED-S demonstrated dislocation or spinal cord transection, and this study we noted that none of the turkey poults were successfully euthanized as a result of the KED application.…”

“…The current results are similar to the results of Woolcott et al (2018) in which none of the five 1-wk-old turkey poults tested with the KED-S demonstrated dislocation or spinal cord transection, and this study we noted that none of the turkey poults were successfully euthanized as a result of the KED application. In contrast, Baker-Cook et al (2021) found that all 1-wk-old broiler chickens killed with KED-S had dislocations (at C2-C3 or lower) and death was as a result of the application. There was considerable variation in the size of the birds used in this and other studies with layer chicks in the current study averaging 44 g, and turkey poults ( Woolcott et al, 2018 ) averaging between 40 and 60 g in body weight and broiler chicks ( Baker-Cook et al, 2021 ) averaging 150 g. Therefore, the effectiveness of MCD devices cannot be generalized across different models of device or across sizes and species of birds.…”

“…In contrast, Baker-Cook et al (2021) found that all 1-wk-old broiler chickens killed with KED-S had dislocations (at C2-C3 or lower) and death was as a result of the application. There was considerable variation in the size of the birds used in this and other studies with layer chicks in the current study averaging 44 g, and turkey poults ( Woolcott et al, 2018 ) averaging between 40 and 60 g in body weight and broiler chicks ( Baker-Cook et al, 2021 ) averaging 150 g. Therefore, the effectiveness of MCD devices cannot be generalized across different models of device or across sizes and species of birds.…”

“…Moreover, chicks killed with aMCD had a longer duration of gasping and longer latency to cessation of heartbeat compared to aCD and aACD, indicating a longer latency to clinical death in the chicks killed by aMCD. Other studies also revealed longer latencies to loss of eye reflexes in poultry killed by MCD using the KED compared to CD (broilers, Baker-Cook et al, 2021 ; laying hens, Bandara et al, 2019a ; broilers, Jacobs et al, 2019 ; turkeys, Woolcott et al, 2018 ; laying hens, Hernandez et al, 2019 ; chickens, Gregory and Wotton, 1990 ). Jacobs et al (2019) added a modified technique for KED to their protocol (KED+) using a 2-phase process, where the bird's head was extended at a 90° angle after the KED was applied in order to cause more neck damage and potentially quicker death.…”

A decade on: where is the UK poultry industry for emergency on-farm killing?

“…Scientific studies have suggested that application of the original Livetec Nex® prototype resulted in greater suppression of electrical brain activity immediately post application and resulted in a faster onset to isoelectric electroencephalogram activity than manual cervical dislocation ( Martin et al, 2019 ). In addition, other studies have highlighted captive bolt resulted in quicker cessation of reflexes than manual cervical dislocation ( Martin et al, 2018b ; Baker-Cook et al, 2021b ). However, other studies have shown that other forms of mechanical cervical dislocation (e.g., Koechner Euthanasia Device) and other types of captive bolt are less humane than manual cervical dislocation ( Bader et al, 2014 ; Martin et al, 2016 ; Bandara et al, 2019b ; Baker-Cook et al, 2021b ).…”