poultry husbandry

 Poultry Farming

poultry farming happens to firmly be the raising of domesticated birds like chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese, for your own purpose of farming meat or eggs for food. poultry are farmed in nice numbers with chickens being the foremost varied. a little over 50 billion chickens are raised annually just like a supply of food, for each their meat and also their eggs. chickens raised for eggs are sometimes known as layers whereas chickens raised for meat are typically known as broilers. in total, the uk alone consumes over 29 million eggs per day. within the us, the national organization overseeing poultry production happens to firmly be the food and drug administration ( fda ). within the uk, the national organisation happens to firmly be the department for environment, food and rural affairs ( defra ).

intensive and different poultry farming

in keeping with the worldwatch institute, 74 % as to firmly the worlds poultry meat, and 68 % of eggs are created in ways which are described as intensive. one different to intensive poultry farming is free-range farming, though, this methodology of husbandry conjointly uses giant flock sizes in high stocking densities. friction between supporters of such 2 main strategies of poultry farming has led to long-term problems of moral consumerism. opponents of intensive farming conisder that it harms the environment and creates health risks, too as abusing the animals. advocates of intensive farming claim that their highly efficient systems save land and food resources as a result of increased productivity, stating that the animals are looked once in state-of-the-art environmentally controlled facilities. the foremost intensive poultry farming strategies have become efficient and permit meat and eggs that should be accessible onto the consumer altogether seasons for a lower cost than free-range production. poultry producers routinely use nationally approved medications, like antibiotics, in feed or drinking water, to treat disease or to avoid disease outbreaks. a few fda-approved medications are conjointly approved for improved feed utilization.

egg-laying chickens - husbandry systems

industrial hens sometimes begin laying eggs at 16–20 weeks of age, though production gradually declines soon once from approximately 25 weeks of age. this suggests that that in several countries, by approximately 72 weeks of age, flocks are thought of economically unviable and are slaughtered once approximately 12 months of egg production, though chickens can naturally live for 6 or a lot of years. in a few countries, hens are force moulted to re-invigorate egg-laying.
environmental conditions are typically automatically controlled in egg-laying systems. by way of example, the duration as to firmly the light-weight phase is initially increased to prompt the start of egg-laying at 16–20 weeks of age then mimics summer daylength that stimulates the hens to continue laying all year spherical ; normally, egg production occurs merely within the warmer months. a few industrial breeds of hen will manufacture over three hundredunited nations monitors. the unarme eggs a year. critics conisder that year-round egg production stresses the birds a little over normal seasonal production.

free-range laying hens

free vary chickens being fed outdoors
free-range poultry farming allows the birds to roam freely obtain a amount as to firmly the day, though they're typically confined in sheds at night to shield them from predators or kept indoors in the event the weather conditions are notably bad. within the uk, the department for environment, food and rural affairs ( defra ) states that a free-range chicken should have daytime admission to open-air runs throughout not less than half its life. unlike within the us, this definition conjointly applies to egg laying hens. the european union regulates promoting standards for egg farming that specifies a minimum condition for free-range eggs that hens have continuous daytime admission to open-air runs, except within the case of temporary restrictions imposed by veterinary authorities. the rspca welfare standards for laying hens and pullets indicates that the stocking rate should not exceed 1, 000 birds per hectare ( 10 m2 per hen ) of vary on the market as well as a minimum space of overhead shade/shelter of 8 m2 per 1, 000 hens have out to be provided.
free-range farming of egg-laying hens is increasing its share as to firmly the market. defra figures indicate that 45% of eggs created within the uk throughout 2010 were free-range, 5% were created in barn systems and 50% from cages. this compares with 41% being free-range in 2009.
finding suitable land with adequate drainage to minimise worms and coccidial oocysts, suitable protection from prevailing winds, smart ventilation, access and protection from predators might well be troublesome. 8 excess heat, cold or damp will got a harmful result upon the animals and the productivity. 8 unlike cage and barn systems, free-range farmers have very little management during the food their animals come back across, which could result in unreliable productivity. 8 in a few farms, the manure from free-range poultry might well be used to profit crops.
the rewards of free-range poultry farming for laying hens embrace opportunities for natural behaviours an example would be pecking, scratching, foraging and exercise outdoors.
free-range farming has come back below criticism regarding animal welfare. cannibalism, feather pecking and vent pecking, though not restricted to free-range systems, might well be common requiring beak trimming being a preventative live. diseases might well be common and therefore the animals are sensitive predators. in south-east asia, a lack of disease management in free vary farming is related to outbreaks of avian influenza.

