Tridge summary
Kieron Daniels, Aviagen's broiler technical services manager, has highlighted significant variations in bird welfare attitudes among northern European countries, particularly between the UK and Scandinavia, during his talks at the South West Chicken Association conference. He pointed out that Scandinavian farms are better insulated, use more advanced enrichment methods like platforms, and prioritize UV lighting over windows, which the UK could adopt to reduce mortality and improve welfare.
Daniels criticized the UK's approach to environmental enrichment, such as straw bales and perches, suggesting they may not be as effective as Norway's and emphasized the importance of scientific evidence to support the use of enrichments. He also raised concerns about the use of perches, stating they can cause bottlenecks and stress, contrasting with the Scandinavian platform system that allows birds to move freely.
Open Philanthropy's investment in promoting superior bird welfare in northern Europe and the introduction of the European Chicken Commitment have caught Daniels' attention, underscoring the need for the UK to improve its broiler enrichment practices. He stressed the importance of data-driven decisions and the involvement of producers in the National Farmers’ Union farm assurance producer meetings to guide the NFU’s response to the 'Farm Assurance Review', aiming to establish a more transparent, effective, and resilient farm assurance system.
Daniels criticized the UK's approach to environmental enrichment, such as straw bales and perches, suggesting they may not be as effective as Norway's and emphasized the importance of scientific evidence to support the use of enrichments. He also raised concerns about the use of perches, stating they can cause bottlenecks and stress, contrasting with the Scandinavian platform system that allows birds to move freely.
Open Philanthropy's investment in promoting superior bird welfare in northern Europe and the introduction of the European Chicken Commitment have caught Daniels' attention, underscoring the need for the UK to improve its broiler enrichment practices. He stressed the importance of data-driven decisions and the involvement of producers in the National Farmers’ Union farm assurance producer meetings to guide the NFU’s response to the 'Farm Assurance Review', aiming to establish a more transparent, effective, and resilient farm assurance system.
Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.
Original content
Huge differences in attitudes towards bird welfare can be seen across northern Europe, but UK producers and farm assurance companies could learn some useful tips from Scandinavian producers. Kieron Daniels, Aviagen broiler technical services manager, looks after 8 countries across northern Europe and sees a diverse range of farms and customers. “In Finland we have a number of small family farms… while in Estonia they have different perspectives with birds kept in big Soviet-style compounds and welfare is not such an issue.” Speaking to the South West Chicken Association conference near Bristol, Daniels said one of the largest differences between UK and Scandinavian broiler farms was the larger levels of seasonality found in the UK in spite of the lower temperature extremes. Daniels believes this is partly due to the Scandinavians being very good at insulating their houses, which have a lot of heat, but believes there could be other factors to consider when viewing lower reject ...
Source: Poultryworld
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