Animal Welfare Judging Competition November, 2010 Prepared by: E Distel & J Siegford MEAT BIRD SCENARIO © UGA Poultry Extension
Animal Welfare Judging Competition November, 2010
Prepared by: E Distel & J Siegford
MEAT BIRD SCENARIO
© UGA Poultry Extension
Background
¨ Family operation, direct market their resulting products
¨ Manager has 30 years experience ¤ 20 years with poultry ¤ 10 years with meat bird
production
¨ Contract grower for large mid-west poultry company
¨ Grower has 4 year animal science degree and 15 years experience with meat birds ¤ Family members help on
days when birds arrive or are being shipped out
System 1 System 2
Overview
¨ 1 house, 32 X 128 ft = 4,096 ft2 (9.75 x 39 m = 380 m2)
¨ ~3,000 birds per house
¨ Average weight at slaughter: 4.9 lbs (2.2 kg)
¨ Average profit per lb: $0.28
¨ 4 houses, each 40 X 500 ft = 20,000 ft2 (12.2 x 152 m = 1,854 m2)
¨ ~26,000 birds per house
¨ Average weight at slaughter: 5.5lbs (2.5 kg)
¨ Contract rate per lb: $0.055
System 1 System 2
© MSU Poultry Farm
Chick Transport- System 1
¨ Chicks are held in stackable totes and delivered via passenger van
¨ 100 mi (160 km) ¨ No food/water during
transport ¨ Mortality rate < 0.5% ¨ Unloaded manually ¨ Driver monitors temperature
and adjusts using vehicle heating system ¤ 80-85°F (25.7-29.4°C)
Chick Transport- System 2
¨ Chicks are held in stackable totes and delivered via chick bus
¨ 50 mi (80.5 km) ¨ Hydrating food supplement placed
in chick boxes ¨ Mortality rate < 0.3% ¨ Unloaded manually ¨ Vehicle heating system controls
temperature ¤ 85-90°F (29.4-32.2°C)
© Indiamart
Lighting
¨ Ceiling-mounted compact warm-white fluorescent lighting
¨ Natural light comes in through side curtains
¨ Ceiling-mounted incandescent lighting
System 1 System 2
System 1 Lighting Regime
Week Light Intensity Hrs of Light/Day
1 40 lux* 23
2 - 9 40 lux* 16
System 2 Lighting Regime
Week Light Intensity Hrs of Light/Day
1 25 lux 23
2 - 6 5 lux 23 *Lighting intensity from fluorescent source. Actual intensity may be greater during the day when natural light is entering the building
Litter Management
¨ Wood shavings ¨ Partial clean out and fresh
shavings added between flocks
¨ Complete cleanout twice a year
¨ Chopped straw ¨ Top dressing of fresh
straw added between flocks
¨ Complete cleanout once a year
System 1 System 2
Litter Characteristics System 1 System 2
Depth, entry 1 in (2.5 cm) 3 in (7.5 cm)
Moisture, entry 11% 12%
Moisture, wk 6 34% 45%
Litter caking, wk 6 18% 33%
Air Quality – System 1
¨ Side curtains and fans for ventilation
¨ Temperature monitored daily using hand-held reader ¤ 50-80˚F (10-27˚C) and 30-70%
humidity ¨ Ammonia levels monitored by
sniffing ¤ Fluctuates between 10 -35 ppm
¨ Diesel-powered backup generator
Air Quality – System 2
¨ Negative pressure ventilation system ¤ System has an alarm in the event of failure or loss of power
¨ Computer-controlled temperature and humidity monitors ¤ 70-75˚F (21-23˚C) and 70% humidity year round
¨ Ammonia levels monitored by periodic assessment of air samples ¤ ~15-20 ppm year round
¨ Diesel-powered backup generator © UGA Poultry Extension
Housing Changes during Chick Growth
¨ Low-hanging propane gas radiant brooders provide heat ¤ Gradually raised as
chicks age ¨ Wood partitions confine
chicks to less space ¤ Partitions are moved
weekly ¨ No partitions or
brooders after week 3
System 1 © AUSA Services
© DBLR Supply
© Ceramic Heater
Housing Changes during Chick Growth
¨ Heat lamps are used when chicks are 1-2 weeks old
¨ Chicks are confined to area under the lamps during week 1 using cardboard partitions
System 2
© MSU ABWG
©U of California
Health Measures
System 1 System 2
Sudden Death Syndrome 0.6% 3%
Ascites 1.5% 4%
Mortality (Other Causes) 4% 2%
Foot Pad Dermatitis 7% 25%
Hockburn 3% 18%
Average Gait Score* 1.72 2.46
Morbidity (Other Causes) 2% 1%
On-farm Euthanasia Method for Sick/Injured Birds
Cervical dislocation Blow to head with blunt instrument
* 0-5 scale with 0 = normal and 5 = incapable of walking.
