The utilization of the Welfare Quality® assessment for determining laying hen condition across three housing systems.

The Welfare Quality(®) Assessment protocol for poultry ( WQA: ) provides animal-based measures allowing welfare comparisons across farms and housing systems. It was used to compare Lohmann LSL Classic White hens housed in an enriched colony ( EC: ), aviary ( AV: ), and conventional cage system ( CC: ) on a commercial farm over 2 flock cycles. Hens (n = 100/system) were scored on a variety of measures. A baseline measurement was made at placement at 19 wk of age for 1 flock, since AV hens had been reared in an aviary pullet facility ( AVP: while EC and CC hens were reared in a conventional pullet facility ( CCP: ). Hens in all systems were then assessed at 52 and 72 wk of age. Necropsies were performed on all mortalities 1 wk before and after the WQA sampling. WQAs were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests for prevalence and Fisher's exact tests for severity. There was an effect of rearing, with AVP having shorter claws (P = 0.01), dirtier feathers (P = 0.03), and more keel abnormalities (P < 0.0001) than CCP at placement. For the hens, there were several significant housing system effects across flocks and age periods (all P ≤ 0.05). AV and EC hens had more keel abnormalities than CC hens. They also had fewer foot abnormalities than CC hens, although those in AV hens were more severe. AV hens had consistently dirtier feathers than EC and CC hens. While AV hens had the best overall feather cover, feather loss patterns suggested that loss was due to head pecking for AV, whereas in EC and CC it was due to cage abrasion. The necropsy findings and the WQA results were similar, except that the WQA failed to find enteritis at 19 wk, although it was detected in the necropsies during this sampling period. These results show that the WQA is a useful tool for detecting hen condition differences across housing systems.

Microbiological impact of three commercial laying hen housing systems.

Hen housing for commercial egg production continues to be a societal and regulatory concern. Controlled studies have examined various aspects of egg safety, but a comprehensive assessment of commercial hen housing systems in the US has not been conducted. The current study is part of a holistic, multidisciplinary comparison of the diverse aspects of commercial conventional cage, enriched colony cage, and cage-free aviary housing systems and focuses on environmental and egg microbiology. Environmental swabs and eggshell pools were collected from all housing systems during 4 production periods. Total aerobes and coliforms were enumerated, and the prevalence of Salmonella and Campylobacter spp. was determined. Environmental aerobic and coliform counts were highest for aviary drag swabs (7.5 and 4.0 log cfu/mL, respectively) and enriched colony cage scratch pad swabs (6.8 and 3.8 log cfu/mL, respectively). Aviary floor and system wire shell pools had the greatest levels of aerobic contamination for all eggshell pools (4.9 and 4.1 log cfu/mL, respectively). Hens from all housing systems were shedding Salmonella spp. (89-100% of manure belt scraper blade swabs). The dry belt litter removal processes for all housing systems appear to affect Campylobacter spp. detection (0-41% of manure belt scraper blade swabs) considering detection of Campylobacter spp. was much higher for other environmental samples. Aviary forage area drag swabs were 100% contaminated with Campylobacter spp., whereas enriched colony cage scratch pads had a 93% positive rate. There were no differences in pathogen detection in the shell pools from the 3 housing systems. Results indicate egg safety is enhanced when hens in alternative housing systems use nest boxes. Additionally, current outcomes indicate the use of scratch pads in hen housing systems needs to be more thoroughly investigated for effects on hen health and egg safety.

Backyard chickens in the United States: a survey of flock owners.

Although it has become increasingly popular to keep backyard chickens in the United States, few studies have provided information about these flocks. An online survey of backyard chicken owners was conducted, advertised through Master Gardeners' websites, social platforms, and other sites. The survey had 56 questions about flock history, husbandry, health care, and owner attitudes and demographics. Surveys received (n = 1,487) came almost equally from urban, suburban, and rural areas. Most (71%) respondents owned fewer than 10 chickens and had kept chickens for less than 5 yr (70%). Major reasons for keeping chickens were as food for home use (95%), gardening partners (63%), pets (57%), or a combination of these. Rural respondents had larger flocks (P ≤ 0.001) and were more likely to keep chickens as a source of income or for show (P ≤ 0.001) than urban and suburban respondents. Owners thought that eggs/meat from their chickens were more nutritious (86%), safer to consume (84%), and tasted better (95%) than store-bought products, and also that the health and welfare of their chickens was better (95%) than on commercial farms. The majority (59%) indicated no flock health problems in the last 12 mo. However, there was a lack of awareness about some poultry health conditions. Many knew either little or nothing about exotic Newcastle or Marek's disease, and most (61%) did not vaccinate against Marek's. Respondents wanted to learn more about various flock management topics, especially how to detect (64%) and treat (66%) health problems. The Internet was the main source of information (87%) used by backyard flock owners, followed by books/magazines (62%) and feed stores (40%). Minimizing predation was the most cited challenge (49%), followed by providing adequate feed at low cost (28%), dealing with soil management (25%), and complying with zoning regulations (23%). The evidence obtained from this survey will help to determine what information and resources are needed to maintain good biosecurity and improve the health and welfare of backyard flocks.

