Welfare

Free range birds live a healthy, outdoor lifestyle but as with any animal allowed outside there is an increased risk of exposure to disease…

Free range birds live a healthy, outdoor lifestyle but as with any animal allowed outside there is an increased risk of exposure to disease.

To counter this, free range flocks are under the supervision of specialist poultry vets.

They regularly visits the free range farms they look after and, working with the farmer, put in place a health plan to ensure everything is being done to keep flocks in full health.

Occasionally, if flocks are ill, they may need antibiotics but this is strictly controlled by the vets.

The health and welfare of hens is paramount and is protected by legislation, with welfare breaches being punishable by law. Happy healthy hens overall are more productive, profitable and easier to manage for the producer. The DEFRA code of practice for the welfare of laying hens and pullets is a mandatory publication that should be present for reference on all laying and pullet rearing farms in England. The devolved governments have produced similar booklets.

The cornerstone of good animal welfare has been categorised as the ‘Five Freedoms’ and these are the minimum requirements for good bird welfare.

  1. Freedom from hunger and thirst. A readily available fresh, clean drinking water supply and a diet suitable for the birds at that stage of their life to maintain health and vigour.
  2. Freedom from discomfort. Birds should be housed in appropriate accommodation in a good state of repair and have access to a comfortable resting area. There should be adequate bedding and a perching area. Environmental parameters such as ventilation, ammonia levels and house temperature should be controlled as far as possible to maintain a pleasant environment. Lighting levels should be at least 10 lux. High levels of extraneous noise are undesirable as this may cause unwanted stress.
  3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease. Birds should not be allowed to suffer or develop chronic disease. Preventative strategies should be built into your Veterinary Heath Plan to help mitigate against disease and parasite challenges. Treatment of disease should be targeted and after focused investigation and diagnosis. Contingency planning for notifiable disease outbreaks should be in place.
  4. Freedom to express normal behaviour. Birds should be able to express foraging behaviour with good litter quality and perching, at a rate of 2 linear metres per 1000 birds, should be fit for purpose. Access to a well-maintained ranging area is essential in free range layers. The use of destructible enrichments helps to satisfy the hens’ natural foraging behaviour and may be useful in preventing injurious pecking and feather loss.
  5. Freedom from fear and distress. Making sure that the environment is safe such as control of predators and putting measures in place to prevent bullying and feather pecking.

It is important that personnel looking after the hens are knowledgeable and up to date with the current welfare requirements of the flock and there should be a sufficient number of people employed to care for the flock’s needs. Training in knowing when to seek advice and intervention are essential skills, and at least one person on site should have been trained in humane culling of sick or injured birds that are suffering and require to be euthanised in an emergency.

The maintenance of high welfare standards is a topic for discussion your veterinary surgeon as a part of your annual Veterinary Health Plan visit.

Q&A

Q. Why do some birds have poorer feather cover than others?

Many factors can affect a birds overall condition including the stresses of life. Birds pecking other birds is a constant cause of loss of feathers.