Poultry Welfare and its positive behavioural indicators
Dr. Abhijeet Champati
Assistant Professor, Department of LPM, Institute of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, SOADU, Bhubaneswar-751003
Corresponding author : [email protected]
ABSTRACT
There have been growing concerns and awareness among consumers regarding the welfare needs of birds and the source of their poultry products. The concepts of welfare focus on the freedoms and needs of birds as well as their physiological, mental and social well being and also take into account the economics, legality of the rearing systems. It’s the well educated and informed decisions made by the consumers that can promote the all round welfare in poultry rearing.To aid them into better decision making, more research and survey of economical welfare practices in different situations is required.This article reviews the welfare in poultry and its governing behavioural indicators that can help make decisions in management and improve production without hampering the physical and mental health of birds.
Keywords: Welfare, Poultry, Behaviour, dustbathing
Introduction
Poultry birds are commercially grown and raised for their eggs and meat all over the world. Poultry has proven to be the most effective animal product in the world market for producing high-quality protein (Pandey, 2018). The sector has experienced significant expansion and advancement in recent decades, both in India and globally. With a yearly growth rate of 6-7% in egg production and 7-8% in broiler meat, poultry is currently one of the fastest-growing agricultural sectors in India (BAHS, 2023). The rapid advancements in animal genetics, feeding, and management techniques are responsible for this spike in output. This fast growth is also supported by the high stock density intensive rearing viz. deep litter and cages, commercially seeking to maximize profit by application of modern technologies and facilities of management and reduce labout cost and boost productivity.
Presently, people are more interested in learning where poultry products come from and how to improve the welfare of the birds. This consequently influences their attitude when making product purchases. The global chicken business has moved away from the traditional cage system and toward more welfare-conscious alternative rearing techniques as a result of these welfare issues. This article examines the notions of wellbeing in the raising of chicken as well as the variety of metrics used to measure it.
Concepts of Poultry Welfare
Animal welfare is influenced by an animal’s mental and physical health. There are several ways that the housing system may impact the welfare of birds. Researchers that work on animal welfare generally agree that integrating data from various sources using a variety of approaches is the most comprehensive way to assess welfare. (Bhanja and Bhadauria, 2018; EFSA, 2005)
Concept of Freedom
The five freedoms as applicable to poultry an ideal state of welfare for poultry birds that need to be kept in mind while rearing. These are:-
- Freedom from thirst and hunger: To preserve optimal health and energy, fresh food and water are always available.
- Freedom from discomfort: Creating a comfortable environment for resting.
- Freedom from pain, injury and disease: Illness prevention, identification, and management.
- Freedom to express normal behaviour: Allowing birds to behave normally means giving them enough room, suitable amenities, and others similar to them.
- Freedom from fear and distress: Ensuring conditions and treatment to avoid mental suffering. (Brambell report, 1965)
Concept of Comprehensive Approaches
A thorough approach to animal welfare was presented by Dockès and Kling-Eveillard (2006), concentrating on four key concerns. The following summarizes them, with implications for the welfare of poultry:
- Technical and biological definitions: these give poultry their basic requirements, liberties, and capacity to withstand harsh environments.
- Regulation strategies: acknowledging poultry as delicate creatures and establishing environments that meet their biological requirements.
- Philosophical approaches: To emphasize the significance of chickens’ standing and function in human civilization.
- Human-animal communication: Emphasize the relationship between farmers and poultry and how it affects industrial systems used for poultry production.
Behavioural Indicators of welfare
Animal welfare includes an animal’s state of mind and body. A housing system, or rather the environment, can have a number of effects on hen welfare. Therefore, in order to evaluate an animal’s welfare within a specific housing system, a number of indicators, such as the mortality rate, stress, illness and health condition and most prominently behavioural indicators must be taken into account simultaneously.
- Natural behaviours of poultry birds
Natural behaviour as defined as behaviour an animal normally shows when exposed to conditions similar to its natural habitat. These are congenial and promote biological functions that are significant to the animal’s welfare. Birds reared in cages often lack the expressions of certain natural behaviour. Tatural behaviours have been listed below.