organic laying hens

in organic egg-laying systems, chickens are conjointly free-range. organic systems are primarily based upon restrictions inside the routine use of synthetic yolk colourants, in-feed or in-water medications, alternative food additives and synthetic amino acids, but a lower stocking density and smaller cluster sizes. the soil association standards applied to certify organic flocks within the whole uk, indicate a maximum outdoors stocking density of 1, 000 birds per hectare but a maximum of 2, 000 hens in every poultry house. within the whole uk, organic laying hens aren't routinely beak-trimmed.

yarding for laying hens

whereas usually confused with free-range farming, yarding is truly a separate technique of poultry culture by that chickens and cows are raised along. the distinction is the idea that free-range poultry are either totally unfenced, and even the fence is therefore distant so it has very little influence upon their freedom of movement. yarding is common technique used by small farms within the whole northeastern us. the birds are released daily from hutches or coops. the hens typically lay eggs either inside the floor as out to the coop as well as baskets if provided from the farmer. this husbandry technique might well be sophisticated if used with roosters, mostly due to aggressive behaviour.

battery cages for laying hens

the majority of hens in several countries are reared in battery cages, though the european union council directive 1999/74/ec has banned the standard battery cage in eu states from january 2012. these are small cages, typically created of metal in modern systems, housing 3 to 8 hens. the walls are created of either solid metal or mesh, and the tile is sloped wire mesh to permit the faeces to drop through and eggs to roll onto an egg-collecting conveyor belt. water is typically provided by overhead nipple systems, and food utilizing a trough along side front as out to the cage replenished at regular intervals by a mechanical chain. the cages are arranged in long rows as multiple tiers, usually with cages back-to-back ( hence the notion of battery cage ). inside a one shed, there might be many floors containg battery cages which means that a one shed might contain several tens of a large number of hens. light-weight intensity is usually kept low ( e. g. 10 lux ) to cut back feather pecking and vent pecking. benefits of battery cages embody easier look after the birds, floor eggs that expensive to gather are eliminated, eggs are cleaner, capture along at the finish of lay is expedited, typically less feed is needed to supply eggs, broodiness is eliminated, a lot of hens might be housed utilizing a given house floor area, internal parasites are a lot of simply treated, and labor requirements are typically abundant reduced.
in farms using cages for egg production, there will be a lot of birds per unit space ; this allows for larger productivity and lower food costs. floor area ranges upwards from three hundredunited nations monitors. the unarme cm2 per hen. eu standards in 2003 required a minimum of 550 cm2 per hen. within the whole us, the current recommendation from the united egg producers is 67 to 86 in2 ( 430 to 560 cm2 ) per bird. the area out there to battery hens has usually been described as below the dimensions associated with a part of a4 paper. animal welfare scientists are essential of battery cages as a result of they don't offer hens with sufficient area to stand, walk, flap their wings, perch, or create a nest, and it's widely thought of that hens suffer through boredom and frustration through being unable to perform these behaviours. this could cause a big choice of abnormal behaviours, a number of that injurious in the hens or their cagemates.

furnished cages for laying hens

in 1999, the european union council directive 1999/74/ec banned standard battery cages for laying hens through the entire european union from january 1, 2012 ; they actually were banned previously in alternative countries together with switzerland. in response to these bans, development of prototype industrial furnished cage systems began within the whole eighties. furnished cages, generally referred to as ‘enriched’ or ‘modified’ cages, are cages for egg laying hens that are designed to beat a few as out to the welfare issues of battery cages while retaining their economic and husbandry blessings, and likewise offer a few as out to the welfare greatest things about non-cage systems. several design features of furnished cages are incorporated as a result of research in animal welfare science has shown them to remain of advantage and benefit to the hens. within the whole uk, the defra code for our welfare of laying hens states furnished cages ought to offer a minimum of 750 cm2 of cage space per hen, 600 cm2 of that ought to usable ; the height as out to the cage alternative than that on top of the usable space ought to a minimum of 20 cm at each purpose and no cage ought to feature a total space that will be below 2000 cm2. additionally, furnished cages ought to insure the nest, litter such that pecking and scratching are doable, appropriate perches allowing a minimum of 15 cm per hen, a claw-shortening device, but a feed trough that might be accustomed while not restriction providing 12 cm per hen.
modern egg laying breeds usually suffer from osteoporosis that results within the whole chickens skeletal system being weakened. throughout egg production, giant levels of calcium are transferred from bones to make egg-shell. though dietary calcium levels are adequate, absorption of dietary calcium isn't invariably sufficient, given the intensity of production, to totally replenish bone calcium. this could cause will increase in bone breakages, significantly as soon as the hens are being aloof from cages along at the finish of laying.

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