Opinion of Belgian Egg Farmers on Hen Welfare and Its Relationship with Housing Type

Animals

Lisanne M. Stadig¹  Bart A. Ampe¹  Suzy Van Gansbeke²  Tom Van den Bogaert²  Evelien D’Haenens¹  Jasper L.T. Heerkens¹  Frank A.M. Tuyttens¹  Christine Nicol³ 

[1] Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Animal Sciences Unit, Farm Animal Welfare and Behaviour Research Group, 9090 Melle, Belgium;Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Koningin Maria Hendrikaplein 70 bus 101, 9000 Ghent, Belgium;;Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Animal Sciences Unit, Farm Animal Welfare and Behaviour Research Group, 9090 Melle, Belgium

关键词: egg producer;    welfare;    survey;    laying hen;    housing;    conventional cage;    furnished cage;    colony cage;    aviary;    floor housing;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ani6010001

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Until 2012, laying hens in the EU were often housed in conventional cages that offered limited space and few opportunities to perform highly motivated behaviors. Conventional cages are now banned in the EU in order to improve animal welfare. In this study, egg farmers were surveyed (winter 2013–2014) to assess whether they perceived any changes in animal welfare since changing housing systems, what role hen welfare played in choosing a new housing system, and which aspects of hen welfare they find most important. The data show that the answers differ depending on which housing system the farmers currently use and whether they had used conventional cages in the past.

As of 2012, the EU has banned the use of conventional cages (CC) for laying hens, causing a shift in housing systems. This study’s aim was to gain insight into farmers’ opinions on hen health and welfare in their current housing systems. A survey was sent to 218 Belgian egg farmers, of which 127 (58.3%) responded, with 84 still active as egg farmer. Hen welfare tended to be less important in choosing the housing system for farmers with cage than with non-cage systems. Respondents currently using cage systems were more satisfied with hen health than respondents with non-cage systems. Reported mortality increased with farm size and was higher in furnished cages than in floor housing. Feather pecking, cannibalism, smothering and mortality were perceived to be higher in current housing systems than in CC, but only by respondents who shifted to non-cage systems from previously having had CC. Health- and production-related parameters were scored to be more important for hen welfare as compared to behavior-related parameters. Those without CC in the past rated factors relating to natural behavior to be more important for welfare than those with CC. This difference in opinion based on farmer backgrounds should be taken into account in future research.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.