Those who work in poultry welfare should focus on “progress, not perfection” when designing and implementing ways to improve birds’ quality of life, according to an industry expert.
In a talk at the Center for Food and Animal Wellbeing annual symposium, independent consultant Kate Barger Weathers, DVM, KB Welfare Consulting, South Carolina, drew on two decades of international experience of welfare in the poultry sector.
Welfare’s new prominence
Barger-Weathers noted a marked change in the prominence placed on welfare over the past 20 years, with key welfare tenets not included in veterinarians’ oaths before 2010 but now part of the oath taken by qualifying professionals.
There has also been a shift in emphasis, she noted, moving away from thinking solely about whether birds are disease-free to what constitutes a good life in production. More broadly, there has been a move from the “Five Freedoms” conceptualization of what animals need toward a spectrum of possible outcomes.
Technology is making a difference, she explained, pointing to the use of robotics, cameras and sound technology in the US and Europe, which allows farmers to observe their birds in a non-invasive way when they are not present.
“Is it going to replace the importance of stockmanship? Absolutely not. But is it providing more clues to what’s going on, the activity level and the distribution of the animals within that space, especially when we’re not there? I think that is the future of welfare, and it’s going to continue to evolve and change,” she said.
Keeping welfare innovation meaningful
Barger-Weathers pointed to several global case studies as examples of novel welfare interventions, such as an “ultra-modern” barn in the Netherlands that offers specialized brooding areas, high natural light and a design resembling an airplane wing to keep airflow moving upward. A mobile barn from the US offers the birds outdoor access, while a multi-tier, litter-free system in Southeast Asia provides high air quality and no handling.
Each of the systems has pros and cons, she explained, stressing the need to keep the needs of birds at the heart of thinking to ensure meaningful innovation.
“We always have to think about what is truly best for the birds and not just what’s nice from a marketing standpoint, or what’s going to be creative,” Barger-Weathers said.
Stop, look and listen to understand needs
Ultimately, observation is key to understanding the needs of birds in poultry houses, she said, advocating a “5-gallon bucket exercise” that involves simply sitting in a barn and taking in birds’ behavior, sounds and their environment to understand how to improve their living conditions.
Lighting is one feature of poultry houses that can have a significant impact on welfare, Barger-Weathers noted. Research is ongoing to optimize choice lighting, where there are lighter and darker areas that the birds can opt for, depending on their needs. Producers can also consider how best to use light when poultry workers are in barns, to minimize stress for the birds.
Getting the best from enrichments
Enrichments in poultry houses are currently “one of the hottest topics in animal welfare,” Barger-Weathers explained. In the poultry industry, producers have moved from do-it-yourself efforts, such as hanging compact discs and bolts that were rarely or never interacted with to interventions based on greater consideration for birds’ needs.
“People started to think, instead of just putting something in a barn and saying, ‘Hey, I did good. I provided the enrichment’; the switch was flipped. Instead, people said, ‘What behaviors do we want to see? What is normal for a chicken?’” she said.
Such thinking meant that bales of straw and shavings have been introduced when chicks are placed on farms, mimicking the role of their mother, whom they would naturally sit next to. Research by Barger-Weathers’ team exploring ways to stop birds from perching on water lines found that the introduction of a platform allowed birds to perch on it and sit next to it.
Boldness and experimental consistency key
In the search for interventions to improve birds’ quality of life, Barger-Weathers advocates for a “3M approach”: monitoring, measuring and managing. Together, this involves boots on the ground and keen observation, consistent sampling approaches across houses and farms, and managing the data you acquire, whether for public presentation or in-house use.
“If you use that data to return and then say, ‘We’re seeing this, so we want to start monitoring this or measuring this,’ I guarantee you that you will start to make some improvements,” she said.
She stressed that continued improvement in poultry welfare requires a collaborative effort. Those who work with poultry can draw inspiration from zoos and other livestock industries, she noted, while scientists who are new to welfare can call on more experienced experts for advice on how to hone their creative ideas.
“Animal welfare is a journey, not a destination. I’m excited about what’s coming,” she added.
“I think we have to continue to be really bold and curious and think out of the box about what we’re doing. Genetics and technology are changing. Welfare, science and what we know about animals are changing. We have lots of opportunities to learn and work together.”
