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Slower-growing broilers on organic farms have replaced fast-growing hybrids to increase bird welfare. Due to limited knowledge of broiler welfare and management on organic farms in Sweden, the study aim was to gather information regarding health, housing and management routines, in order to describe the current situation on these. Farm visits performed in 2018 included 8 out of 12 established organic farms, on which either Rowan Ranger or HubbardJA57/HubbardJA87 were reared. Chickens in the observed flocks were 55 ± 6 (44–62) days of age. Observations included farmer interviews, indoor environment assessments, clinical examinations and gait scoring. Clinical examinations revealed no severe remarks, however minor to moderate plumage dirtiness, food pad dermatitis and hock burns were found in 47%, 21% and 13% of the birds, respectively. Although no severe walking impairments were observed, minor to moderate gait abnormalities were seen in two-thirds of the birds. Gait in birds assessed outdoors was significantly better than in birds observed indoors. Body weight uniformity was low in all flocks. This study provides increased knowledge of certain chicken health and welfare aspects, housing and management on Swedish organic farms. Future research should further investigate important aspects related to bird welfare, such as the high mortality rates observed.
Lina Göransson; Jenny Yngvesson; Stefan Gunnarsson. Bird Health, Housing and Management Routines on Swedish Organic Broiler Chicken Farms. Animals 2020, 10, 2098 .
AMA StyleLina Göransson, Jenny Yngvesson, Stefan Gunnarsson. Bird Health, Housing and Management Routines on Swedish Organic Broiler Chicken Farms. Animals. 2020; 10 (11):2098.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLina Göransson; Jenny Yngvesson; Stefan Gunnarsson. 2020. "Bird Health, Housing and Management Routines on Swedish Organic Broiler Chicken Farms." Animals 10, no. 11: 2098.
The sustainability of future poultry production needs to be improved in order to meet global challenges. The global chicken population has expanded significantly in recent decades, due to increased human demand for eggs and chicken meat. Therefore, it is critically important to mitigate challenges to the sustainability of modern poultry production, such as pollution, the depletion of finite natural resources and animal welfare issues. This study systematically mapped the scientific literature on farm-level sustainability in egg and chicken meat production. The concept of sustainability was considered holistically, covering its economic, environmental and social dimensions, each consisting of a broad range of different aspects that may contradict or reinforce each other. The literature published between January 2000 and March 2020 with a geographical focus on Europe, North America and Australia–New Zealand, were included. The literature search resulted in a total of 428 hits, but after the exclusion of articles that did not match the scope of the study, only 26 papers remained for the systematic mapping. Of these, only three papers covered all three dimensions of sustainability. Aspects of economic sustainability were addressed in 10 papers, aspects of environmental sustainability in 18 papers, and aspects of social sustainability in 23 papers. The findings in this study are an important foundation for the discussion and prioritisation of future actions to increase knowledge of farm-level sustainability in egg and chicken meat production.
Stefan Gunnarsson; Katarina Arvidsson Segerkvist; Lina Göransson; Helena Hansson; Ulf Sonesson. Systematic Mapping of Research on Farm-Level Sustainability in Egg and Chicken Meat Production. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3033 .
AMA StyleStefan Gunnarsson, Katarina Arvidsson Segerkvist, Lina Göransson, Helena Hansson, Ulf Sonesson. Systematic Mapping of Research on Farm-Level Sustainability in Egg and Chicken Meat Production. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (7):3033.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefan Gunnarsson; Katarina Arvidsson Segerkvist; Lina Göransson; Helena Hansson; Ulf Sonesson. 2020. "Systematic Mapping of Research on Farm-Level Sustainability in Egg and Chicken Meat Production." Sustainability 12, no. 7: 3033.