Research/Scientific assessment of welfare
From Poultry Hub
Title: Scientific assessment of welfare (or Welfare methodologies)
Project Leader: Paul Hemsworth at AWSC funded by Poultry CRC (Project 04-18)
Duration of Project: Now completed (1 January 2005 to 30 June 2008)
Contents |
Project overview
The objective of this project is to determine if either of the two most common approaches used by scientists to assess animal welfare (the preference approach and the homeostasis approach) align with what are considered to be fundamental requirements of poultry. This outcome is fundamental to rational progress in the welfare debate.
Project objectives
- Develop a suitable methodology for choice (or preference) testing to measure the laying hen’s longer term choice for specific resources; and
- Identify some of the stockperson behaviours that may regulate fear in hens.
Project progress
This project is now completed and a final report will soon be available from the Poultry CRC.
Two PhD students and an honours student have been appointed to the project to study different comparative aspects of both pigs and laying hens. The equipment for preference testing has been developed and several preliminary experiments (choice of feed vs. a dust bath) have been successfully undertaken, suggesting that preference testing using a Y-maze methodology may provide valuable information on long-term welfare priorities of laying hens.