Enhancing their quality of life: environmental enrichment for poultry.

Providing environmental enrichments that increase environmental complexity can benefit poultry welfare. This Poultry Science Association symposium paper is structured around four themes on 1) poultry preferences and affective states 2) species-specific behavior, including play behavior and the relationship between behavior, activity level and walking ability, 3) environmental enrichment and its relationship with indicators of welfare, and 4) a case study focusing on the application of enrichments in commercial broiler chicken production. For effective enrichment strategies, the birds' perspective matters most, and we need to consider individual variation, social dynamics, and previous experience when assessing these strategies. Play behavior can be a valuable indicator of positive affect, and while we do not yet know how much play would be optimal, absence of play suggests a welfare deficit. Activity levels and behavior can be improved by environmental modifications and prior research has shown that the activity level of broilers can be increased, at least temporarily, by increasing the environmental complexity. However, more research on impacts of enrichments on birds' resilience, on birds in commercial conditions, and on slow(er)-growing strains is needed. Finally, incorporating farmers' expertise can greatly benefit enrichment design and implementation on commercial farms.

Contrast in light intensity, rather than day length, influences the behavior and health of broiler chickens.

Day length and intensity are commonly manipulated aspects of the light environment in commercial broiler production. Both influence circadian rhythms, but it is unclear if they do this independently or synergistically. The effect of light:dark (20L:4D, 16L:8D) and intensity contrasts (1 lx:0.5 lx, 200 lx:0.5 lx) on broiler behavior and health (n=1,004, 4 replicates/treatment) was evaluated. Activity was measured using passive infrared detection, and feeding activity was measured by the amount of feed consumed/h over one 24-h period each week. Broilers were gait scored and weighed at 6 wk of age. Following euthanasia, eyes were dissected from 30 birds/treatment. Behavior and performance were analyzed using the GLM, gait score using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and eye measures using a MANOVA. The 200 lx birds were more active (P=0.03) and fed more (P=0.001) during the photophase but were less active (P=0.02) and fed less (P<0.001) during the scotophase, than the 1 lx birds. There were no differences in G:F (mean±SEM, 1.63±0.01 kg of feed/kg of BW). However, 1 lx birds were slightly heavier (2.79±0.01 kg; P=0.02) than 200 lx birds (2.72±0.01 kg). The 200 lx birds had better (P<0.001) mean gait scores than 1 lx birds, although treatment differences were small. One lux birds had greater side-to-side (18.86±0.11 mm vs. 17.63±0.11 mm, P<0.001) and back-to-front (13.39±0.09 mm vs. 12.89±0.09 mm, P<0.001) eye diameters and heavier eyes (2.42±0.03 g vs. 1.99±0.03 g, P<0.001) than 200 lx birds. There was only one effect of light:dark, with 16:8 having greater back-to-front eye diameters than 20:4 (13.30±0.10 mm vs. 13.00±0.10 mm, P=0.02). There were no interactions. These results indicated that light intensity, not day length, was the major factor affecting broiler behavior and health under these lighting conditions. Low contrast light intensity dampened behavioral rhythms and had possible health effects.

The effect of light intensity on the behavior, eye and leg health, and immune function of broiler chickens.

