Laying hen mortality in different indoor housing systems: a meta-analysis of data from commercial farms in 16 countries

Abstract Societal concern with the welfare of egg laying hens housed in conventional cages is fostering a transition towards cage-free systems in many countries. However, although cage-free facilities enable hens to move freely and express natural behaviours, concerns have also been raised over the...

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Autores principales:	Cynthia Schuck-Paim, Elsa Negro-Calduch, Wladimir J. Alonso
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b6ab6da525094135b13d7a4051c82957
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b6ab6da525094135b13d7a4051c829572021-12-02T14:06:50ZLaying hen mortality in different indoor housing systems: a meta-analysis of data from commercial farms in 16 countries10.1038/s41598-021-81868-32045-2322https://doaj.org/article/b6ab6da525094135b13d7a4051c829572021-02-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81868-3https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Societal concern with the welfare of egg laying hens housed in conventional cages is fostering a transition towards cage-free systems in many countries. However, although cage-free facilities enable hens to move freely and express natural behaviours, concerns have also been raised over the possibility that cage-free flocks experience higher mortality, potentially compromising some aspects of their welfare. To investigate this possibility, we conducted a large meta-analysis of laying hen mortality in conventional cages, furnished cages and cage-free aviaries using data from 6040 commercial flocks and 176 million hens from 16 countries. We show that except for conventional cages, mortality gradually drops as experience with each system builds up: since 2000, each year of experience with cage-free aviaries was associated with a 0.35–0.65% average drop in cumulative mortality, with no differences in mortality between caged and cage-free systems in more recent years. As management knowledge evolves and genetics are optimized, new producers transitioning to cage-free housing may experience even faster rates of decline. Our results speak against the notion that mortality is inherently higher in cage-free production and illustrate the importance of considering the degree of maturity of production systems in any investigations of farm animal health, behaviour and welfare.Cynthia Schuck-PaimElsa Negro-CalduchWladimir J. AlonsoNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Cynthia Schuck-Paim Elsa Negro-Calduch Wladimir J. Alonso Laying hen mortality in different indoor housing systems: a meta-analysis of data from commercial farms in 16 countries
description	Abstract Societal concern with the welfare of egg laying hens housed in conventional cages is fostering a transition towards cage-free systems in many countries. However, although cage-free facilities enable hens to move freely and express natural behaviours, concerns have also been raised over the possibility that cage-free flocks experience higher mortality, potentially compromising some aspects of their welfare. To investigate this possibility, we conducted a large meta-analysis of laying hen mortality in conventional cages, furnished cages and cage-free aviaries using data from 6040 commercial flocks and 176 million hens from 16 countries. We show that except for conventional cages, mortality gradually drops as experience with each system builds up: since 2000, each year of experience with cage-free aviaries was associated with a 0.35–0.65% average drop in cumulative mortality, with no differences in mortality between caged and cage-free systems in more recent years. As management knowledge evolves and genetics are optimized, new producers transitioning to cage-free housing may experience even faster rates of decline. Our results speak against the notion that mortality is inherently higher in cage-free production and illustrate the importance of considering the degree of maturity of production systems in any investigations of farm animal health, behaviour and welfare.
format	article
author	Cynthia Schuck-Paim Elsa Negro-Calduch Wladimir J. Alonso
author_facet	Cynthia Schuck-Paim Elsa Negro-Calduch Wladimir J. Alonso
author_sort	Cynthia Schuck-Paim
title	Laying hen mortality in different indoor housing systems: a meta-analysis of data from commercial farms in 16 countries
title_short	Laying hen mortality in different indoor housing systems: a meta-analysis of data from commercial farms in 16 countries
title_full	Laying hen mortality in different indoor housing systems: a meta-analysis of data from commercial farms in 16 countries
title_fullStr	Laying hen mortality in different indoor housing systems: a meta-analysis of data from commercial farms in 16 countries
title_full_unstemmed	Laying hen mortality in different indoor housing systems: a meta-analysis of data from commercial farms in 16 countries
title_sort	laying hen mortality in different indoor housing systems: a meta-analysis of data from commercial farms in 16 countries
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/b6ab6da525094135b13d7a4051c82957
work_keys_str_mv	AT cynthiaschuckpaim layinghenmortalityindifferentindoorhousingsystemsametaanalysisofdatafromcommercialfarmsin16countries AT elsanegrocalduch layinghenmortalityindifferentindoorhousingsystemsametaanalysisofdatafromcommercialfarmsin16countries AT wladimirjalonso layinghenmortalityindifferentindoorhousingsystemsametaanalysisofdatafromcommercialfarmsin16countries
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Laying hen mortality in different indoor housing systems: a meta-analysis of data from commercial farms in 16 countries

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