More than half of eggs produced in the UK come from free range systems, which are considered to be the gold-standard for animal welfare. However, it is not always clear that all hens in a flock are accessing the facilities available to them in free range systems, and welfare problems remain. For example, injurious pecking is common, and mortality can be higher and more variable in these systems, with implications for efficiency and sustainability.
The aim of this project is to improve our understanding of the way in which hens use the facilities together with the inside and outside spaces available to them, and how this is affected by housing design, in particular verandas. We will record video sequences of flocks and utilise approaches based on optic flow in order to analyse movement. We will then compare movement patterns, welfare and productivity in a variety of free range system designs.
CLOSING DATE: Wednesday, March 30, 2022.