- Nesting– In the wild, the hen finds a secluded area, scrapes the ground, and constructs a nest before oviposition. Biological cues from within determine the nesting behavior regardless of the surrounding environment. Before oviposition, cage-raised birds exhibit stereotypical pacing and escape behaviors, become restless, or engage in “phantom” nesting activities.
- Scratching and Foraging– Even while birds kept in cages or deep litter are fed a full food on an as-needed basis, they still have an innate desire to forage. Research has shown that chickens prefer to search the ground for food instead of using feeders. The bird pecks at the litter in quest of food and uses its feet to scratch it in a backward motion. Better bird welfare is indicated by higher intensity, duration, and incidence (Bhanja and Bhadauria, 2018).
- Perching– It is a behavior associated to avoiding predators. In aviary cages and multitier systems, hens prefer the upper perches for night roosting and become irate if they are unable to gain access. Birds’ usage of perches is essential to preserving the volume and strength of their bones. Approximately 25–41% of the day, and up to 90% of the night, are spent perching by hens. (Pohle and Cheng, 2009).
- Dustbathing– Dust bathing is encouraged by both internal and exterior elements, including light, ectoparasites, loose substrate, warmth, and pleasure (Bhanja and Bhadauria, 2018). When birds aren’t able to dust themselves, they exhibit signs of stress and are thought to be doing it for enjoyment rather than necessity. Because happiness and the absence of suffering are prerequisites for optimal welfare, dust-bathing is a significant behavior for birds.
- Comfort behaviour– Stretching, wing-flapping, body-shaking, and preening provide comfort to the birds which are gravely affected in cage rearing (Papageorgiou et al.,2023).
- Exercising– Birds raised in cages have little to no opportunity to exercise or be exposed to normal physical environments, which leads to improper bone structure and compromised bone strength (Regmi et al., 2016).
- Exploring– Birds screen and assess their environment because they are inherently inquisitive, invasive, and exploratory in nature (Hemsworth and Edwards, 2020). Birds’ general health and mental, bodily, and social well-being are enhanced by rich outdoor settings.
- Aggressive behaviour
It is linked to aggressive behavior, tonic immobility, aggression, freezing behavior, adrenal cortical activity, and heart rate increase and its impact on the quality of meat. The behavior of cannibalism is harmful to the wellbeing of birds, especially as it results in pain and injury. It has to do with extreme feather pecking, and some authors think that rather than social and natural behaviors, it results from genetic selection favoring individual performance (Bhanja and Bhadauria, 2018).
- Social behaviour
The birds frequently divide into smaller groups when there is room, each with its own set social hierarchy. Particularly in high-density systems where a few dominant individuals may control the feed, water, and available space, social dominance can lead to management issues. When new groups or flocks mix, the dominance hierarchy and the agonistic interactions that go along with it are always restored.
Table: On farm welfare assessment of poultry
| Welfare principles | Criteria | Assessment Measures |
| Good feeding | Absence of prolonged hunger and thirst | Assessed at abbatoir or feeder/drinker space |
| Good housing | Ease of movement, thermal and resting comfort | Plumage condition, litter quality, stocking density, panting, huddling |
| Good health | No injuries, disease or pain and distress | Lameness, hock burn, foodpad dermatitis, mortality |
| Appropriate behaviour | To express social and natural behaviour, human-bird relationship, positive emotional state | Avoidance distance test, assessment of qualitative behaviour |
Conclusion
In today’s intense production units, the wellbeing of laying hens is widely acknowledged as a concern. When welfare measures are implemented, the degree of freedom that informed and educated consumers have over their choices may be crucial. Therefore, our decisions about ensuring the welfare of laying hens should be guided by our understanding of the motivations for their behavior and choice of environmental alternative.
References
Tauson, R.2005. Management and housing systems for layers—Effects on welfare and production. World’s Poult. Sci. J. 61, 477–490
Papageorgiou, M. Goliomytis, M. Tzamaloukas, O. Miltiadou, D.andSimitzis, P.2023. Positive Welfare Indicators and Their Association with Sustainable Management Systems in Poultry. Sustainability, 15, 10890
Campbell, D.L.M. Makagon, M.M.J. Swanson, J.C. and Siegford, J.M.2016. Perch use by laying hens in a commercial aviary. Poult. Sci. 95, 1736–1742
Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics (BAHS), GoI, DAHD. Pp14-23