IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i20p13015-d939325.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Evaluation of the Uses of Different Environmental Enrichments on a Broiler Farm with the Help of Real-Time Monitoring via a Farmer-Assistant System

Author

Listed:
  • Fabian Spieß

    (Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30173 Hannover, Germany)

  • Bernd Reckels

    (Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30173 Hannover, Germany)

  • Christian Sürie

    (Farm for Education and Research Ruthe, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 31157 Sarstedt, Germany)

  • Monika Auerbach

    (Clinic for Poultry, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany)

  • Silke Rautenschlein

    (Clinic for Poultry, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany)

  • Ottmar Distl

    (Institute for Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany)

  • Joerg Hartung

    (Institute of Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behaviour, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30625 Hannover, Germany)

  • Jan Berend Lingens

    (Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30173 Hannover, Germany
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Christian Visscher

    (Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30173 Hannover, Germany
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

Modern broilers are usually raised in barren environments in large enclosed halls. Various environmental enrichment elements such as perches, elevated platforms, and similar structures were proposed for these barns with the aim of improving the welfare and well-being of the birds. This study compares and evaluates three different types of environmental enrichment. In 2 identical barns, 8100 Ross 308 broilers were housed divided between a control group (CG) and a trial group (TG). In the TG, three types of environmental enrichment (perches, elevated platforms, and a combined structure) were used. A real-time monitoring device (FAS = farmer-assistance system) suspended from the ceiling was used in combination with single photographs to count the number of birds on the enrichment elements. In addition, the body weights of individual birds and their foot pad dermatitis (FPD) scores were collected at days 14, 21 and 28 in both barns. No differences in these parameters were seen between TG and CG. Birds showed highest preference for the elevated platforms (average 31.93 kg/m 2 ), followed by the combined structure (average 21.36 kg/m 2 ) and the perches (0.35 kg/m 2 ). Overall, this study shows that Ross 308 broiler birds significantly prefer elevated platforms over combined structures or simple perches.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabian Spieß & Bernd Reckels & Christian Sürie & Monika Auerbach & Silke Rautenschlein & Ottmar Distl & Joerg Hartung & Jan Berend Lingens & Christian Visscher, 2022. "An Evaluation of the Uses of Different Environmental Enrichments on a Broiler Farm with the Help of Real-Time Monitoring via a Farmer-Assistant System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:20:p:13015-:d:939325
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/20/13015/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/20/13015/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Beth A Ventura & Frank Siewerdt & Inma Estevez, 2012. "Access to Barrier Perches Improves Behavior Repertoire in Broilers," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(1), pages 1-7, January.
    2. Fabian Spieß & Bernd Reckels & Amr Abd-El Wahab & Marwa Fawzy Elmetwaly Ahmed & Christian Sürie & Monika Auerbach & Silke Rautenschlein & Ottmar Distl & Joerg Hartung & Christian Visscher, 2022. "The Influence of Different Types of Environmental Enrichment on the Performance and Welfare of Broiler Chickens and the Possibilities of Real-Time Monitoring via a Farmer-Assistant System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fabian Spieß & Bernd Reckels & Amr Abd-El Wahab & Marwa Fawzy Elmetwaly Ahmed & Christian Sürie & Monika Auerbach & Silke Rautenschlein & Ottmar Distl & Joerg Hartung & Christian Visscher, 2022. "The Influence of Different Types of Environmental Enrichment on the Performance and Welfare of Broiler Chickens and the Possibilities of Real-Time Monitoring via a Farmer-Assistant System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Michael Selle & Fabian Spieß & Christian Visscher & Silke Rautenschlein & Arne Jung & Monika Auerbach & Jörg Hartung & Christian Sürie & Ottmar Distl, 2023. "Real-Time Monitoring of Animals and Environment in Broiler Precision Farming—How Robust Is the Data Quality?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-14, November.
    3. Maria Papageorgiou & Michael Goliomytis & Ouranios Tzamaloukas & Despoina Miltiadou & Panagiotis Simitzis, 2023. "Positive Welfare Indicators and Their Association with Sustainable Management Systems in Poultry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-27, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:20:p:13015-:d:939325. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.