What Are The Pros And Cons Of Feather Pecking Hens

The production of eggs is a major industry in Canada with over 1000 egg farms. There are several types of farming facilities the most common ones being furnished cages and free-run systems. Both types of facilities affect the welfare of laying hens but the management of the facilities has the greater impact. Two large farms in Canada, the Peach Farm and the Olive Farm, use different facilities and management practices which can be used to determine the pros and cons of each farm. A major welfare problem seen in laying hens is injury from feather pecking which is the pecking and pulling of other hens feathers and can be seen in both types of laying facilities. There can be many reasons for feather pecking in hens including aggression between
A major cause of reduced welfare is seen in furnished cages when hens are prevented from dust bathing which is a maintenance behaviour with the purpose of cleaning feathers and removing parasites. When the hens are not able to access a suitable dust bath they are seen sham dustbathing which is dustbathing without litter and is a sign of frustration (Tauson 2002). Feather scores of birds on the Peach Farm suggest that this is a problem. The hens on the Peach Farm average a feather score of 2.9, with a score of 4 being totally de-feathered. Due to the small space available for dustbathing it is very common for hens to simply not have room to dust bath or they may be forced out of the dust bath by dominant hens (Tauson 2002). The small dust bathing areas also causes the litter material to disappear rapidly after being used and to maintain a suitable litter area the material would need to be replaced several times a day (Sandilands and Hocking 2012). At the Peach Farm the hens are inspected once a day by the manager so it is likely the dust bath would not be refilled as often as needed, increasing sham dustbathing by the hens. In the free-run system of the Olive Farm each hen has 1800 cm^2 of floor space to forage and dust bath which gives them generous amounts of space to perform these behaviours and is reflected by their feather scores of .8 (0 being perfect). Although the
2011). Welfare problems also arise when hens do not have sufficient space to move around and get exercise. In free-run systems the hens are not confined and are much more active than hens kept in furnished cages. The increased activity of hens in free-run systems results in stronger bones and greatly reduces