Does Rearing Laying Hens in Aviaries Adversely Affect Long-Term Welfare following Transfer to Furnished Cages?
Published on:
03/29/2015
Author/s :
Fernanda M. Tahamtani1, Tone Beate Hansen2, Rachel Orritt1,3, Christine Nicol4, Randi O. Moe1, Andrew M. Janczak1* (1 Animal Welfare Research Group, Department of Production Animal Clinical Science, NMBU, Oslo, Norway, 2 Animalia, Norwegian Meat and Poultry Research Centre,
Oslo, Norway, 3 School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom, 4 Division of Animal Health and Husbandry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United)
Kingdom
IntroductionFollowing the EU Council Directive ban on conventional ‘battery’ cages (99/74/EC) which came into full effect in January 2012 [1], concerns for the welfare implications of certain rearing and production system combinations have arisen. Previous studies indicate that rearing conditions affect the welfare of birds in the producing stage. Nicol et al. [2] found that previous e...