Free-range hens are frequently provided enrichment to promote foraging behaviours and try to lower the frequency of harmful feather plucking. Studies have shown that hanging ropes, a traditional enrichment method for chickens, offers very little benefit.
Pressure is mounting on poultry farmers to prevent phosphate contamination of rivers and changes to layer diets is one way the poultry sector can reduce phosphate excretion from birds.
In Season 3, Episode 1 of the Wynnstay Agri-Hub Podcast, my colleague Julie Wright, Company Nutritionist at Wynnstay, and Eloise Lawlor, Commercial Poultry Nutritionist at Premier Nutrition, explain how they have reduced phosphorus levels in Wynnstay rations and why this is important for egg producers.
Reducing the phosphorus levels in our layer feeds, without compromising bird performance and health, has been a key focus for Wynnstay over the last year as concern grows that poultry manure is associated with excessive phosphate levels in rivers.
Working closely with the team at Premier Nutrition we decided the best approach would be to optimise the level of phytase enzyme in our layer feeds (increasing them to a triple dose) to reduce our total phosphorus levels and our impact on the environment.
Rearing chickens can be a rewarding experience when fresh, free-range eggs are on the table in the morning. However, maintaining a pest-free home for our feathered friends is an ongoing challenge for all of us. To create a healthy environment for chickens, we need to ensure that pests are kept out of the coop to provide the best space for your feathered friends to live. It can be a challenge to nurse chickens back to health after a pest invasion, so ensuring you know how to tackle pest problems before they occur can significantly help.
The shift in egg production systems from caged to free-range, barn egg, and organic is bringing into focus the natural behaviour of laying hens. It is thought that certain conditions can breed nervousness and stress, pushing hens to express the need to peck other members of the flock.
With a housing order enforced in England until further notice, all domestic birds must be kept indoors to prevent the spread of bird flu (avian influenza). Whether housing a backyard flock, or a free-range commercial flock, increasing enrichment during the ‘flockdown’ period will support bird welfare and health.
Housing orders are now in place in England and Wales (effective from 2nd December 2022) for all poultry and captive birds were put in place for all areas of England to help reduce the spread of avian influenza. There are currently no housing orders in Scotland and Wales.
These measures are a legal requirement for all keepers to keep their birds indoors and follow strict Biosecurity measures to assist in protecting their flocks from the disease. All current Avian Influenza prevention zones that were put in place on 17th October in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland will remain in place until a time in which they are revoked. Defra and the Welsh government have published guidance to support game farmers to mitigate the impact of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds.
Egg size matters in free-range egg production, and it can be influenced by the farmer from the moment the pullets arrive on farm.
In episode eight of the Wynnstay Agri-Hub Podcast, my colleagues: Fiona Hunt, Steve Marriott and I joined host Tony Morris to discuss how egg size can be controlled through flock management in free-range egg production.
Did you know that approximately 2% of all eggs show some sort of defect, ranging from the barely noticeable to the very obvious.
Now that we are 6 weeks into the ‘hen lockdown’ as a result of avian influenza, there are several things to consider and jobs to be done to keep hens happy and content, and ensure they are prepared for when pop holes can reopen.
