Welfare Of Laying Hen

Description:
The welfare of egg-producing poultry is a topic of great concern to the poultry industry and to researchers in applied animal behaviour. It is also subject to increased legislation. Issues such as battery cages, space requirements, access to daylight and 'free-range' eggs have attracted public interest. This book brings together edited papers from the 27th Poultry Science Symposium of the World's Poultry Science Association (UK Branch), held in Bristol in July 2003. The topics covered include: welfare issues, perception and cognition, behaviour, health and diseases, stockmanship and the environment, handling, slaughter and transport, and perspectives of consumers and producers.

Table of Contents:
Contributors PREFACE Acknowledgements The importance of welfare, J K Kirkwood, UFAW and Human Slaughter Association, UK PART I: The Stakeholders Hen welfare: consumer perspective, P A W Parrott, Harper Adams University College, UK Government views on the welfare of laying hens, D G Pritchard, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Politics of hen welfare, D Wilkins, Eurogroup for Animal Welfare, Belgium Implications of the World Trade Organization on hen welfare, D Bowles, RSPCA, UK The retailer-consumer relationship with particular reference to animal welfare, R Layton, riconsulting, UK Quality assurance, J Gittins, ADAS, UK The producer and hen welfare, A Joret, Deans Foods Ltd, UK PART II: Overviews The laying hen: systems of production, A Elson, ADAS Gleadthorpe, UK Stress and the welfare of laying hens, J P Thaxton, Mississippi State University, USA Part III: Welfare Issues Genetic influences on resource use, fear and sociality, J-M Faure, Station de Reserches Avicoles, France, and R B Jones, Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), UK The genetics of feather pecking and cannibalism, J Kjaer, Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Denmark, and P M Hocking, Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), UK Breeding for productivity and welfare, W M Muir, Purdue University, USA, and H-W Cheng, USDA-ARS, USA Sensory perception: chemoreception, D E F McKeegan, Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), UK Vision in the laying hen, N B Prescott, J R Jarvis, and C M Wathes, Silsoe Research Institute, UK Pain and the laying hen, M Gentle and S Wilson, Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), UK Chicken cognition, C J Nicol, University of Bristol, UK Social space for laying hens, J J Cooper and M J Albentosa, University of Lincoln, UK Nesting, perching and dust-bathing, L Keeling, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Sweden Environmental enrichment: the need for practical strategies to improve poultry welfare, R B Jones, Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), UK Feather pecking and feather loss, B Rodenburg and P Koene, Wageningen University, The Netherlands Cannibalism, R Newberry, Washington State University, USA Skeletal disorders in laying hens: the problem of osteoporosis and bone fractures, C C Whitehead, Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), UK Disease control, D Shingleton, Waterman Farm, UK Environmental management for laying hens, J-M Aerts, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, C M Wathes and D Berckmans, Silsoe Research Institute, UK