Within the European Union, the provision of dustbathing material in layer housing systems will be compulsory beginning in 2012. In cage systems, food particles are mainly used as litter material and are provided on scratching mats by an automatic transporting system. However, because dustbathing is a means for hens to remove stale lipids from their …
An experiment was performed to investigate the effect of animal versus vegetable protein sources in the diet on the development of behavior in laying hens. A diet containing protein sources of only vegetable origin was compared with four diets, each containing one of four processed animal proteins (PAPs). Two PAPs (Daka-58 and Sonac-60) were classified …
Harmful social behaviours are prevalent in commercial farming environments and their reduction through economically feasible husbandry changes is challenging. Selective breeding may offer a complementary approach to reduce the expression of these traits. This article explores the progress made in estimating the genetic contribution to harmful social behaviours, the likely consequences of selection on these …
Recent studies have shown that spraying a distasteful substance (quinine) on a bird’s feather cover reduced short-term feather pecking. The present experiment evaluated if other substances offer similar or better protection against feather pecking. One hundred and twenty birds were divided into 12 groups of 10 birds each. Over a period of 10 days the …
Food systems—in particular, livestock production—are key drivers of environmental change. Here, we compare the contributions of the global livestock sector …
Food provides energy and nutrients, but its acquisition requires energy expenditure. In post-hunter-gatherer societies, extra-somatic energy has greatly expanded and …
The aim of this study was to apply a life cycle assessment (LCA) method, from cradle to gate, to quantify the environmental burdens per 1,000 kg of eggs produced in the 4 major hen-egg production systems in the United Kingdom: 1) cage, 2) barn, 3) free range, and 4) organic. The analysis was based on …
The production, transport and processing of food products have significant environmental impacts, some of them related to climate change. This …
Both the process of carbon footprinting and carbon labelling of food products are currently voluntary in the UK. Both processes derive from the UK’s policy for sustainable development and in particular, the UK’s Framework for Environmental Behaviours that strongly advocates a social marketing approach towards behavioural change. This paper examines whether carbon footprinting and labelling …
The food system appropriates over 30% of all ice-free land, 70% of available freshwater and 20% of energy. Sustainable food …
Poultry production has been identified as a major producer of NH3 and, to a lesser extent, of greenhouse gases (GHGs) mainly by national emissions inventories. However, since most national inventories are based on average emission factors for each type of animal (‘tier 1’ approach), the factors that influence these emissions (through breeding and manure-management practices) …
1. Endotoxins as components of organic dust may have adverse effects on the respiratory health of workers in poultry buildings. …
The potential of vegetative barriers to reduce dust and avian respiratory virus transmission from a 6-house commercial laying hen facility was evaluated in 3 trials using a combination spray vaccine for Newcastle disease virus (La Sota strain) and infectious bronchitis virus (Mass-Conn strains) as a model. Before each trial, 7-wk-old specific-pathogen-free chickens were placed in …
The dopaminergic system is involved in the regulation of aggression in many species, especially via dopamine (DA) D1 and D2 receptor pathways. To investigate heritable differences in this regulation, 2 high aggressive strains [Dekalb XL (DXL) and low group egg productivity and survivability (LGPS)] and one low aggressive strain (low group egg productivity and survivability; …
The maintenance of bone strength has been an important issue in the debate over cage use for laying hens. Bone …
In this study, the effects of the inclusion of different vitamin C levels in the diet on bone mineral density …