Paul Hemsworth

I. INTRODUCTIONSevere feather pecking (SFP) is an abnormal behaviour which reduces both hen welfare and the efficiency of egg production. While the specific causes are unknown, it is acknowledged to be multifactorial, complex and unpredictable (Rodenburg et al., 2013; Hartcher et al., 2016). The problem is compounded because the behaviour seems to spread rapidly via social learning (Zeltner et al. ...

Smothering is a form of mortality which results from groups of hens pressing together in such a way that some hens are killed presumably due to suffocation. A recent Australian epidemiological study reported that smothering accounted for 11% of mortality across 3 separate organisations and in two separate climate zones in Australia (Hemsworth et al., 2022). Previous surveys of producers in the UK ...

‘Smothering’ in poultry occurs when birds mass together, often on top of each other, resulting in death from suffocation (Bright and Johnson, 2011). The small number of reports documenting the incidence of smothering indicate that it accounts for a substantial proportion of overall mortality in free range layer flocks (Barrett et al., 2014; Bright and Johnson, 2011).In 2019 Australian ...

I. INTRODUCTIONIn accepting the invitation to present a paper on laying hen welfare at APSS 2021, I thought that I would provide an overview of a special issue of Animal Production Science on layer hen welfare that will be published in early 2021. This special issue consists of 19 review papers on the welfare implications of: the production system; development, growth and production; husbandry and ...