Welfare of organic laying hens kept at different indoor stocking densities in a multi-tier aviary system. I: egg laying, and use of veranda and outdoor area

Multi-tier aviary systems are becoming more common in organic egg production. The area on the tiers can be included in the net area available to the hens (also referred to as usable area) when calculating maximum indoor stocking densities in organic systems within the EU. In this article, results on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animal (Cambridge, England) England), 2015-09, Vol.9 (9), p.1509-1517
Main Authors: Steenfeldt, S., Nielsen, B. L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Husbandry - methods
Animal Welfare - standards
Animals
aviaries
Behaviour, welfare and health
Chickens - physiology
Crowding
egg production
egg weight
eggs
European Union
Female
group size
Housing, Animal - standards
indoor stocking density
laying hens
Life Sciences
multi-tier aviary
nests
Neurons and Cognition
Organic Agriculture
organic foods
organic layers
oviposition
Oviposition - physiology
perch
Research Article
resource accessibility
stocking rate
vegetation cover
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Summary:Multi-tier aviary systems are becoming more common in organic egg production. The area on the tiers can be included in the net area available to the hens (also referred to as usable area) when calculating maximum indoor stocking densities in organic systems within the EU. In this article, results on egg production, laying behaviour and use of veranda and outdoor area are reported for organic laying hens housed in a multi-tier system with permanent access to a veranda and kept at stocking densities (D) of 6, 9 and 12 hens/m2 available floor area, with concomitant increases in the number of hens per trough, drinker, perch and nest space. In a fourth treatment, access to the top tier was blocked reducing vertical, trough and perch access at the lowest stocking density (treatment D6x). In all other aspects than stocking density, the experiment followed the EU regulations on the keeping of organic laying hens. Laying percentage was significantly lower (P
ISSN:1751-7311
1751-732X
1751-732X
DOI:10.1017/S1751731115000713