Broilers are typically raised commercially in dim lighting. It has been suggested that providing brighter light intensity could improve health and provide opportunities for more normal behavioral rhythms. We examined the effects of 3 photophase light intensities (5, 50, and 200 lx) on activity patterns, immune function, and eye and leg condition of broilers (n = 753; 6 replicate pens/treatment). Broilers were reared with one of these intensities from 1 to 6 wk of age; photoperiod consisted of 16L:8D with 1 lx intensity during the scotophase. Broilers reared with 5 lx were less active (P = 0.023) during the day than 50 or 200 lx and showed less (P < 0.0001) change in activity between day and night than 50 or 200 lx. There was no difference between treatments for final BW (2.30 +/- 0.02 kg) or for most immune parameters (IgG primary and secondary responses to keyhole limpet hemocyanin, B and T lymphocyte proliferation, plasma lysozyme, haptoglobin, NO, whole blood killing of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus), but there was a trend (P = 0.072) for a greater IgM response in 50 lx (6.21 titer) than 5 lx (5.78 titer), with 200 lx (5.92 titer) intermediate. There was no effect of light intensity on back-to-front (1.13 +/- 0.01 cm) or side-to-side (1.48 +/- 0.01 cm) diameter of the eyes or on corneal radii (0.82 +/- 0.01 cm), but 5 lx (2.33 +/- 0.07 g) had heavier eyes (P = 0.002) than 50 lx (2.09 +/- 0.04 g) or 200 lx (2.11 +/- 0.04 g). There were no differences in gait score, although 200 lx broilers had more hock and footpad bruising (P = 0.038) but fewer erosions (P = 0.006) than 5 or 50 lx. Increased daylight intensity had little effect on broiler health but resulted in more pronounced behavioral rhythms.

Light intensity during rearing affects the behavioural synchrony and resting patterns of broiler chickens.

1. The effect of light intensity on behavioural synchrony and rest in broilers was investigated by randomly assigning 504 Cobb chicks to environmental chambers at low (5 lux), moderate (50 lux), or high (200 lux) daytime illumination under a 16 h L : 8 h D light cycle. We hypothesised that behavioural synchrony and resting behaviour would be affected by light : dark amplitude, and predicted that broilers reared at higher intensities would show increased synchrony and thus have fewer, but longer, resting bouts during the scotophase, since these bouts would be less likely to be interrupted by active birds. 2. Digital recordings were made for 48 h from weeks 3 to 5 of age, and scan samples taken of 11 behaviours at 15-min intervals. Z-scores for the amount of synchronisation were calculated using the kappa coefficient of agreement. Frequency and length of resting bouts and the number of resting bout interruptions by flockmates were also calculated from continuous observations of 4 focal broilers per pen. 3. Resting and sitting behaviour were significantly synchronised or showed a strong trend towards synchronisation in all treatments during the 3 weeks of observation. There were significant treatment differences in the degree of synchrony for preen, eat, rest and forage, with broilers reared in 200 lux showing the greatest degree of synchrony. 4. During the scotophase, broilers reared with high illumination had fewer, longer, and less interrupted bouts of resting than those reared with moderate or low illumination. During the photophase, broilers in the low-illumination treatment had more frequent, longer, and more interrupted resting bouts than those in the moderate or high illumination treatment. 5. In conclusion, rearing broilers under a 16 h L : 8 h D photoperiod with high daytime light intensity resulted in greater behavioural synchrony in the flock, with the potential to improve welfare by increasing uninterrupted resting behaviour during the dark phase.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND WELL-BEING SYMPOSIUM: Poultry welfare assessments: Current use and limitations.

Recent attention has been given to developing welfare assessment tools for research purposes and for use directly on poultry farms. Historically, most of these tools have relied on resource- and management-based measures, but it is unclear how well they correlate with outcomes indicative of positive animal welfare. The subjective nature of many of these tools also makes it difficult to generalize across studies and farms without extensive training. More recently, the European Union Welfare Quality project set out to design assessment tools that were scientifically based and combined resource- and management-based measures with animal-based measures. Adding these measures was especially important for farm-level comparisons where farms may be utilizing different housing systems with inherent differences affecting the utility of resource- and management-based measures. The Welfare Quality Assessment protocol for poultry (WQA) offers researchers a tool that has been validated, tested for repeatability, and standardized across farms. This tool has been used in the United States and Canada at both the experimental and farm levels. The WQA is continuing to be developed, but many measures are still in need of validation and benchmarking as well as creating measures that can be used without needing extensive training to be successful on a go-forward basis. Tools must be designed for North American commercial production with a better understanding of the appropriate sample size, as well as their utility for use in alternative and extensive housing systems. The WQA shows promise in helping us to understand the influence of genetics, housing design, and management factors on the welfare of poultry.