Nutrition- System 1
¨ Water is provided using a nipple system (320/house)
¨ Feed is always available in plastic automatic feeders and metal troughs ¤ Wks 1-2: starter mash (2,950 kcal/kg, 21%
CP, 0.95% Ca, 0.42% P) ¤ Wks 3-4: grower mash (3,000 kcal/kg,
19.7% CP, 0.9% Ca, 0.4% P) ¤ Wks ≥5: finisher mash (3,050 kcal/kg, 18%
CP, 0.86% Ca, 0.38% P) ¨ Feeders and waterers cleaned between
flocks © C & H Livestock
CP = Crude Protein
©Crown Central Asia
Nutrition- System 2
¨ Water is provided using a closed nipple system (1,500/house)
¨ Feed is always available in plastic automatic feeders
¨ Fed a corn and soybean pellet ¤ 3200 kcals/kg, 20% CP, 1% Ca, .5% P
¨ Feed is always available ¨ Feeders and waterers are cleaned
between flocks
© Garden Small Holder
© Chore Time
CP = Crude Protein
Time Budgets*
System 1 System 2
Lying 64% 78.7%
Lying Eating 1.5% 6.2%
Standing Idle 8.1% 1.9%
Standing Preening 5.3% 2.6%
Standing Eating 10.2% 4.8%
Peck/Scratch Litter 2.7% 0.5%
Walking 3.9% 1.4%
Drinking 3% 3%
Dust Bathe 1% 0.3%
Sparring/Pecking Others 0.3% 0.6%
* Behaviors observed between 0800-1600
Catching- System 1
¨ Caught at the end of the night before lights come on ¤ Feeders and waterers are raised immediately before
catching begins ¤ Takes ~3-4 h to empty the house
¨ Birds are caught by hand and placed in plastic crates ¤ 1 bird/hand, held upbright ¤ 6.56 x 3.28 x 0.82 ft (2 x 1 x
0.25 m) ¤ ~23 birds/crate
© USDA
Catching- System 2
¨ Caught in low light at various times during the day ¤ Feeders are raised 12 h before catching ¤ Waterers are raised 1 h before catching ¤ ~3.5 h to empty each house
¨ Birds are caught by a mechanical harvester and placed in metal crates ¤ 4.27 x 2.30 x 0.82 ft (1.3 x .7x 0.25 m) ¤ ~16 birds/crate
© Bright Coop, Inc
© Bright Coop, Inc
Transport to Slaughter
¨ Transported on the bed of a flatbed truck
¨ Vehicle holds 1,000 birds
¨ No temp./humidity monitor in truck
¨ Transport duration: ~5 min
¨ Transported in a commercial semi truck with open sides
¨ Vehicle holds 5,000-6,000 birds
¨ No temp./humidity monitors in the truck bed
¨ Transport duration: ~3 h
System 1 System 2 ©Bob Conrad
Driver Experience
¨ Driver is also farm manager, has extensive knowledge of poultry welfare
¨ Driver doesn’t receive specific driving wage
¨ Driver has limited knowledge of poultry welfare
¨ Driver is paid by the trip
System 1 System 2
Holding/Handling on Arrival
¨ Crates are unloaded to indoor holding area
¨ Chickens remain in crates until slaughter
¨ 98% of crates are in good condition, 100% of crates are dry prior to bird use
¨ Birds spend ~ 1-5 h in crates
¨ Crates are unloaded to indoor holding area
¨ Chickens remain in crates until slaughter
¨ 85% of crates are in good condition, 90% of crates are dry
¨ All birds spend < 1 h in crates
System 1 System 2
© Santa Fe New Mexican.com
Holding/Handling on Arrival
¨ Birds removed from crates one at a time, right side up, by 2 legs
¨ 0.01% of birds have broken bones/injury
¨ 0.01% of birds dead/ill
¨ 6-8 birds removed at a time, upside down, by 1 leg
¨ 0.045% of birds have broken bones/injury
¨ 0.3% of birds dead/ill
System 1 System 2
Slaughter Procedures
¨ No shackling ¨ No stunning ¨ Birds are slaughtered by
neck cutting ¤ Severing both carotid
arteries and jugular veins ¤ Then placed head down in
cones to bleed out ¨ Audited by USDA and 3rd
party certification program for humane handling
¨ Birds are shackled on a line
¨ Birds enter a water bath stunner (heads are immersed in brine solution with a current of 150 mA
¨ Mechanized neck cutter with manual bleeder
¨ Audited by USDA and FMI/NCCR*
System 1 System 2
*Food Marketing Institute/National Council of Chain Restaurants
Slaughter Measures
System 1 System 2
Time btwn Shackle & Stun n/a 30 sec
Time btwn Handling & Cut 5 sec n/a
% Struggle/Flap prior to Cut/Stun 0.05% 0.2%
Time to Loss of Consciousness 14 sec 3 sec
% Rendered Insensible 100% 99.5%
% Regain Consciousness 0% 2%
Time btwn Stun/Cut & Bleed 8 sec 21 sec
# Birds Killed/Min 8 170
Effectiveness of Bleed Cutting 100% 98%
Bleed Out Time 29 sec 80 sec
Uncut Birds Entering Scalder 0 1/600