Summary
Note: This summary was prepared from the Plain Language Summary and the Summary and Abstract sections of the full article.
This report was prepared by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (AHAW) for the European Commission. The purpose was to describe the current husbandry systems and practices of keeping broiler chickens, day old chicks, and broiler breeders on farm, along with related welfare consequences and animal-based measures (ABMs). The AHAW Panel reviewed peer-reviewed and gray literature, and information provided by the European Forum of Farm Animal Breeders and EFSA scientific networks. The data used spanned 2010 to November 2022.
Nineteen highly relevant welfare consequences (WCs) of current housing/rearing systems were identified based on how often they occur, their severity, and how long they last; however, some WCs are more relevant to certain housing systems and bird categories. For day old chicks, the most relevant WCs were: “cold stress, prolonged hunger, prolonged thirst, handling stress, resting problems, umbilical disorders, and sensory under- and/or overstimulation.” There was overlap for six highly relevant WCs between broiler chickens and broiler breeders such as resting problems, group stress, and the inability to perform exploratory or foraging behavior. WCs unique to broiler chickens (four WCs) and broiler breeders (six WCs) were also identified. Some of these included isolation stress, prolonged hunger and thirst, and the inability to avoid unwanted sexual behavior for broiler breeders, and locomotory disorders and gastro-enteric disorders for broiler chickens.
Thirteen animal-based measures (ABMs), defined by EFSA as a standardized way of measuring animal welfare, were identified as being “iceberg indicators,” meaning they are relevant to more than one welfare consequence, and in this case they were relevant for all bird categories. These ABMs were: distress calls, feather and body dirtiness, lethargy, total mortality, stereotypic behavior, injurious pecking, plumage damage, fear response, piling and smothering, wounds, hock burn, footpad dermatitis (FPD), and walking impairment. The report also included ABMs that could be used in slaughterhouses to measure the welfare of broilers on farms and these include the presence of wounds and footpad dermatitis, as well as the number of carcass rejections at the slaughterhouse.
The Panel presents specific and urgent recommendations for each bird category to mitigate and lessen the negative WCs, with some recommendations overlapping bird categories. Daylight was identified as having positive effects on broiler welfare. A covered veranda, and outdoor space with such a veranda, was highly recommended for all bird categories. More specific requirements for outdoor spaces, identified as increasing positive welfare outcomes, are outlined in the report. Feed and water restrictions in day old chicks and broiler breeders should be avoided to reduce negative WCs such as prolonged hunger and thirst. The Panel specifically states that no mutilations, such as beak-trimming and de-clawing, are recommended for broiler breeders and that cages should not be used. Injurious pecking or wounds that result from non-beak trimmed or de-clawed chickens can be avoided with good management practices, such as providing females with the ability to avoid unwanted sexual behavior with the use of elevated perches. Elevated platforms with ramps were also recommended for broiler chickens.
The Panel recommends a maximum stocking density of 11 kg/m2, beyond which will lead to increased negative WCs such as footpad dermatitis, reduced walking ability and an inability to meet certain behavioral needs. Dry and friable litter should always be provided to encourage foraging and exploratory behavior. Stocking density and litter quality are also listed as factors that interact with each other, among others, to determine the air quality in the barn and ammonia levels should not go over 15 ppm. Light requirements for broiler chickens and day-old chicks, such as the inclusion of dark brooders for day-old chicks, were also outlined and considered urgent. There was an emphasis to limit the growth of broiler chickens to 50 mg/day and to select slower growing birds through selective breeding as the current fast growth rate of birds interacts negatively with current management/housing systems and leads to a significant increase in negative welfare outcomes.
This Scientific Opinion considers the welfare of domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) related to the production of meat (broilers) and includes the keeping of day‐old chicks, broiler breeders, and broiler chickens. Currently used husbandry systems in the EU are described. Overall, 19 highly relevant welfare consequences (WCs) were identified based on severity, duration and frequency of occurrence: ‘bone lesions’, ‘cold stress’, ‘gastro‐enteric disorders’, ‘group stress’, ‘handling stress’, ‘heat stress’, ‘isolation stress’, ‘inability to perform comfort behaviour’, ‘inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviour’, ‘inability to avoid unwanted sexual behaviour’, ‘locomotory disorders’, ‘prolonged hunger’, ‘prolonged thirst’, ‘predation stress’, ‘restriction of movement’, ‘resting problems’, ‘sensory under‐ and overstimulation’, ‘soft tissue and integument damage’ and ‘umbilical disorders’. These WCs and their animal‐based measures (ABMs) that can identify them are described in detail. A variety of hazards related to the different husbandry systems were identified as well as ABMs for assessing the different WCs. Measures to prevent or correct the hazards and/or mitigate each of the WCs are listed. Recommendations are provided on quantitative or qualitative criteria to answer specific questions on the welfare of broilers and related to genetic selection, temperature, feed and water restriction, use of cages, light, air quality and mutilations in breeders such as beak trimming, de‐toeing and comb dubbing. In addition, minimal requirements (e.g. stocking density, group size, nests, provision of litter, perches and platforms, drinkers and feeders, of covered veranda and outdoor range) for an enclosure for keeping broiler chickens (fast‐growing, slower‐growing and broiler breeders) are recommended. Finally, ‘total mortality’, ‘wounds’, ‘carcass condemnation’ and ‘footpad dermatitis’ are proposed as indicators for monitoring at slaughter the welfare of broilers on‐farm.