Applied Research Note: Pretesting of a new housing system for breeding birds of layer strains in Sweden

Abstract

Summary: Pretesting of any new animal housing system in Sweden must include an evaluation of animal welfare. In 2013, a Swedish hatching company applied to the competent authority (CA) for permission to import, install, and bring into use a system with large furnished cages for breeding birds of layer strains, with ∼70 birds per cage (compared with the current 16 birds per cage). Pretesting of the system was conducted on 3 batches, ∼24,500 birds each of breeding hens and males of Lohmann Selected Leghorn and Lohmann Brown (LB) at the hatching company's facilities. Data recorded included clinical records at 3 different ages on 50 birds in each batch and data from official welfare monitoring during production and at slaughter. The birds in the batches had serious health and animal welfare issues, including high mortality, in particular among LB males. Mortality in the batches was more than double (9.6–11.0%) the average mortality (3.8%) reported for birds in conventional furnished cages (CFC) in Sweden during the same period. Compared with CFC birds in Sweden, prevalence of keel bone bursitis was also high in the batches and there were extensive feather damages, especially in hens. In addition, daily supervision was considered difficult to carry out safely in the system. Thus, the system raised important issues concerning bird health and welfare, and the recommendation to the CA was not to approve the system for the Swedish market. The CA decided to ban the system, a decision supported by the Swedish appeal court.

Keywords

• laying hen
• bird welfare
• health
• bursitis
• mortality