Making the case for environmental enrichment for broilers
By Bruce Stewart-Brown, DVM, DACPV
Chief Science Officer
Perdue Farms
By Bruce Stewart-Brown, DVM, DACPV
Chief Science Officer
Perdue Farms
Enrichment improves the environment of an animal, to meet their behavioral needs and ultimately improve their welfare. Although the research related to enrichments for broiler breeders is sparse, there are several different types of enrichments that have been shown to be beneficial. In this article, Marcela Quino and Bethany Baker-Cook, PhD, describe a few that are particularly effective for broiler breeders.
By Nathan Griffith, BS
Graduate student, Animal Welfare/Behavior
Purdue University
Varying periods of light and dark can affect turkeys’ health and well-being, including their eye health, level of fearfulness and mortality, according to a study led by Allison Pullin, PhD, animal welfare professor at North Carolina State University.
Continuous lighting is commonplace in commercial broiler houses, but is that what’s best for the birds?
Huts are a favored enrichment of birds in broiler houses and can have a positive impact on welfare, according to University of Arkansas research.
Enriching pens impacts the behavior of broiler breeders on restricted-feeding regimes, the results of a University of Georgia study suggest.