ANIMAL WELF ▶▶▶ARE


Brain cells indicate hen welfare


Over the next few years 20 institutes throughout Europe will be studying laying hen welfare issues in enriched cage and non-cage systems. Dr Tom Smulders, a neuroscientist, says that the welfare of the birds is actually a function in their brain. “So you should also be able to see in the brain of the animal whether it feels good.”


T


ChickenStress project coordina- tor Dr Tom Smulders of Newcastle Uni- versity: “After the abolition of con- ventional cage systems we dis- covered unex- pected new and sometimes seri- ous animal wel- fare problems in the alternative husbandry systems.”


32 BY DICK VAN DOORN


he ChickenStress European Training Network (ETN) is a programme for 14 PhD students. There are 20 re- search and other institutions involved altogether, 12 of which are beneficiaries and eight partners, most


of them are universities in Europe. The ChickenStress ETN aims to work out which factors in pullets and hens cause stress so that the best possible methods for high quality ani- mal welfare can be implemented. “After the abolition of con- ventional cage systems we discovered unexpected new and sometimes serious animal welfare problems in the alternative husbandry systems,” explains Dr Smulders. “We wish to tackle these now very broadly.” Previous studies showed that aviary housing systems are more likely to cause painful keel bone damage. On top of which free range birds can be infected by pathogens in the range and the probability of cannibalism and pecking also increases. According to ChickenStress project coordinator Dr Tom Smulders of Newcastle University in the UK, it is unique that


experts in neurobiology, physiology and animal behaviour and welfare are working together in the ChickenStress ETN with major players in the poultry industry, including Hendrix Genetics and Vencomatic (see www.chickenstress.eu for the remaining participating institutions). The funding for the ChickenStress ETN has been provided by the Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions (MSCA), Horizon 2020 EU subsidy programme. This programme aims to put Europe on the map as an attractive location for research talent. The appli- cation for the ChickenStress ETN was made in January 2018 and granted at the end of that year, with the project launched in May 2019. In total 14 PhDs will conduct three years of research, depending on the regulations in their host university.


Function of the brain


More than half the 14 PhDs have already started, says Tom Smulders. “Before Christmas 2019 all the PhDs should be at work.” Smulders has a great deal of research experience him- self, focusing on bird brains in general and poultry brains spe- cifically. One aspect of the project is very special to him. This project focuses on aspects of poultry brain function which have never been explored before. “Animal welfare can be con- sidered, basically, as a function of the brain,” he continues. “In the brain of the bird you should be able to detect how the an- imal feels and whether it has experienced chronic stress.” One of the research questions the PhDs are investigating is whether it is more animal friendly to hatch the eggs of layer breeds in a hatchery or in the poultry house, as is done in the broiler sector. “Practically, it is possible to hatch in the house itself,” says Smulders, “but then the next problem arises of how to select the females?” This part of the research is being done in close collaboration with Vencomatic. “In addition, we want to find out if the light and noise of a hatchery is positive or negative for the welfare of the chick,” Smulders adds. “In nature, a broody hen also occasionally stands up, and is not constantly sitting on the eggs. Having occasional exposure to light through the egg shell seems to be important for the healthy neurological development of the chick.” Another aspect of early life is the experience of the young chicks. PhDs in the Netherlands (Utrecht University) and Flan- ders (ILVO, Ghent) are doing experiments with ‘dark brooders’, as they are known, a canopy under which the chicks rest, just like they would under the wings of the hen.


▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 2, 2020


PHOTOS: DICK VAN DOORN


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