Reducing feather pecking in non-cacre

摘要

Beak trimming, lighting control are common methods to reduce injurious pecking, but there are other ways to reduce this behavior in non-cage flocksFeather pecking occurs in the majority of free-range flocks to various degrees. It is not only painful for the birds, but is associated with increased mortality. Where injurious pecking occurs, there is a higher risk of cannibalism, and the stress it causes can increase disease susceptibility and disease spread. Productivity can fall and feed consumption can rise, as birds with poor plumage use more energy to keep warm.The U.K.'s University of Bristol has produced a guide to reducing the risk of injurious pecking occurring in non-cage-laying hens. The guide identifies various risk factors associated with injurious pecking and outlines strategies to prevent it. The Featherwel Improving Feather Cover guide covers strategies for lay and strategies for rear, and since publication has become a requirement for U.K. egg producers working to the British Lion Codeof Practice. The new Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Freedom Foods Standards also now require many of the recommendations made in the guide. Here we outline some of the strategies identified for reducing feather pecking during lay.